The Samuel Griffith Society was founded in 1992 by a group led by former
Chief Justice of Australia
The Chief Justice of Australia is the presiding Justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is Susan Kiefel, who is the first woman to hold the position.
Co ...
Sir
Harry Gibbs
Sir Harry Talbot Gibbs, (7 February 191725 June 2005) was Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1981 to 1987 after serving as a member of the High Court between 1970 and 1981. He was known as one of Australia's leading federalist ...
Samuel Griffith
Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and t ...
, one of the architects of the
Australian Constitution
The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...
, the society describes its aims as being: "to undertake and support research into ustralia'sconstitutional arrangements, to encourage and promote widespread debate about the benefits of federalism, and to defend the present Constitution." It holds annual conferences, runs an annual national constitutional law essay competition and publishes an annual journal of conference proceedings entitled "Upholding the Australian Constitution".
It is one of a number of groups including the
H. R. Nicholls Society
The HR Nicholls Society is an Australian think tank that focuses on industrial relations. It advocates full workplace deregulation, contains some Liberal MPs as members and is seen to be of the New Right.
It was created in March 1986 after John ...
Lavoisier Group
The Lavoisier Group is an Australian organisation formed by politicians and dominated by retired industrial businesspeople and engineers.Ray Evans
Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...
.
The Society is currently led by former High Court Justice
Ian Callinan
Ian David Francis Callinan Order of Australia, AC King's Counsel, KC (born 1 September 1937) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy.
Education
Born in Casino, New South Wales, Cal ...
.
Aims and objectives
*To oppose the further centralisation of power in Canberra.
*To restore the authority of Parliament as against that of the Executive.
*To defend the independence of the Judiciary.
*To foster and support any reforms of Australia's constitutional arrangements which would help achieve these objectives.
*To promote discussion on constitutional matters to establish a clear position in support of the decentralisation of government power.
*To encourage a wider understanding throughout the community of the Constitution and the nation's achievement under it.
The Society's aims have been described by author Dominic Kelly as to pursue "a renewed federalism" and to oppose "the Mabo judgment and the proposed Australian republic."
Current activities
The Samuel Griffith Society has held more than thirty conferences since 1992. Recent conference speakers have included former Prime Minister
Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Abbott was born in Londo ...
, Chief Justice
Susan Kiefel
Susan Mary Kiefel (; born 17 January 1954) is the chief justice of Australia, in office since 30 January 2017. She has served on the High Court since 2007, having previously been a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the Federal Cou ...
, Senator
Amanda Stoker
Amanda Jane Stoker ( Fell; born 30 October 1982) is an Australian politician who became a Senator for Queensland in 2018 until 2022. She is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) and sits with the Liberal Party in federal p ...
and Senator James Paterson. Conference discussion topics have included the ''Mabo'' decision, Australia remaining a constitutional monarchy, the possible introduction of a Bill of rights and the controversial section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
In 2019, the Society was granted deductible gift recipient status. This was soon followed by the appointment of the Society's first full-time Executive Director.
According to James Allan: "The Society’s members remain stalwart supporters of federalism, in line with the clear and unmistakable intentions of those who drafted our Constitution and worked to see it ratified, and despite the truly abysmal track record of our High Court in federalism disputes since 1920." In recent times, the Society has spoken out against the High Court's decision in
Love v Commonwealth
''Love v Commonwealth; Thoms v Commonwealth'' is a High Court of Australia case that held that Aboriginal Australians could not be classified as aliens under section 51(xix) of the Australian Constitution. The case was decided on 11 February 2 ...
. In October 2021, Executive Director Xavier Boffa called for the decision to be reconsidered, describing it as "quite a surprise to many in the legal community, introducing a controversial new notion of nationality detached from birth or naturalisation".
The Society has been criticised as "a temperamentally conservative body concerned with dry constitutional matters." In 2021, the Society's decision to invite controversial One Nation MP
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator, currently serving as a member in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and ...
to speak at its 32nd conference was derided for failing "to mention his current political party, or the decade he spent representing Labor in Federal Parliament". It has also been linked to conservative efforts to influence judicial appointments in Australia, including the appointment of Justice Simon Steward to the
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution.
The High Court was established fol ...
H. R. Nicholls Society
The HR Nicholls Society is an Australian think tank that focuses on industrial relations. It advocates full workplace deregulation, contains some Liberal MPs as members and is seen to be of the New Right.
It was created in March 1986 after John ...