At our first session in June we continued our discussion of the status quo when the first fleet arrived, taking particular note of two facts relevant to our contemporary situation. Firstly, the country was declared terra nullius despite it being obvious that it was inhabited by people. Secondly, Australia remains the only Commonwealth country that Britain did not conclude a treaty with the local inhabitants.
At our second session, Melody Finnerty gave a detailed assessment of our Constitution - how it came about and what its powers are. Australia is a Federation where power is shared between the Commonwealth and the States. In simple terms certain powers are reserved for the Commonwealth and all other powers reside with the States. The Federation was more than decade in the making and it is interesting to consider that New Zealand was in it right up to the last but decided its interests were to stay out. Queen Victoria signed the Act of Parliament that proclaimed Australia.
We then attempted to focus on the relations between the local people and the First Settlers, but tended to digress onto other, mostly contemporary, matters including ‘Shock Jock’s, the health of Newspapers, the modern phenomenon of influencers and the power of Facebook.
Neville Gibb
At our second session, Melody Finnerty gave a detailed assessment of our Constitution - how it came about and what its powers are. Australia is a Federation where power is shared between the Commonwealth and the States. In simple terms certain powers are reserved for the Commonwealth and all other powers reside with the States. The Federation was more than decade in the making and it is interesting to consider that New Zealand was in it right up to the last but decided its interests were to stay out. Queen Victoria signed the Act of Parliament that proclaimed Australia.
We then attempted to focus on the relations between the local people and the First Settlers, but tended to digress onto other, mostly contemporary, matters including ‘Shock Jock’s, the health of Newspapers, the modern phenomenon of influencers and the power of Facebook.
Neville Gibb