CEFA's Constitutional Forum

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The writs for the upcoming 2 July election were issued in accordance with our Constitution on Monday. You might think this is not a very interesting topic. Almost like watching paint dry.

On Sunday 8 May, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met with the Governor-General Peter Cosgrove to request that both Houses of Parliament be dissolved and an election be called for 2 July.

Shortly after the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill 2016 was legislated by the Parliament, South Australian Family First Senator Bob Day mounted a High Court challenge to test the constitutionality of the legislation.

It’s very hard to have a civil conversation about asylum seekers in Australia. It’s a very polarising topic.

On Monday the Parliament was re-opened for a new session by the Governor-General. By the end of the day the ABCC Bills had been voted on by the Senate and the Government lost the vote 36-34.

We’re in for an exciting few weeks starting at 5.00pm tonight when Parliament is prorogued. All proceedings will come to an end and Parliamentary business will lapse.

Then the Governor-General will fire up a new session of Parliament at 9.30am on Monday.

The discussion about splitting Queensland into two States has received some attention lately.

This week’s announcement by the Prime Minister about a possible change in income taxation might have come as a surprise to many people.

There was speculation that the Prime Minister was going to pull a rabbit out of a hat and force the Senate to return and consider the ABCC Bill. This Bill has been through the House twice and the Senate once, if it is rejected by the Senate again it will become a double dissolution trigger.