Copernican paradigm is an analysis of Australian constitutional structures in order to develop models establishing

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

as a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

with a directly elected

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

. It is named for

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...

Background

Although a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, in practice, Australia has most of the essential features of a

federal republic A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...

. The modern objectives of

Australian republicanism Republicanism in Australia is a popular movement to change Australia's system of government from a constitutional parliamentary monarchy to a republic, replacing the monarch of Australia (currently Charles III) with a president. Republicanism ...

are usually viewed in terms of replacing

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

institutions, in particular the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, with republican institutions.

Analysis

The paradigm focuses on the

Queen of Australia Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

being the central institution of the Australian constitutional system. It is from this central authority, that the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

authority of the Governor-General and each

state governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

is legally derived.

Model development

Proponents of this analysis argue that their perspective on Australian constitutional structures allows republicans to develop constitutional models that are simpler and with substantively less disruption to parliamentary government. Such models would focus on replacing the Queen alone, retaining the Governor-General and state governors. In replacing the Queen, a model based on the Copernican paradigm can accommodate a

directly elected Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

head of state without codification of the

reserve power In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch or part of the government. Unlike in a ...

s, which currently may be exercised by the Governor-General and state governors. Professor

George Winterton George Graham Winterton (15 December 1946 – 6 November 2008) was an Australian academic specialising in Australian constitutional law. Winterton taught for 28 years at the University of New South Wales before taking up an appointment of Profe ...

, noting this as advantageous, added the paradigm retains the nationally unifying element of a joint state-federal Head of State

Criticism

In the report of the Australian republicanism#2004 Senate Inquiry, 2004 Senate Inquiry republican models based on the Copernican paradigm were criticised as understating the amount of constitutional change required to establish a republic. Senators queried the potential for duplication and confusion over the ceremonial roles of the Australian head of state and the Governor-General. Professor Winterton criticised the concept as "tricephalous" (three-headed) and potentially unstable. He argued a "locally-resident directly-elected

public office Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

r" was not readily comparable to a "hereditary absentee

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

" and a future Head of State would interfere with the exercise of the Governor-General's powers to some degree

References

The road to a republic
Chapter 7, Report by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee's ''Inquiry into an Australian republic'', August 2004.
Copernican Republic Forum
Articles and forum about the Copernican Paradigm and related republican models.
The Copernican Gazette
Issue 1, newsletter of the Copernican Group, April 2006.

about one Copernican republic model, 13 April 2004.

by Richard E. McGarvie, 1999. Discussion of republican models by a former Governor of Victoria.

{{cbignore, bot=medicwiki for a Copernican model where the Crown of Australia is democratised, 4 February, 2017.

- a full implementation of the Copernican Paradigm examined by a Senate Committee in 2004. Republicanism in Australia

Background

Analysis

Model development

Criticism

See also

References