Constituent power of the Queensland Parliament

The paper examines the history of the Queensland's parliament's constituent power as well as its present scope. It maps the evolution of the Queensland Constitution from its inception as an 'uncontrolled' constitution to the transformations effected by the colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 (CLVA), the Commonwealth Constitution and the Australia Acts 1986. The manner and form limitations in the CLVA ore examined followed by a discussion of the limits on state legislative power and the integration of Queensland courts into the federal judicial structure under the Commonwealth Constitution. The paper then focuses on the profound constitutional changes wrought by the Australia Acts 1986. It examines the implications of the House of Lords decision in the Fox Hunting Case with particular attention to the court's apparent endorsement of the 'reconstitution theory' first proposed in Attorney General(NSW) v Trethowan. The paper ends by addressing the vital question whether the Queensland parliament can alter the fundamental character of the State Constitution as a system of representative and responsible government. It concludes that fundamental constitutional change cannot be made without the consent of the people