Australia’s constitution aims to take the best from the constitutions of the UK, the US and Switzerland. But Alfred Deakin persuaded SA Premier Charles Kingston not to argue for Swiss-style citizen-initiated-referendums because he thought the Australianised Westminster system would be just as good. So although it took ten referenda to achieve federation, Australians – unlike the Swiss – aren’t trusted to supervise politicians – the very people who clearly need regular supervision.
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