Wednesday, January 29, 2014

FINE, TOLL DODGER FACES JAIL

ANGUS THOMPSON Herald Sun January 30, 2014 

Santos Bonacci outside court.
Santos Bonacci outside court. Source: News Limited
 
A MAN arrested for amassing almost 500 Sheriff's warrants for toll road fees faces 916 days in jail if he refuses to pay the $132,000 fine. 

Santos Bonacci, from Berwick, was bailed from Dandenong Magistrate's Court yesterday morning on 483 charges for unpaid EastLink and CityLink fees, as well as speeding fines, going back to early 2010.

The unemployed 51-year-old spent nine days in custody after twice refusing to apply for bail following his arrest earlier this month.

Barrister Peter Pickering, acting for the Sheriff's Office described Mr Bonacci as being "uncooperative" with police and the court.

"At the time of the apprehension of Mr Bonacci he was quite uncooperative. He said the police and court had no right to arrest him," Mr Pickering told the court.

But Mr Bonacci claimed the police were acting fraudulently and that he had been put under duress.
"I do not wish to be a party to fraud, sir," Mr Bonaccio told Magistrate Steven Raleigh.

He added that he sought a "peaceful remedy" to the situation.

Mr Bonacci was granted bail and must report to Narre Warren police station once a week.

He was also barred from publishing offensive comments about Sheriff's officers on social media after he recently posted a video on YouTube calling a police officer a "c---" and a magistrate a paedophile.
In the video, posted in December last year and showing police and Sheriff's officers towing a friend's car, Mr Bonacci described Victoria Police as a criminal organisation that engaged in fraud.

Outside court he told a gathering of supporters he wouldn't be paying the mammoth debt because police were acting fraudulently.

"Those roads and everything are built by we, the people. We own them," he said.
He is due to appear in court again on April 1.

angus.thompson@news.com.au

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/fine-toll-dodger-faces-jail/story-fni0fee2-1226813202374


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

SANTOS BONACCI ARRESTED AND IN CUSTODY



Moe  January 21, 2014
 
Breaking news from the Gnostic Warrior. Santos Bonacci was arrested in Australia today.


Santos Bonacci arrested

The spokesperson for Santos claims he was kidnapped by Queensland Sheriff’s deputies without a true warrant and is being held in custody unlawfully. The arrest took place at the home of Sonia and Hiromi Bonacci who is his brother.

For several years, Santos Bonacci has been an outspoken critic of governments around the world and he has also spoken out against the Vatican and Pope for various alleged crimes. Lately he has been involved in various freeman and freedom movements where the legal authority of government is challenged in court via the law and reclaiming of DNA.

Some of his most recent posts may relate to his arrest by law enforcement there in Australia.

Santos image 2

On January 8th, 2014 Santos had posted this message:
Private prosecution coming up friends, I had a call by a private corporation today, called Sheriffs office Victoria. Here is the Prima Fascia evidence of their intent to commit fraud by attempting aid and abet one to create joinder to a legal name! I’ll keep you posted. Just wait to see the fun our little private prosecution team here in Melbourne are going to have when we prosecute the ‘Sheriff’s Office of Victoria’, private corporation probably owned by some rich pedophiles in Toorak! We are also going to make a documentary and share it with the world for a lesson in freedom! Stay tuned!
Could this arrest be related to his political activities and outspoken condemnation of various governments and the Roman Curia?

Only time will tell and as soon as I find out more, I will post this information on Gnostic Warrior.

http://gnosticwarrior.com/santos-bonacci-arrested-and-in-custody.html



Monday, January 13, 2014

ABBOT GOVERNMENT PLANNING 'REPEAL DAY' TO CUT 8000 LAWS

AAP January 13, 2014

  

The Abbott government is planning a "repeal day'' in parliament in March when it hopes to axe more than 8000 federal laws in a push to cut red tape costs. 
 
The Australian reports that the "repeal day'' is scheduled for the final parliamentary sitting week in March and is part of a federal government plan to slash red tape by $1 billion a year.

The Statute Law Revision Bill and the Amending Acts 1901-1969 Bill will propose slashing 8000 redundant laws going back around 100 years.

On the same day, parliament will be presented with a number of bills proposing the repeal of "burdensome regulations''.

The bills are to be debated in the coming weeks, with the government reportedly claiming they'll represent the ``biggest single reduction in federal laws ever put before the commonwealth parliament''.

The "repeal day'' concept is said to be borrowed from the US, where congress has regular repeal days.
###

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/national/abbott-government-planning-repeal-day-to-cut-8000-laws/story-fnjbnxuh-1226800376990?sv=6afbeff8241d815a22ce66aa2cf6cb9c



Sunday, January 12, 2014

AWAKENING TO ASIO FRONTS - ENTRAPMENT - AGENTS PROVOCATEUR – PT.ARTHUR RESEARCHER ANDREW MCGREGOR EXPOSING THE UPMART/MALCOLM MCCLURE SCAM

*This was emailed to me today from an excellent source and researcher who points out that these are unverified claims. This was originally posted on the controversial Rebel.org site, but has been removed almost simultaneously, from what i understand, in very strange circumstances. It is also worth noting that an email has been circulated by a member of UPMART denying the claims in this article. In the interests of openness and transparency, i share it with you, and you can make of it what you will.
 
By Andrew McGregor


Upmart is an Intelligence front ... Malcolm McClure an agent provocateur ... they collect names to identify possible resistance against a totalitarian government. 

Other ASIO - fronts - spooks – agents-provocateurs
Adrian Barnett  Malcolm McDougall  Jeremy Lee League of Right’s HASCO Queensland  Leonard W Clampett  Rural Action Movement (RAM) Western Australia
Senator Len Harris One Nation Party
Inverell Forum  an ASIO front to entrap independent thinkers
Running this operation were at least two ASIO officers, Robert Balgarnie and Denis Stephenson.
Balgarnie was also the ‘proof reader’ of the alternative newspaper, ‘The Strategy’ another ASIO operation run by operative Ray Platt,
Other ASIO operatives associated with the ‘Inverell Forum’ Tony Pitt Queensland, Leslie Feather Victoria ‘The Pastor’, Neville Andrews from Victoria
A history of Malcolm McClure and Upmart
by Andrew MacGregor ex Policeman-Investigative writer
In about May/June of 2002, I received a telephone call from Bronwyn Hancock of the anti-vaccination group in Sydney who informed me of a very interesting person called Malcolm McClure who had made a presentation in regard to motor car registration and driver’s licences. 
I made enquiries and was informed that Malcolm’s next presentation was to be at Kensington, an inner Melbourne suburb at 7.30 pm on the following Tuesday.
Malcolm McClure started off his presentation talking about ‘God’s Law’, which he claimed was ‘supreme law’.  There is no basis for such presumptions other than religion, and I never heard of these things when I went to church, and my belief is that most Christian Churches do not push such dogma.
Malcolm McClure then touched on the GST and the number of petitions that had been collected, and cited the efforts of ‘Leonard William Clampett’ from Queensland who had collected over 500,000 names on his petition, which had been passed onto Senator Len Harris of the ‘One Nation Party’.  This was not an error, as this information was on a slide as part of Malcolm’s presentation
Now this was very interesting as I personally knew Senator Len Harris, and was well aware of Leonard Clampett, who is a spook and at that time was residing in Cavite, a city near Manila in the Philippines.
Malcolm McClure then hit the main topic of motor vehicle registrations and ‘driver’s licences’.  In this topic, Malcolm only referred to the Federal Constitution and a book used to explain this constitution called, ‘Quick and Garran’, and offered to arrange the purchase of this book for any member of the audience who so desired to have this knowledge.
Now the problem here is that when I went through police training in the St. Kilda Road Depot in 1968, the law we were taught all emanated from the ‘State Law’ as per the Victorian Constitution.  There was virtually no Federal Law on our agenda, and the ‘Commonwealth’ police were the ‘enforcers’ of federal law.
So whichever State a person resides, the power to issue driver’s licences, motor vehicle registration plates, and similar issues come under that State’s constitution, not the Federal Constitution.  Malcolm McClure’s argument was extremely flawed and dangerous to any person who believed him.
Malcolm McClure also had with him, some of his ‘driver’s licences’ and motor vehicle ‘registration number plates’ to ‘sell’ which he was offering for ‘half price’, for those who were prepared to pay for them.  I saw one of the sets of ‘number plates’ which was numbered, ‘RAM-000’.  Now this was interesting.
‘RAM’ actually stood for a movement that had emerged in Western Australia, the ‘Rural Action Movement’
But the real clue was that the number plates were identical to the plates manufactured for the Victorian government. 
Now in the 1990’s when the Victorian government had problems re-issuing a large number of new registration number plates, they contracted part of the order to the Queensland government, and the Queensland produced plates were quite distinct from the Victorian produced plates. 
In other words, Malcolm McClure’s number plates had been manufactured by the same source that manufactures the Victorian government’s number plates.
I spoke with Malcolm McClure and he was aware of who I was and had seen me at one of my Port Arthur presentations.  I was also introduced to Margaret Main, a little grey-haired lady who was Malcolm’s ‘manager’.
I also met Adrian Barnett who was another member of Upmart.  Adrian is at present involved in the 911 movement.
I paid fees of about $20 and obtained various forms from Upmart to fill in, and noted that most of the people working in this area of Upmart were young females.
After most of the audience had left the hall, I left and checked out the remaining motor vehicles.
All of these vehicles had government registration number plates.  No vehicle was fitted with the ‘Upmart’ number plates.  There was though one vehicle that had a large ‘plane tree’ leaf covering both the front and rear number plates.
The following morning I rang Senator Len Harris and spoke to him in regard to the information that I had received from Malcolm McClure. 
The senator stated that in regard to the petitions, the figures were incorrect as he had only received 264,000 signatures and they were still being checked out at time. 
Len Harris also stated that Leonard Clampett had nothing to do with the petition, as the petition had been collected by a group called HASCO in Queensland, but it was still the largest petition ever mounted in Australia.
Senator Len Harris also told me that he had decided to have nothing to do with ‘Upmart’ as he was uncertain as to the legitimacy of their moves in regard to licences and registrations of motor cars.
The next meeting that I was aware that Malcolm McClure and ‘Upmart’ were having was at Clayton RSL.  This was the meeting place for a group called ‘Nexus’ and an anti-banks campaigner,
Hungarian born Les Banki.  I had previously known Les Banki, and at the meeting Les Banki introduced me to another Hungarian, and to Malcolm McDougall from Geelong who had a similar agenda to Malcolm McClure.
While the three of us, the two Hungarians and I chatted we were joined by a young female who listened and asked a couple of questions, and when we took our seats, she sat in front of me.
We listened to Malcolm McClure’s presentation which was virtually identical to the presentation at Kensington, and at the end of the presentation, at question time I raised my hand, but Malcolm always looked the other way.  Now this went on for twenty minutes and at the end I simply lowered my hand.
At the end of the presentation and question time, Les Banki, his Hungarian friend and I started to discuss the presentation and what we thought of it.
I pointed out to Les and his friend where Malcolm was wrong, and then the young female attacked me.  ‘How dare I pick on Malcolm McClure!  If I had problems or needed an explanation, why didn’t I ask him?’
She was going to report me to Malcolm, and with that the young female went directly to Margaret Main, and spoke to her.  Les Banki, his friend and I were totally amazed.
What the three of us had just experienced was a major form of intimidation, and on later occasions I was informed that if any male had problems with Malcolm McClure then they would be intimidated by the women, who just loved Malcolm.  These women would also claim that the men didn’t like Malcolm because he was a ‘homosexual’.
Malcolm McClure and Adrian Barnett are both homosexual
As Malcolm McDougall pointed out to me, McClure was penniless when Upmart picked him out of the gutter. 
Malcolm McDougall has also pushed the same agenda as McClure, but McDougall is not a homosexual.  In other words, the homosexuality is being used as a weapon.
At this stage, I believed I had sufficient evidence of criminal behaviour to report Malcolm McClure to the police.  The crimes included fraud and sedition, and are felonies within the Crimes Act, so with the various forms I had from ‘Upmart’ I went to the Geelong Police Station and made my report. 
Now I didn’t just go to the front counter, I asked to see the Chief Superintendent.  The Chief Superintendent promised to get back to me.  He never did.
In other words, Upmart could only be a government run operation.
You see the only opposition that the people believing Upmart’s scam are the police who catch them driving.  Then with the confrontation between the two ideologies, there is a huge possibility of violence, and no matter whatever the outcome, it is the reputation of the police that suffers.
It is this area that the Chief Superintendent should have been concerned about, but he did nothing, which means that Upmart came from a higher authority than the police.
Now most Victorians know the morning ABC presenter Jon Faine.  Jon went to university and studied law, and then did his first practise with the Fitzroy Legal Aid, so Jon knows and understands law issues. 
To my surprise, one morning Malcolm McClure was actually interviewed by Jon Faine in regard to Upmart and Malcolm’s stance on the issue of licences and motor vehicle registrations. 
There was the mention of Quick and Garran, and as Jon Faine pointed out, Quick and Garran is not a ‘legal’ book but rather an interpretation of the Federal constitution. 
What was interesting was that Jon Faine never picked up the issue of the proper constitution in regard to motor vehicles, and he should have. 
So Malcolm McClure got thirty minutes of fame debating with Jon Faine. 
But that was not the end of the matter.  The next day Malcolm McClure was able to get back on air for another 5 minutes to ‘rectify’ a couple of small matters
In other words, the ABC was legitimising Malcolm McClure’s position.
So that was 2002.  In 2004 I was invited back to the ‘Inverell Forum’ to update just how far we had got in investigating the Port Arthur Massacre. 
Malcolm McClure was also to be a speaker both on the Friday night and on the Sunday morning.  Both McClure and I were booked into the same motel, and I noticed the expensive Toyota Land Cruiser with a special paint job with the word ‘Surf’ on both sides of the vehicle and with personalised ‘Upmart’ numberplates reading “SURF”.
I missed the Friday evening presentation by Malcolm McClure, but was able to be present for the Sunday edition.  I arrived at the hall early and moved in to an out of the way spot near the back of the hall, but I was shortly joined by another male who told me he was a member of ‘Upmart’.
Now the next part told me that ‘Upmart’ had made a good job of studying me.
This particular member of ‘Upmart’ told me that he was a former member of the New South Wales police, and that he was in full acceptance of what ‘Upmart’ was ‘preaching’. 
Now for any trained policeman to state that, then you know you are listening to a load of rubbish.  But the next bit was a real ripper. 
This former policeman was also of Greek extraction, and so we spoke Greek to each other, just to prove it.  Somebody had done a very good check on me, to know that my first wife was from Corinth in Greece, and that I spoke a smattering of Greek.
So I had my ‘minder’.  We sat and listened as Malcolm McClure told of his adventure in attending a Magistrates Court on the Atherton Tablelands for one of his clients who was being charged with offences relevant to using ‘Upmart’s’ number plates.
Malcolm told how he parried with the ‘judge’ (actually a magistrate) and how he was arrested for ‘contempt of Court’ and how he had been locked up but then later released and permitted to return to the courthouse. 
Malcolm told how he had been caught with a tape-recorder and had thrown it to one of his supporters and then Malcolm told of his ‘client’ being convicted on all charges. 
The women loved Malcolm’s chevalier attitude, in fighting these ‘injustices’, but it was Malcolm’s last words that really told the story.
Malcolm McClure stated, “But it didn’t matter, as we won it on appeal.”  That was a lie. 
McClure’s client, James Hubner, never appealed the conviction.  He just paid the fine and wore the defeat. 
However, if we look at what even Malcolm McClure tells us, we must be aware that something extremely strange has happened.
Malcolm McClure tells us that he treated the courtroom as though it was his little circus.  Such behaviour is not normally tolerated.  Malcolm McClure tells us that he was charged with contempt. 
When arrested, Malcolm McClure was found to have a recorder in his pocket, which Malcolm then tossed to one of his supporters. 
I’m still wondering why Malcolm McClure didn’t get six months in gaol for his continuous contempt of the court and of the Magistrate.
And then Malcolm McClure and ‘some of his supporters’ were then permitted to leave town in an unregistered motor vehicle.  And the police did nothing???????? 
The only plausible explanation is that Malcolm McClure is a government spook.  Nobody would get away from committing the offences that Malcolm had unless he was working for a government Intelligence body.
My amazement was not yet complete.  At the end of Malcolm’s adventures, that most right-wing conservative body, the League of Right’s spokesman, Jeremy Lee got up and congratulated Malcolm on his persistence and courage, and stated that perhaps Malcolm could take over HASCO and let Himself (Jeremy Lee) retire.
Not to be outdone, Senator Len Harris, got up and applauded Malcolm’s resolve and stated that he, Senator Len Harris had been a member of ‘Upmart’ since 2001. 
Thus when Senator Len Harris told me in 2002 that he wasn’t certain of the legality of ‘Upmart’s’ stance on motor vehicle registration and licences, Senator Harris was being more than coy.
To test out my belief, I again went to the Geelong Police Station, and this time reported the matter to a ‘Duty Officer’, a policeman with the rank of Inspector. 
We had a good chat together, as we both knew some of the same former police members. 
The Inspector told me of similar problems they had with Malcolm McDougall, and that every complaint made by such people was automatically forwarded to the DPP’s office where the complaint was filed in the waste paper bin. 
The inspector also assured me that he would forward my complaint to the Geelong ‘Intelligence Unit’.
Two days later I received a telephone call from the Inspector implying that he had indeed spoken to the Geelong Police Intelligence Unit. 
The Inspector was very agitated.  He informed me that Malcolm McClure had done nothing wrong, and that it was perfectly normal for people to drive around in cars with their own personalised plates attached.  The Inspector couldn’t finish the conversation quickly enough.
In other words, even though Malcolm McClure’s vehicle appeared to have ‘Upmart’ registration plates on, those plates had to have been manufactured by ‘Vic Roads’ and both the plates and the vehicle were registered with ‘Vic Roads’. 
Thus Malcolm McClure was an ‘Agent Provocateur’ and ‘Upmart’ is an Intelligence body.
Now Geelong has been resisting government designs to fluoride our water system for over five years.  The anti-fluoride movement was quite vocal in its resistance to the State government. 
I would believe the movement was being more than successful when one day as I was walking past Market Square in Little Malop Street, I saw a tent pitched on the sidewalk for the purpose of collecting a petition against fluoridation.
I entered the tent and was spoken to by a very wooden though professional ‘gentleman’ who called himself an ‘Electoral Officer’. 
We went through the motions of ‘proper’ identification, and it was only when we were half way through filling out the forms that I saw the ‘Upmart’ name printed on the forms.  I realised then that I had been conned.
What I believe ‘Upmart’ is about is the identification of possible resistance against a ‘totalitarian government’.  That is why they ‘collect’ names. 
People who were caught in the registration scam had their belief system totally denigrated, just like a sheep bolting from a flock would have been targeted by a sheepdog, and guided back to the fold. 
Thus I guess to our ‘government we are simply sheep, to ‘Upmart’ we definitely are sheep.
Andrew S. MacGregor
Addenda:
Leonard William Clampett, as mentioned by both Malcolm McClure and Senator Len Harris is definitely ASIO
When Joe Vialls left Australia to play the role of Ari Ben Menashe in Zimbabwe, Joe had started a ‘Save Martin Bryant’ campaign, and it was Leonard Clampett who filled in for Joe. 
Leonard had also spoken a couple of times at the “Inverell Forum” an ASIO front for ‘independent thinkers’
Running this operation were at least two ASIO officers, Robert Balgarnie and Denis Stephenson
Balgarnie was also the ‘proof reader’ of the alternative newspaper, ‘The Strategy’ run by Ray Platt, another ASIO operation
Other ASIO operatives associated with the ‘Inverell Forum’ were Tony Pitt from Queensland, Leslie Feather from Toorak in Victoria and ‘The Pastor’, Neville Andrews from Moonee Ponds.
Malcolm McDougall; had a small office off Moorabool Street in Geelong.  It was frequently staffed by a ‘retired’ tram conductress from Corio. 
I attended there one day and speaking about the Port Arthur Massacre, along with other massacres that had been perpetrated on the Australian people by our governments, I raised the issue of bringing on a revolution, and putting some of these people against a brick wall.
A short time later when there was only myself and a ‘farmer’ from the Western District, the farmer spoke to me, and said he liked my speech, except for the part of bringing on the revolution. 
Now Malcolm McDougall had always looked the part of a radical, with his long black untidy hair, and his dishevelled appearance, but the ‘farmer was of a different style. 
He was a big man, in his thirties, with a very neat appearance and with short haircut, much like the military or police, and he caused me to stop and think.  I never went back to Malcolm’s “Office”.  I didn’t trust him anymore, not with a spook in the corner.


MONARCHY OF AUSTRALIA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Queen Elizabeth II of Australia
Monarchy
Federal
Coat of arms of Australia.svg
Coat of arms of Australia

Elizabeth II greets NASA GSFC employees, May 8, 2007 edit.jpg
Incumbent:
Elizabeth II

Style: Her Majesty
Heir apparent: Charles, Prince of Wales
First monarch: Queen Victoria
Formation: 1 January 1901

The Monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarchy is a constitutional one, modelled on the Westminster style of parliamentary government, incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.
The present monarch is Elizabeth II, styled Queen of Australia, who has reigned since 6 February 1952. She is represented in Australia by the governor-general, in accordance with the Australian constitution and Letters Patent from the Queen.[1][2] In each of the states, the monarch is represented by a governor, appointed directly by the Queen on the advice of each of her respective state governments.

The Australian monarch, besides reigning in Australia, separately serves as monarch for each of fifteen other Commonwealth countries known as Commonwealth realms. This developed from the former colonial relationship of these countries to Britain, but they are now independent of each other and are legally distinct.

International and domestic aspects

Further information: Commonwealth realm: The Crown in the Commonwealth realms
The monarch of Australia is the same person as the monarch of the fifteen other Commonwealth realms within the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations; however, each country is sovereign and independent of the others.[3] On all matters of the Australian Commonwealth, the monarch is advised by Australian federal Ministers of the Crown[4][5] and, effective with the Australia Act 1986, no British government can advise the monarch on any matters pertinent to Australia. Likewise, on all matters relating to any Australian state, the monarch is advised by the ministers of the Crown of that state. The British government is thus considered a foreign power in regard to Australia's domestic and foreign affairs. Still, the High Court of Australia found that those natural-born citizens of other Commonwealth realms who migrated to Australia could not be classified as aliens (as referred to in the constitution) within Australia, given that they owed allegiance to the same monarch and thus are subjects of the Queen of Australia.[6] However, in Sue v Hill, the High Court of Australia found that the United Kingdom was a foreign power for the purposes of Section 44 of the Australian Constitution, which determines eligibility for parliamentary office.[7]

Title

The shared and domestic aspects of the Crown are also highlighted in the sovereign's Australian title, currently Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. The sovereign's role specifically as the Australian monarch, as well as her status as monarch of other nations, is communicated by mentioning Australia separately from, but along with, the Queen's other lands. Typically, the sovereign is styled Queen of Australia and is addressed as such when in Australia or performing duties on behalf of Australia abroad. The sovereign is the only member of the Royal Family to have a title established through Australian law; other members are accorded a courtesy title, which is the title they have been granted via Letters Patent in the United Kingdom.
Prior to 1953, the title had simply been the same as that in the United Kingdom, the current form of the title being the result of occasional discussion and an eventual meeting of Commonwealth representatives in London in December 1952, at which Canada's preferred format for the monarch's title was: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of [Realm] and of Her other realms and territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith;[8] however, Australia wished to have the United Kingdom mentioned as well.[9] Thus, the resolution was a title that included the United Kingdom but, for the first time, also mentioned Australia and the other Commonwealth realms, separately. The passage of a new Royal Style and Titles Act by the Parliament of Australia put these recommendations into law. This act was further amended in 1973, removing specific reference to the monarch's role as Queen of the United Kingdom. Still, laws pre-dating the Royal Styles and Titles Acts have not been amended to alter references to the Queen of the United Kingdom.[10]

Finance

Australians do not pay any money to the Queen, either for personal income or to support the royal residences outside of Australia. Only when the Queen is in Australia, or acting abroad as Queen of Australia, does the Australian government support her in the performance of her duties. This rule applies equally to other members of the Royal Family. Usually the Queen's Australian governments pays only for the costs associated with the governor-general and governors in their exercising of the powers of the Crown on behalf of the Queen, including travel, security, residences, offices and ceremonial occasions, etc.

Succession



Australian Royal Family
Australian Coat of Arms.png
The Queen
The Duke of Edinburgh



Succession is by primogeniture[11] governed by the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701, Bill of Rights 1689, and Royal Marriages Act 1772, which limits the succession to the natural (non-adopted), legitimate descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover and stipulates that the monarch must be in communion with the Church of England upon ascending the throne. The law still gives preference to sons over any older sisters and stipulates that the monarch cannot be married to a Roman Catholic, but as of 2011 these laws are projected to change.[11] These acts are incorporated into Australian law[12] and lie within the control of the Australian parliament;[13] however, via adopting the Statute of Westminster, Australia agreed not to change its rules of succession without the unanimous consent of the other realms, unless explicitly leaving the shared monarchy relationship; a situation which applies symmetrically in all the other realms and which has been likened to a treaty amongst these countries.[14]

Charles, Prince of Wales, is the heir apparent to succeed Queen Elizabeth II.

Upon a demise of the Crown (the death or abdication of a sovereign), it is customary for the accession of the new monarch to be publicly proclaimed by the governor-general on behalf of the Federal Executive Council, which meets at Government House, Canberra, after the accession. Parallel proclamations are made by the governors in each state.[15] Regardless of any proclamations, the late sovereign's heir immediately and automatically succeeds, without any need for confirmation or further ceremony; hence arises the phrase "The King is dead. Long live the King!". Following an appropriate period of mourning, the monarch is also crowned in the United Kingdom, though this ritual is not necessary for a sovereign to reign; for example, Edward VIII was never crowned, yet was undoubtedly king during his short time on the throne. After an individual ascends the throne, he or she typically continues to reign until death. There is no provision in the law for a monarch to unilaterally abdicate; the only Australian monarch to abdicate, Edward VIII, did so with the authorisation of the Australian government, granted in His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act, 1936.

Personification of the state

Today, the sovereign is regarded as the legal personality of the Australian state, and therefore is referred to as Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Australia. For example, if a lawsuit is filed against the Commonwealth government, the respondent is formally described as Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Australia, or simply Regina. Likewise, in a case in which a party sues both the state of Queensland and the federal government, the respondents would formally be called Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Queensland and Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Australia respectively.[citation needed]
As such, all state lands are called Crown land, state-owned buildings and equipment are called Crown-held property, and the copyright for all government publications is called Crown copyright. In this role, the monarch is also the locus of oaths of allegiance; many employees of the Crown are required by law to recite this oath before taking their posts, such as all members of the Commonwealth parliament, all members of the state and territorial parliaments, as well as all magistrates, judges, and justices of the peace. This is in reciprocation to the sovereign's Coronation Oath, wherein he or she promises "to govern the Peoples of... Australia... according to their respective laws and customs".[16] Previously, new appointees to Cabinet would also swear an oath that included allegiance to the monarch before taking their post. This oath was never written in law, however, and would only take the form of what the prime minister of the time suggested to the governor-general. In December 2007, Kevin Rudd did not swear allegiance to the sovereign when sworn in by the Governor-General, making him the first prime minister not to do so;[17] however, he (like all other Members of Parliament) did swear allegiance to the Queen, as required by law, when sworn-in by the Governor-General as newly elected parliamentarians. Similarly, the Oath of Citizenship contained a statement of allegiance to the reigning monarch until 1994, when a pledge of allegiance to "Australia" and its values was introduced. The High Court found, in 2002, though, that allegiance to the Queen of Australia was the "fundamental criterion of membership" in the Australian body politic, from a constitutional, rather than statutory, point of view.[6]

Constitutional role
























We have a very good system now in terms of political stability... one of the reasons why we have had this wonderful stability is because of the constitutional linkages from Crown to Governor-General to Prime Minister at the Federal level, and Crown to Governor to Premiers at the State level. There are checks and balances in the system, and that is why we never had civil wars, that is why we never had huge political upheavals except in '32 and '75. So the system as it is has worked very well.[18]

Australia Act 1986 (United Kingdom) document, located in Parliament House, Canberra, and bearing the signature of Elizabeth II as Queen of the United Kingdom.
Australia's constitution is a written one, based on the Westminster model of government, with federal elements modelled on the United States Constitution and a distinct separation of powers. It gives Australia a parliamentary system of government similar to the other Commonwealth realms, wherein the role of the Queen and the Governor-General is both legal and practical. The Crown is regarded as a corporation, in which several parts share the authority of the whole, with the Queen as the person at the centre of the constitutional construct,[19] The 1993 Republic Advisory Committee concluded that "the Queen" in the constitution means "the Australian Government".[5] The sovereign is represented in the federal sphere by the governor-general—appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia—and in the states by governors—appointed by the monarch upon the advice of the relevant state premier.
There is some debate over whether the sovereign or the governor-general is Australia's head of state.[20]

Executive

In Australia's constitutional system, one of the main duties of the governor-general is to appoint a prime minister, who thereafter heads the Cabinet and advises the governor-general on how to execute his or her executive powers over all aspects of government operations and foreign affairs. This means that the monarch's and the viceroy's roles are primarily symbolic and cultural, acting as a symbol of the legal authority under which all governments and agencies operate. In practice, ministers direct the use of the royal prerogative, which includes the privilege to declare war, maintain peace, and direct the actions of the Australian Defence Force. The governor-general is empowered by the constitution to summon and prorogue parliament, and call elections; however the powers are almost never exercised without advice from the prime minister. Still, the royal prerogative belongs to the Crown, and not to any of the ministers and the governor-general may unilaterally use these powers in exceptional constitutional crisis situations,[21] such as when, during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, Sir John Kerr dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, on the occasion of a stalemate over government funding between the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are also a few duties which must be specifically performed by the Queen. These include signing the appointment papers of governors-general, the confirmation of the creation of awards of Australian honours,[22][23] and the approval of any change in her Australian title.
In accordance with convention, the governor-general, to maintain the stability of government, must appoint as prime minister the individual most likely to maintain the support of the House of Representatives: usually the leader of the political party with a majority in that house, but also when no party or coalition holds a majority (referred to as a minority government situation), or other scenarios in which the governor-general's judgement about the most suitable candidate for prime minister has to be brought into play.[24] The governor-general also appoints to Cabinet the other ministers of the Crown, who are, in turn, accountable to the Parliament, and through it, to the people. The Queen is informed by her viceroy of the acceptance of the resignation of a prime minister and the swearing-in of a new prime minister and other members of the ministry, and she holds audience with her Australian ministers where possible.[25]
Members of various executive agencies and other officials are appointed by the governor-general, including High Court justices. Ministers and parliamentary secretaries are also appointed to the Federal Executive Council (Australia). Public inquiries are also commissioned by the Crown through a Royal Warrant, and are called Royal Commissions. A casual vacancy in the Senate is filled by an appointee from the same political party by a state parliament or state governor.

Foreign affairs

The royal prerogative also extends to foreign affairs: the Governor-General-in-Council negotiates and ratifies treaties, alliances, and international agreements.[26] As with other uses of the royal prerogative, no parliamentary approval is required;[27] however, a treaty cannot alter the domestic laws of Australia; an Act of Parliament is necessary in such cases. The governor-general, on behalf of the Queen, also accredits Australian High Commissioners and ambassadors, and receives diplomats from foreign states. In addition, the issuance of passports falls under the royal prerogative, and, as such, all Australian passports are issued in the name of the governor-general as the monarch's representative.

Parliament

The sovereign, along with the Senate and the House of Representatives, being one of the three components of parliament, is called the Queen-in-Parliament. The authority of the Crown therein is embodied in the mace (House of Representatives) and Black Rod (Senate), which both bear a crown at their apex. The monarch and viceroy do not, however, participate in the legislative process save for the granting of Royal Assent by the governor-general. Further, the constitution outlines that the governor-general alone is responsible for summoning, proroguing, and dissolving parliament,[28] after which the writs for a general election are usually dropped by the Prime Minister at Government House. The new parliamentary session is marked by the State Opening of Parliament, during which either the monarch or the governor-general reads the Speech from the Throne. As the monarch and viceroy, by convention, cannot enter the House of Representatives, this, as well as the bestowing of Royal Assent, takes place in the Senate chamber; Members of Parliament are summoned to these ceremonies from the House of Representatives by the Crown's messenger, the Usher of the Black Rod, after he knocks on the doors of the lower house that have been slammed closed on him to symbolise the barring of the monarch from the House of Representatives.
All laws in Australia, except in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Legislative Assembly, are enacted only with the viceroy's granting of Royal Assent, done by the governor-general or relevant governor, with the Great Seal of Australia or the appropriate state seal, while territorial legislatures, unlike their state counterparts, are subject to the oversight of the government of Australia. The governor-general may reserve a bill "for the Queen's pleasure"; that is withhold his consent to the bill and present it to the sovereign for her personal decision. Under the constitution, the sovereign also has the power to disallow a bill within one year of the Governor-General having granted Royal Assent.[29] This power, however, has never been used.

Courts

In the United Kingdom, the sovereign is deemed the fount of justice.[30][31] However, he or she does not personally rule in judicial cases,[30] meaning that judicial functions are normally performed only in the monarch's name. Criminal offences are legally deemed to be offences against the sovereign and proceedings for indictable offences are brought in the sovereign's name in the form of The Queen [or King] against [Name] (sometimes also referred to as the Crown against [Name]).[32][33] Hence, the common law holds that the sovereign "can do no wrong"; the monarch cannot be prosecuted in his or her own courts for criminal offences. Civil lawsuits against the Crown in its public capacity (that is, lawsuits against the government) are permitted; however, lawsuits against the monarch personally are not cognisable. In international cases, as a sovereign and under established principles of international law, the Queen of Australia is not subject to suit in foreign courts without her express consent. The prerogative of mercy lies with the monarch, and is exercised in the state jurisdictions by the governors,[34] who may pardon offences against the Crown, either before, during, or after a trial.
In addition, the monarch also serves as a symbol of the legitimacy of courts of justice, and of their judicial authority; sessions of the High Court, for example, are opened with the words "the High Court of Australia is now in session; God Save the Queen." In a practice dating back to colonial times, state courts traditionally display the arms of the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom, except in New South Wales, where some of these have been replaced with the state arms.

States and territories

In accordance with the Australia Act 1986, the Queen has the power to appoint, on the advice of the relevant state premier, a governor in each of the Australian states, who themselves appoint executive bodies, as well as people to fill casual Senate vacancies, if the relevant state parliament is not in session, under the Great Seal of the State. The state governors continue to serve as the direct representatives of the Queen, in no way subordinate to the governor-general, and they carry out on her behalf all of the Queen's constitutional and ceremonial duties in respect of their respective state. The Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory resemble states in many respects, but are administered directly by the Commonwealth of Australia; an administrator, appointed by the governor-general upon the advice of the Commonwealth government, takes the place of a state governor in the Northern Territory. The Australian Capital Territory has no equivalent position.

Cultural role

Royal presence and duties

Members of the Royal Family have been present in Australia since the late 1800s, on military manoeuvres, for official tours, or as the vice-regal representative of the monarch. Queen Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch of Australia to set foot on Australian soil on 3 February 1954. The Queen has visited the country sixteen times, usually on important milestones, anniversaries, or celebrations of Australian culture, while other royals have been asked to participate in lesser occasions. In these instances, when acting at the direction of the Australian Cabinet, they are doing so as monarch of Australia and members of the Australian Royal Family, respectively, and will carry out two types of duties:

Elizabeth II tours the Australian War Memorial, February 1954

Official duties involve the sovereign representing the state at home or abroad, or other Royal Family members participating in a government organised ceremony either in Australia or elsewhere.[35] The sovereign and/or his or her family have participated in events such as various centennials and bicentennials; Australia Day; the openings of Olympic and other games; award ceremonies; D-Day commemorations; anniversaries of the monarch's accession; and the like. Other royals have participated in Australian ceremonies or undertaken duties abroad, such as Prince Charles at the Anzac Day ceremonies at Gallipoli, or when the Queen, Prince Charles, and Princess Anne participated in Australian ceremonies for the anniversary of D-Day in France in 2004. On 22 February 2009, Princess Anne represented Queen Elizabeth II at the National Bushfires Memorial Service in Melbourne.[36][37] The Queen also showed her support for the people of Australia by making a personal statement about the bushfires[38] and by also making private donation to the Australian Red Cross Appeal.[39] The Duke of Edinburgh was the first to sign a book of condolences at the Australian High Commission in London.[39]
Unofficial duties are performed by Royal Family members on behalf of Australian organisations of which they may be patrons, through their attendance at charity events, visiting with members of the Australian Defence Force as Colonel-in-Chief, or marking certain key anniversaries. The invitation and expenses associated with these undertakings are usually borne by the associated organisation.
Apart from Australia, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family regularly perform public duties in the other fifteen nations of the Commonwealth in which the Queen is sovereign. As the Crown within these countries is a legally separate entity from the Australian Crown, it is funded in these countries individually, through the ordinary legislative budgeting process.

Symbols

The monarchy is presently symbolised through images of the sovereign on currency and in portraits in public buildings; on Australian decorations and honours, some postage stamps and on coats of arms and other government symbols. The crown is used as a heraldic symbol in the coats of arms of the Commonwealth and the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. Crowns are also visible on police and military badges. The Queen's Birthday is observed as a public holiday in all states.
"God Save the Queen" is Australia's royal anthem. The Vice-Regal Salute, played only for the governor-general and each state governor, is the first four and last four bars of "Advance Australia Fair".
There are also hundreds of places named after Australian and British monarchs and members of the Royal Family. The states of Queensland and Victoria were named after Queen Victoria; Adelaide, the capital of South Australia is named after Queen Adelaide, the consort of William IV; numerous streets, squares, parks and buildings are also named in honour of past or present members of the Royal Family.

Religious role

The Queen and Prince Philip attending an Anglican service in Canberra

Neither the Queen, the governor-general, or any state governor have any religious role in Australia. There never has been an established church in Australia, either before or since Federation in 1901. Pursuant to the Australian Constitution the Commonwealth may not enact a law establishing or prohibiting the free exercise of religion.[40] This is one of the key differences from the Queen's role in England where she is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Vice-regal residences

The Governor-General's official residence is Government House, commonly known as "Yarralumla", in the city of Canberra. The Australian monarch stays there when visiting the country as do some other visiting heads of state.[41] Government House is the site of most state banquets, investitures, swearing-in of ministers, and other ceremonies. Another vice-regal residence is Admiralty House, in Sydney, and is used principally as a retreat for the Governor-General. The states of New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland, Tasmania, and South Australia also maintain residences, used by the respective Governors, though the monarch or other members of the Royal Family will stay there when in the state. These residences are the property of the Crown in respect of each relevant federal or state government, and not of the monarch in his or her personal capacity.

Australian Defence Force

The Princess Royal passes behind the Princess Anne Banner at a parade for the 75th anniversary of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals

The Crown has a place in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), which consists of the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and Royal Australian Air Force.
Section 68 of the Australian Constitution says: "The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the Queen's representative." In practice, however, the governor-general does not play any part in the ADF's command structure and the ADF is under the control of the Minister for Defence and several subordinate ministers. The minister advises the governor-general, who acts as advised in the normal form of executive government.[42]
Australian naval vessels bear the prefix Her Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS) and many regiments carry the "royal" prefix.[43] Members of the Royal Family have presided over military ceremonies, including Trooping the Colours, inspections of the troops, and anniversaries of key battles. When the Queen is in Canberra, she lays a wreath at the Australian War Memorial. In 2003, Elizabeth II acted in her capacity as Australian monarch when she dedicated the Australian War Memorial in Hyde Park, London.[1]
Some members of the Royal Family are Colonels-in-Chief of Australian regiments, including: the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery; Royal Australian Army Medical Corps; the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and the Royal Australian Corps of Signals, amongst many others. The Queen's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, is an Admiral of the Fleet[44] in right of the Royal Australian Navy, Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force, and Field Marshal of the Australian Army.

History

The development of a distinctly Australian monarchy came about through a complex set of incremental events, beginning with the initial settlements of the territory in 1770, when Captain James Cook, in the name of, and under instruction from, King George III, claimed the east coast of Australia.[45] Colonies were soon after founded across the continent,[46][47] all of them ruled by the monarch of the United Kingdom, upon the advice of his or her British ministers, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in particular. After Queen Victoria's granting of Royal Assent to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act on 9 July 1900, which brought about Federation in 1901, whereupon the six colonies became the states of Australia, the relationship between the state governments and the Crown remained as it was pre-1901: References in the constitution to "the Queen" meant the government of the United Kingdom (in the formation of which Australians had no say)[5] and the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 – by which colonial laws deemed repugnant to imperial (British) law in force in the colony were rendered void and inoperative – remained in force at in both the federal and state spheres;[48] and all the governors, both of the Commonwealth and the states, remained appointees of the British monarch on the advice of the British Cabinet,[49] a situation that continued even after Australia was recognised as a Dominion of the British Empire in 1907.[50] As Queen-Empress, Victoria "symbolised the British Empire of which all Australians were subjects".[5]

A statue of King George V looks over King's Hall in Old Parliament House, Canberra

In response to calls from some Dominions for a re-evaluation in their status under the Crown after their sacrifice and performance in the First World War,[51] a series of Imperial Conferences was held in London, from 1917 on, which resulted in the Balfour Declaration of 1926, which provided that the United Kingdom and the Dominions were to be considered as "autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate to one another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown." The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act, 1927, an Act of the Westminster Parliament, was the first indication of a shift in the law, before the Imperial Conference of 1930 established that the Australian Cabinet could advise the sovereign directly on the choice of Governor-General, which ensured the independence of the office.[52] The Crown was further separated amongst its dominions by the Statute of Westminster 1931,[53] and, though it was not adopted by Australia until 1942 (retroactive to 3 September 1939),[54] the law's validity in the United Kingdom required its government to seek Australia's consent in allowing the abdication of Edward VIII as the King of Australia and all the other Dominions in 1936.
The Curtin Labor Government appointed Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, as Governor-General during the Second World War. Curtin hoped the appointment might influence the British to despatch men and equipment to the Pacific War, and the selection of the brother of King George VI reaffirmed the important role of the Crown to the Australian nation at that time.[55] Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia in 1954, greeted by huge crowds across the nation. Her son Prince Charles attended school in Australia in 1967.[56] Her grandson Prince Harry undertook a portion of his gap-year living and working in Australia in 2003.[57]
The sovereign did not possess a title unique to Australia until the Australian parliament enacted the Royal Styles and Titles Act in 1953, after the accession of Elizabeth II to the throne, and giving her the title of Queen of the United Kingdom, Australia and Her other Realms and Territories. Still, Elizabeth remained both as a queen who reigned in Australia both as Queen of Australia (in the federal jurisdiction) and Queen of the United Kingdom (in each of the states), as a result of the states not wishing to have the Statute of Westminster apply to them, believing that the status quo better protected their sovereign interests against an expansionist federal government, which left the Colonial Laws Validity Act in effect. Thus, the British monarch could still – at least in theory, if not with some difficulty in practice – legislate for the Australian states, and the viceroys in the states were appointed by and represented the sovereign of the United Kingdom, not that of Australia;[58] as late as 1976, the British ministry advised the Queen to reject the nominee of the Queensland Cabinet for Governor.[59] It was with the passage of the Australia Act in 1986, which repealed the Colonial Laws Validity Act, that the final vestiges of the British monarchy in Australia were removed, leaving a distinct Australian monarchy for the nation.

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, with students of his Australian alma mater, Geelong Grammar School, in Corio, Victoria

It was around the same time that a discussion on the matter of Australia becoming a republic began to emerge, culminating, a decade later, in the 1999 Australian republic referendum, which was defeated by 54.4% of the populace, despite recent polls showing that the majority supported becoming a republic.[60] It is believed the proposed model of the republic (not having a directly elected president) was unsatisfactory to most Australians.[61] The referendum followed the recommendation of a 1998 Constitutional Convention called to discuss the issue of Australia becoming a republic. Still, nearly another ten years later, Kevin Rudd was appointed as Prime Minister, whereafter he affirmed that a republic was still a part of his party's platform, and stated his belief that the debate on constitutional change should continue.[62]
The previous Prime Minister, Julia Gillard re-affirmed her party's platform about a possible future republic. She stated that she would like to see Australia become a republic, with an appropriate time being when there is a change in monarch. A statement unaligned to this position was recorded on 21 October 2011 at a reception in the presence of the Queen at Parliament House in Canberra when Prime Minister Gillard stated that the monarch is "a vital constitutional part of Australian democracy and would only ever be welcomed as a beloved and respected friend."[63] The then Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, a former head of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy stated on 21 October 2011, "Your Majesty, while 11 prime ministers and no less than 17 opposition leaders have come and gone, for 60 years you have been a presence in our national story and given the vagaries of public life, I'm confident that this will not be the final tally of the politicians that you have outlasted."[64]
A Morgan poll taken in October 2011 found that support for constitutional change was at its lowest for 20 years. Of those surveyed 34% were pro-republic as opposed to 55% pro-monarchist, preferring to maintain the current constitutional arrangements.[65]

List of Australian monarchs

No. Portrait Regnal name Reign over the
Commonwealth of Australia
Full name Consort
1 Queen Victoria 1887.jpg Victoria
(1819–1901) House of Hanover
1 January 1901 22 January 1901 Alexandrina Victoria none during Australian reign
Governors general:John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun
Prime ministers: Edmund Barton
2 Edward VII in coronation robes.jpg Edward VII
(1841–1910) House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
22 January 1901 6 May 1910 Albert Edward Alexandra of Denmark
Governors general:John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote, William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley
Prime ministers: Sir Edmund Barton, Alfred Deakin, Chris Watson, George Reid, Alfred Deakin, Andrew Fisher, Alfred Deakin
3 George V of the united Kingdom.jpg George V
(1865–1936)
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (until 1917)
House of Windsor (after 1917)
6 May 1910 20 January 1936 George Frederick Ernest Albert Mary of Teck
Governors general:William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman, Sir Ronald Ferguson, Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, John Baird, 1st Baron Stonehaven. Sir Isaac Isaacs
Prime ministers: Andrew Fisher, Joseph Cook, Andrew Fisher, Billy Hughes, Stanley Bruce, James Scullin, Joseph Lyons
4 The Duke of Windsor (1945).jpg Edward VIII
(1894–1972)
House of Windsor
20 January 1936 11 December 1936 Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David none
Governors general: Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs, Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
Prime ministers: Joseph Lyons
5 King George VI.jpg George VI
(1895–1952)
House of Windsor
11 December 1936 6 February 1952 Albert Frederick Arthur George Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Governors general: Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Sir William McKell
Prime ministers: Joseph Lyons, Sir Earle Page, Robert Menzies, Arthur Fadden, John Curtin, Frank Forde, Ben Chifley, Sir Robert Menzies
6 Elizabeth II greets NASA GSFC employees, May 8, 2007 edit.jpg Elizabeth II
(1926–)
House of Windsor
6 February 1952 Present Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Governors general: Sir William McKell, Sir William Slim, William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle, Richard Casey, Baron Casey, Sir Paul Hasluck, Sir John Kerr, Sir Zelman Cowen, Sir Ninian Stephen, William Hayden, Sir William Deane, Peter Hollingworth, Michael Jeffery, Quentin Bryce
Prime ministers: Sir Robert Menzies, Harold Holt, John McEwen, John Gorton, William McMahon, Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Australia