Q150 Constitutional Conference 2009
150th Anniversary of the establishment of the Colony of Queensland
‘Queensland Constitution at 150: Origins and Evolution'
29th May, 2009
Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations, the Honourable Cameron Dick, MP,
The Honourable Justice Susan Keifel, Judge of the High Court of Australia,
The Honourable Justice James Allsop, President of the NSW Court of Appeal,
Clerk of the Queensland Parliament, Mr Neil Laurie,
The Honourable Dr Bruce McPherson, CBE,
Adjunct Professor Dr Michael White, QC, Chairman of the Conference Organising Committee,
Other Members of the Judiciary,
Distinguished Speakers, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In this National Reconciliation Week and consistent with our resolve to foster greater understanding and knowledge within Queensland of our indigenous peoples, their culture, history and contribution to our development and to our communities, I acknowledge, with respect, the traditional custodians of the land on which we are gathered: the Jagera and Turrbal peoples.
It was with great pleasure that I received and accepted, in January, the invitation from Michael White to open today's Conference, which I consider to be one of the most important events of the many being held to mark the 150th anniversary of the separation of the then colony of Queensland from the colony of New South Wales.
When I accepted a different invitation last year, from the Premier of Queensland, to become Queensland's 25th Governor, I was acutely conscious that the State's Sesqui-centary would begin during the inaugural year of my five year term of office. I looked forward keenly to the opportunity this landmark anniversary would provide - not simply for picturesque celebrations and reenactments - as interesting, enjoyable and educative as these may be for individual communities and those interested in our history - but for serious discussion and reflection on our State's development; for examination and analysis of contemporary Queensland and for thoughtful, useful, consideration of our future.
This Conference - focusing on Queensland's Constitution - has seized that opportunity fully and I am hopeful that it will prove a particularly valuable contribution to that reflection and analysis that I anticipated so eagerly as I took my oath of office before the Chief Justice last July.
Recalling that solemn moment, I am conscious that I am in equally distinguished legal company today, and that the presentations we will be hearing come from some of the State's finest legal minds - from the bench, from practice and from the universities - and that the Conference is attended by a broad cross section of Brisbane's legal fraternity - in fact, I noted that the Conference is accredited for Bar Association of Queensland and Queensland Law Society Continuing Professional Development Points (CPD) - an added bonus!
Although I have had much professional involvement with legal matters and contributed to the negotiation of a number of international legal instruments, I am not a lawyer. As noted by Dr White in his kind introduction, I spent my professional life as a diplomat in Australia's foreign service, representing Australia in a succession of postings overseas and various positions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I served, at different times, as Head of the Department's Central and Southern Africa Section, then, as I moved higher up the career ladder, as Head of the East Asia Branch, than in successive appointments, as Head of the North Asia, Europe and International Organisations and Legal Divisions as well as overseas as Ambassador, or ‘Head of Mission' in Hong Kong, India, and France and, as our Ambassador to the United Nations both in Geneva and in New York. So in the forty or so years of my working life since graduating from UQ, I have gone from being Head of Section, to Head of Branch, to Head of Division, to Head of Mission to Head of the State, a journey which - I hope - gives me an interesting perspective on the themes to be discussed today.
Although there are some parallels between the roles and responsibilities, the position of Governor is unique, and the constitutional aspect of the role of Head of State is something I approach with particular respect. The Constitution is of obvious significance, as the powers of the Governor are derived from the Commission of Appointment, the provisions of various pieces of Constitutional legislation and from a number of Acts of the State Parliament.
It is not an easy role to explain. In response to the many questions we receive, especially from the thousands of school students who visit Government House each year, we have decided to develop some displays that might assist public understanding of the Governor's role and responsibilities. Our goal has been to launch these for presentation at our next Open Day at Government House on 6th June. The staff member who has been co-coordinating this project - herself with a Law degree - was reported to me to have said in despair, some weeks ago, as she contemplated the substantial pile of papers, including the Constitution and others: "I just don't think I can do this with dot-points!" She persisted, though, and once launched, I hope the set of banner displays we have prepared will, in a small way, help Queenslanders to understand better the role of their Governor and the Head of their State.
The sesqui-centenary celebrations have drawn from the community much of the ‘undiscovered history' of our State, with the State's historical community - amateur and professional - taking advantage of the interest generated by the sesqui-centenary to write books, prepare exhibitions, and in many other creative and non-traditional ways, to cast light on the past 150 years. Many of these have been supported by the Queensland Government's Q150 program, which also has provided support for today's Conference. I am often called upon to officiate, at the launch or opening of these events, and in the course of my research and preparation it is interesting how often I find myself - metaphorically - bumping into my gubernatorial predecessors. In what might be termed the ‘non-constitutional' aspects of the Governor's role, it seems to me that my 24 predecessors, while possessing very different characters, backgrounds and emphasis, did nonetheless, invest significant time and effort in the cultivation and encouragement of what might loosely be called ‘civil society' - the community groups and volunteer organisations which have been so critical to our State's development, whose values and ideals are part of the framework of our society and which I believe, are an important part of my responsibility, as Governor, to uphold.
Whether it is at a meeting with the Country Women's Association, whose formation was so strongly encouraged by Sir Matthew Nathan, or meeting with the tight knit and resilient people of the small towns in our remote regions, for whom gubernatorial visits often mark significant milestones in their local regions, or meeting with the world class research institutions who so often have a Governor in their histories, at critical junctures in their creation and development ... I often reflect on these encounters with the "ghosts of Governors past". Which is why I think the session on Governor Bowen, Queensland's First Governor, by the Honourable Dr Bruce McPherson CBE will be particularly interesting, as in some obvious respects, as the first incumbent, he carved out its parameters, alongside his wife, the redoubtable Lady Diamantina, who gave her Christian name to one of our great inland rivers, and her maiden name to the regional centre of Roma. These "footprints" of previous Governors are all over the landscape, in the form of European place names, in particular. I should make the point that when I am putting together my itinerary with the office - something we have to do months in advance to try to keep up with demand - I rarely consider - at least initially - the historical context, or the priorities of my predecessors - but nevertheless, as I move around the vast distances of our State, I find myself frequently treading in their footsteps, as locals delight in recalling and relating the stories of visits by Governors' past. To me it reflects a reassuring degree of continuity, not merely in the role of Governor, but in the values represented by this role, which have endured notwithstanding the astonishing transformation of Queensland - economically, socially and culturally - since separation from NSW.
Which brings me to the title of this Conference - "Origins and Evolution" - a neat symmetry with Charles Darwin's opus in the year of the bicentenary of his birth. I don't know if it was deliberate, but I thought it a nice piece of cross-disciplinary referencing! It is true that Queensland's constitutional history owes more to the Darwinian path of evolution than it does to the French revolutionary example - less dramatic, perhaps, but more consistent with the adaptive, pragmatic nature of the Australian character and community. While there is a natural tendency to focus on the rupture points, the pivots in our constitutional history, I do think there is as interesting a story in the continuities running through it, which may in turn shed light on the development of the constitution into the future. In this context, I think the session to be presented by the Honourable Justice Allsop, President of the NSW Court of Appeal, on "Queensland's Constitutional Inheritance from NSW" should offer particularly interesting insights, as despite this joint constitutional parentage, the two legislatures have diverged markedly, not least of which being the absence of an Upper House in Queensland - (a topic which I note will be addressed in Session Three, by the Clerk of the Parliament, Mr Neil Laurie.)
The divergence in the constitutional regimes of New South Wales and Queensland, and the parallel development of distinctive and different political cultures is one of the untold stories of the Federation, and this Conference will, I trust, do a great deal to shed light on the Queensland side of the story. The question of the extent to which the political culture shapes the constitution - and, conversely, of the extent to which the constitution shapes the political culture - is a fascinating one, particularly from my perspective as someone who has watched at close quarters constitutional debates and conflicts play out in countries across the world. Without wanting to cast aspersions on Justice Allsop's home state - and being very conscious of my constitutional role to be above politics and non-partisan - I nonetheless think I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the differences between the polities of New South Wales and Queensland go beyond the existence or otherwise of an Upper House - the two states; the forms and functions of their political cultures are fundamentally different, notwithstanding that both are part of the Australian mainstream. It will be interesting to see, as we trace through the program from "Queensland's Constitutional Inheritance from NSW", though to "The 1867 Queensland Constitution", presented by the Honourable Justice Patrick Keane QC, of the Queensland Court of Appeal, and then "The Constitutional Milestones after 1867", by Professor Gerard Carney of Bond University, and onto "The Evolution of the Queensland Constitution", by Mr John McKenna SC, to what extent we can identify events or individuals as cause and/or effect of this divergence between the two polities. And, equally significantly, to what extent the continuities flowing through our constitutional history - the elements that have endured despite the tremendous changes occurring throughout the State - might provide clues to the future evolution of the Queensland Constitution.
The penultimate session, on "Responsible Government without an Upper House", by Neil Laurie, Clerk of the Queensland Parliament, and "The Constituent Powers of the Queensland Parliament" by Professor Suri Ratnapala of the University of Queensland promises to illuminate some of the more unique aspects of Queensland's political settlement and illustrate the reconciliation between the written and unwritten elements of our system of governance. Professor Ratnapala's involvement with the Conference at this time is warmly welcomed by everyone here, I am sure. I know that there is a very deep affection for Professor Ratnapala within legal circles in Queensland and beyond, and great respect for his long and deep engagement with constitutional law in Australia.
Session Four today, the final session, "Looking Ahead" by the Honourable Ian Callinan AC, former Justice of the High Court and Dr Nicholas Aroney of the University of Queensland, is surely the most challenging part of the program. One only has to look at the colossal transformation of Queensland over the course of the last 150 years, in size - from a population of a mere 25,000 people to a fully modern State of 4.32 million - its transformation in wealth, in complexity and sophistication to think that it might seem to be "courageous" - in the Sir Humphrey sense of the word - to prognosticate in any detail about the future. For my part, however, I think those continuities I referred to earlier - of values, of principles, of the unifying ideas that have held fast in the face of 150 years of constant change - certainly give prospect for optimism that Queensland's constitutional arrangements can continue to evolve and adjust to the changing temper and tempo of the times, and to deliver to the people of Queensland the stable government, bounded by the rule of law, which has provided such a firm foundation for the modern State of Queensland - and again, which it is my constitutional responsibility, as Governor, to ensure is maintained.
I congratulate the Supreme Court of Queensland Library and the TC Beirne School of Law's Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law at the University of Queensland for their initiative in organising this Conference. While many people, I am aware, have contributed to this event, particularly the organising committee chaired by Michael White QC, I would like to acknowledge especially the contribution of Aladin Rahemtula, Librarian of the Supreme Court of Queensland Library, who has played a pivotal role in organising this Conference. (Aladin also assists the Office of the Governor with research requests from time to time and his support and assistance is greatly appreciated). I thank the sponsors of this event for their support for this important contribution to the development of constitutional studies in Queensland.
It is now my pleasure to declare open officially the Conference ‘Queensland Constitution at 150: Origins and Evolution' and wish you all a most enjoyable, interesting and stimulating Conference.