The Role of State Constitutions in Protecting ... - International IDEA

AUSTRALIAN FEDERALISM,
STATE CONSTITUTIONS AND
THE PROTECTION OF MINORITY RIGHTS
Cheryl Saunders
Introduction
This paper is written for workshops on the role of State Constitutions in the
protection of National and Minority Rights under Federalism, with particular
reference to issues that might be relevant to a democratic transition in Burma.
In order to decide what is relevant and what is not, it is necessary to make some
preliminary points about the context of Australian federalism.
First, in many ways Australia is very different to Burma. It is a prosperous and
peaceful country, a long way away from the world's centers of conflict. It has a
robust form of majoritarian democracy, which is so well established that it is taken
for granted. It has a small population, of only 19 million people. The population
is culturally diverse, but largely as a result of relatively recent immigration. With
the very important exception of the indigenous people, there is no minority
culture with deep roots in the country. Ethnicity is not a significant factor in the
design of the constitutional system.
There are some potential similarities as well, however, around which this paper
has been developed. The Australian federation is the result of a compromise
between six, distinct colonial communities, which saw some mutual advantage in
unity, but which also wanted to retain considerable autonomy. Those colonies
(now the Australian States) varied in size and wealth. Despite the absence of
cultural cleavages, they had very different interests, and there were traditional
suspicions between them. Nevertheless, by astonishingly democratic means, they
managed to agree on a form of federal union. The essential elements of that union
are still intact, despite much grumbling, one serious attempt at secession and a
widespread but probably minority view that Australia should have a unitary form
of government. The original colonies are now the States and their variety persists.
If anything, federation has provided an institutional framework through which
their differences can democratically be expressed.
Particular aspects of the Australian experience that may be of interest to Burma
include the following. The first is the way in which, and the process by which, the
Australian Constitution originally accommodated the conflicting interests of the
constituent parts of the federation. A second is the strengths and weaknesses of
the manner in which the balance was struck between central, or Commonwealth,
and State power in Australia, including the significance of State Constitutions.
The third is the way in which cultural minorities have fared under the Australian
federation; in particular, the indigenous people of Australia.
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