George Winterton - Public Affairs and Constitutional Reform

Public Affairs and Constitutional Reform

George Winterton provided legal advice to Commonwealth and state governments, other public bodies and law firms.

Winterton criticised Sir Garfield Barwick and Sir John Kerr for not having paid closer attention to the constitution before Kerr, the governor-general, sacked the Whitlam government in 1975, with Barwick's advice. Winterton said Barwick had invented a convention that "a prime minister who cannot obtain supply ... must either advise a general election or resign", pointing out that, although section 83 of the constitution forbids the expenditure of unappropriated funds, appropriated funds had not been exhausted. The sacking, he said, diminished respect for conventions.

He served as a member of the Executive Government Advisory Committee for the Constitutional Commission in 1986 and 1987, chaired by Sir Zelman Cowen.

His Monarchy to Republic helped reignite debate over the issue of Australian republicanism. In 1993, he served as a member of the Republic Advisory Committee. He was appointed as a delegate to the 1998 Constitutional Convention. He wrote the original bi-partisan appointment model.

Chief Justice Robert French has written:

He also proposed a new preamble for the Constitution and amendments necessary to reflect a minimalist Republican model. George spelt out certain principles which should guide the formulation of a new constitutional preamble. They were reflective of his own personality and approach to legal issues. Shortly they were:
1. A conservative principle -- the existing preamble should be retained as far as possible for constitutional continuity and social harmony.
2. The preamble should be honest. It should not make promises about rights which the Constitution itself would not deliver.
3. The prose should be pithy, avoiding jargon and platitude.
4. It should embody only the most fundamental, uncontroversial and universally acceptable values.
5. It should avoid provisions likely to have legal effect. They should be found in the body of the Constitution.
His proposed preamble was founded upon the notion of popular sovereignty and ended with the words: "We, the people of Australia, do hereby enact and give to ourselves this Constitution."