Australia has been called the “frozen continent” for its many failures to effect changes to the Constitution via the processes prescribed in section 128. And yet this rigid referendum process has not impeded constitutional advancement. Today the Australian polity wields broad-ranging national powers over most spheres of activities in Australia. The High Court of Australia plays a pivotal role in ensuring that a document devised in a horse and buggy era continues to be of relevance in an age of fast-paced modernity. A broad spectrum of distinguished legal scholars and jurists engage in thoughtful and critical exegesis to explain the continuing evolution of the Australian Constitution.

The book was originally conceived as a festschrift to mark George Winterton’s retirement as Professor of Constitutional Law at Sydney University. He worked closely with H P Lee on the shaping of the framework of the volume and, in particular, worked very closely with Peter Gerangelos on the chapter which now appears under his name, a chapter which should be regarded as one co-authored with George Winterton. Unfortunately, George passed away without seeing the fruits of his labours. The book stands as a mark of admiration and respect for an outstanding and inspirational scholar.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Sir Gerard Brennan

George Winterton: A Friend to Students and Foreign Law
    Rosalind Dixon
My Mate in Empire: George Winterton and the Republic Debate
    Julian Lesser
George Winterton – A Singular, Gifted Scholar
    Laurence Maher
A Voice not Stilled – An Obituary in Recollection of George Winterton
    Robert French

    Table of Cases
    Table of Statutes
The Constitutional Amendment Process: Poetry for the Ages
    John M Williams
Advancing the Federal Principle through the Intergovernmental Immunity Doctrine
    Geoffrey Lindell
Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto: Constitutional Fidelity in Troubled Times
    HP Lee
The Constitution and the Environment
    Peter Johnston
Commonwealth Power Over Industrial Relations: Evolution Without a Referendum
    George Williams and David Hume
Native Title – A Constitutional Shift?
    Robert French
The Express Rights Provisions: Form and Substance (or Opportunities Taken or Not Taken?)
    Keven Booker and Arthur Glass
The Implied Rights Revolution – Balancing Means and Ends?
    Nicholas Aroney
Parliament, the Executive, the Governor-General and the Republic: The George Winterton Thesis
    Peter Gerangelos
The Separation of Judicial Power and Progressive Interpretation
    Fiona Wheeler
Original Meanings and Contemporary Understandings in Constitutional Interpretation
    Jeffrey Goldsworthy
Chief Justice Gleeson and the Constitution
    Leslie Zines
Constitutional Advancement - Some Reflections
    Sir Anthony Mason
    Index