Deliberative Democracy and the People: The Australian Experience
A constitutional focus is applied to a consideration of the concept of "the people" & their role in Australia's evolving deliberative democracy in light of the persistence of the monarchy in the body politic. Following a brief explication of the concept of "the people" & their ambiguous position in the Australian constitutional landscape, a particular manifestation of the people is examined in terms of the constitutional notions of sovereignty & public trust. It is contended that these approaches offer an adequate understanding of the foundational role of the people; however, using this idea in other than an aspiration form foregrounds issues of political representation & democracy. Attention is given to Dicey's notions of parliamentary sovereignty & supreme court challenges to it, before addressing Australian republicanism & the public trust vis-a-vis the judiciary. J. Zendejas