Submission and testimony to the Australian House of Representatives Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry into Constitutional reforms and referendums

Description

The research engagement related to an inquiry conducted by the House of Representatives Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs into constitutional reforms and referendums.
My involvement in the Committee’s inquiry fell into two parts. The first was writing a submission in in which I began by discussing impediments to reform, and in particular the lack of public awareness of how the constitution works, which is itself the product of deficiencies in civics education. I then I identified several aspects of the constitution which are in need of reform and made specific recommendations on how the constitution should be amended in order to address those issues. My submission is accessible at the inquiry's website.

The second aspect of my involvement took the form of an appearance before the Committee to give evidence and answer questions. This involved preparation prior to the hearing and then giving evidence at it. The Hansard transcript of this session is available on the parliamentary Handsard website.

The report published by the Committee refers to my written and oral submissions in numerous places, including by direct quotation from my contributions. The report also be accessed on the committee's website.

Period	Jun 2021 → Sept 2021
Work for	Parliament of Australia, Australia
Degree of Recognition	National