Everything you need to know about the Australian Constitution – its past, present and future.
The People’s Guide to the Australian Constitution illustrates how, far from being an unchangeable, technical legal contract, the Australian Constitution gives people the power to participate in and decide the shape of government and the policies it adopts. Leading legal academics Rosalind Dixon and William Partlett shed light on what Governor-General John Kerr did not acknowledge about the Constitution when he dismissed the Whitlam government, the tension between Australia’s Christian settler-colonial constitutional identity and the recognition of First Nations peoples, the advantages and risks of constitutional change and much more.
At almost 125 years old, Australia’s Constitution is one of the oldest in the world, and while this has brought stability, it also gives the Australian people an opportunity to participate in adapting it to changing times.
‘If the Voice referendum has taught us anything, it is that there is a huge gap in civic education in this country. This book will foster better understanding of our Constitution and empower Australians to become more informed voters and citizens, which is a win for our democracy.’ – Jennifer Robinson, Human Rights Lawyer
‘The People’s Guide to the Australian Constitution is a comprehensive and readable explanation of its history and working. A basic understanding of our Constitution is essential to our representative democracy. It is the legal infrastructure for the operation of our democracy, the maintenance of the rule of law, the limitation of official power and the protection of important freedoms.’ – The Hon Robert French AC
‘An important resource that inspires Australians toward a transformative, genuine sovereign democracy and understanding.’ – Waskam Emelda Davis, Emeritus City of Sydney Councillor
‘The People’s Guide to the Australian Constitution brings public power closer to the people. By celebrating the strengths and commitments embedded in our constitutional story, readers are invited to question, to understand, and to participate in the story of our nation, whilst offering a vital understanding of the legal guardrails that have shaped Australia. In Ros and William’s skilled hands, we are empowered to claim our role in shaping the future of Australia’s democracy.’ – Liesl Tesch, Member of the Legislative Assembly and double Paralympian
About the Author
Rosalind Dixon is a Professor of Law at UNSW Sydney, and former assistant professor at the University of Chicago, and visiting professor at Harvard Law, Columbia Law and Chicago Law Schools. She is also former co-president of the International Society of Public Law, and the author of two leading academic books on constitutional democracy, Abusive Constitutional Borrowing: Legal Globalization and the Subversion of Liberal Democracy (OUP 2021) (with David Landau) and Responsive Judicial Review: Democracy and Dysfunction in the Modern Age (OUP 2023). She is a regular contributor to the Sydney Morning Herald, and has published opinion pieces in a range of other leading newspapers, including the New York Times.
William Partlett is Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne Law School and Co-Director of its Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies. He is also the Stephen Charles Fellow at the Centre for Public Integrity. Beyond his academic publications, Partlett has written extensively about constitutions for popular audiences in The Conversation, The National Interest, Pursuit, Crikey, and The Age.
