Succession to the Crown (Request) Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:31): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to request the parliament of the commonwealth to enact under section 51 (xxxviii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth an act to change the law relating to royal succession and royal marriages; to amend the Treason Act 1351 passed by the Parliament of England; and for related purposes. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:33): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill will allow the passage of commonwealth legislation to reform and modernise the rules of royal succession. It will ensure that males are no longer given precedence over females in the line of succession. It will remove the current bar on those in line of succession from marrying a person of the Roman Catholic faith.

The bill will also allow the commonwealth to legislate to repeal the Royal Marriages Act 1772. That act provides that a marriage of a descendant of King George II that was not made with the monarch's permission is void.

Passage of the commonwealth legislation is an important constitutional amendment as it will change the law relating to the effect of gender and marriage on royal succession consistent with changes made to the law in the United Kingdom and ensure that the sovereign of Australia is the same person as the sovereign of the United Kingdom. The changes will be retrospective. For example, the amendment in relation to succession to the Crown based on gender takes effect for any person born after 28 October 2011.

The bill provides the mechanism for the South Australian parliament to request and consent to the commonwealth parliament's enactment of legislation to change the rules of royal succession throughout Australia. Section 51(xxxviii) of the Australian Constitution gives the commonwealth the power to pass legislation at the request of, or with the concurrence, of the parliaments of all the states directly concerned.

The original proposal for these amendments arose at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth on 28 October 2011, where the leaders of the 16 realms who have Her Majesty the Queen as sovereign (including Australia) agreed to apply uniform changes to the rules of succession in each of their jurisdictions.

After the Perth decision, the matter was put to a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments. The council agreed to introduce the reforms by a request and consent scheme, relying on section 51(xxxviii) of the Australian Constitution.

A request and consent bill such as this does not allow the commonwealth to change the rules of succession for Australia's sovereign in the future without further consultation. The commonwealth bill includes a provision, a proposed section 12, to the effect that the act can only be expressly or impliedly repealed or amended by an act passed at the request or with the concurrence of the parliaments of all of the states.

The draft commonwealth bill is included in schedule 1 of the South Australian bill. The bill also makes consequential amendments to the Treason Act 1351, passed by the parliament of England, as this applies in South Australia, to remove references to the 'eldest son and heir' and replace them with references to the 'oldest child and their heir'.

This is a significant reform, as it will modernise the rules of royal succession and bring them more into line with the views of modern society. I commend the bill to honourable members and seek leave to have the explanation of clauses inserted into Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Name of Act

This clause establishes the short title of the proposed Act.

2—Commencement

This clause sets out the commencement of the Bill. Commencement occurs on the day of assent subject to the commencement of clauses 6, 7 and proposed Schedule 2. Clause 6 and proposed Schedule 2 come into operation on the day and time that section 6 of the Commonwealth Act commences and clause 7 comes into operation on the day and time that section 10 of the Commonwealth Act commences.

3—Object of this Act

This clause sets out the object of the measure. The main object of the Bill is to facilitate the law relating to the effect of gender and marriage on royal succession being changed uniformly across Australia and consistently with changes made to that law in the United Kingdom. This is to ensure that the Sovereign of Australia is the same person as the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.

4—Relationship with Sovereign not affected

Proposed section 4 makes it clear that it is not the intention of the Bill to affect the relationship between the Sovereign and the State as existing immediately before its enactment or that the relationship be in any way affected by the enactment by the Parliament of the Commonwealth of the Act requested by proposed section 5.

Part 2—Request for Commonwealth legislation

5—Request for Commonwealth legislation

This clause states that the Parliament of the State requests the enactment by the Parliament of the Commonwealth of an Act in the terms, or substantially in the terms, set out in proposed Schedule 1.

Part 3—General

6—Consequential amendment

This clause states that on the coming into operation of proposed Schedule 2, the Act specified in the heading to clause 1 of that Schedule is amended as set out in that clause.

7—References to Bill of Rights and Act of Settlement

Clause 7 provides that references in any law that is part of the law of the State, to the provisions of the Bill of Rights or the Act of Settlement relating to the succession to, or possession of, the Crown are to be read as including references to the provisions of this Act and of the Commonwealth Act the enactment of which is requested by section 5.

Schedule 1—Requested Commonwealth Act

Proposed Schedule 1 sets out the Succession to the Crown Act 2014 of the Commonwealth as requested by this Bill.

The Commonwealth Act makes various changes to the law relating to the effect of gender and marriage on royal succession.

Schedule 2—Consequential amendment

1—Amendment of Treason Act 1351 passed by the Parliament of England

Proposed Schedule 2 makes a consequential change to the Treason Act 1351 passed by the Parliament of England (and this Act still forms part of the law of South Australia—see section 10 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935).

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.