Democratic Alternative Information Service:
  Policies

Responses to the "People's President" Proposal

1. Peter Janssen (Candidate)

A carefully thought out proposal that addresses the problem of the reserve powers as well as democratic election of a President.

 

2. Tim O'Dwyer (Candidate)

"Super Zel's Absence: An Ominous Warning" - a cautionary tale addressing a possible pitfall of popular election: the likely reluctance of distinguished Australians to offer themselves in a popularity contest.

 

3. Charles Mollison (Candidate)

A specific response to the proposal, pointing out some pitfalls facing the proposal while party politics plays too large a role in our Parliament.

 

4. Margaret Hockey (Candidate)

A specific response to the proposal, from the point of view of a sceptic with regard to popular election.

 

5. Ross Garrad (A response to myself)

First a super-simple proposal that gives us our own Head of State and changes nothing else, and then a "second-best" proposal based on the Evans model of a Constitutional Council which appoints the President.

 

6. David Shannon

An outline of a major restructuring of our system of government, featuring the abolition of state governments and greatly improved accountability to the people.

 

7. Bruce Jackson

A very interesting proposal for selection of the Head of State by a jury of citizens, selected at random from the electoral roll.

Do you have a response to the "People's President" proposal, or an alternative method for selecting the Head of State?
E-mail it to republic@suncoast.com.au

Ross Garrad, 2 December 1997
revised 19 November 2002