Comparison of Minimalist Option 1 with the Current Constitution

• The names of the authors are clickable, & will carry you to the text of the proposal in question.
• "GG" means "Governor-General", "Gov." means (State) Governor, and "PM" means "Prime Minister".
• "N/A" means "not applicable" (used mainly in the Existing System  column).
• "Not entrenched" means the feature can in the case of the proposal in question be changed by a simple Act of Parliament (as opposed to a constitutional amendment). That is, no referendum is required to change it.
• "On advice" is used as shorthand for "on the advice of" the PM, Cabinet, or advisory council, as the case requires.
• "Possible" means no constitutional  impediment is stipulated (though Parliament, of course, might impose one anyway by statute).
• "Possibly" followed by reference(s) to provision(s) in the draft in question (eg "Possibly (s60)") means that the provisions cited could  be interpreted as having the effect listed. When there's a "v" (as in "versus") amid the refere nces (eg "Possibly (s60 v s5)") it means we have a possible conflict.
• "s" means "section". (Thus, "s60" means section 60 (of the Federal Constitution), and "ss59 and 60" means sections 59 and 60.)
• "Unclear" means not enough explicit  information is supplied in the sources to give a fair statement in these tables. Mainly used in the Keating  & PPAS  columns (where there is no draft, or no full draft. Merel y a statement of principles and preferences).
• "voter" means a person entitled to vote for the House of Representatives.

Choosing the Head of State
Proposal		Existing System	Peter Crayson's Constitution
Term	Length (yrs)	Not stated Usually 5	5 yrs
	Multiple terms?	Yes	Yes
Qualif.	Who is eligible	Not stated	Same as member of Parliament
	Serving MPs qualify?	No	No
	Past MPs qualify?	Yes	Yes
	Other qualifications	None	Can't hold another "office or position of profit"
	Who resolves disputes on qualif.	N/A	High Court sitting as Court of Disputed Returns
How Chosen	By whom	Queen appoints	Parliamentary joint sitting, or popular election (determined by Parliament)
	Majority required	N/A	2/3 in case of joint sitting
	Multiple Candidates?	Possible, but unlikely	1-5 if chosen by joint sitting, 3-5 if popularly elected
	How Nominated	Not stated (in practice PM)	By Constitutional Council
Removal	By whom	Queen	Vote of joint sitting
	Majority required	N/A	2/3
	How Initiated	Unclear	Not stated
	Grounds	Not required	President is unfit to hold office, or has brought the office into disrepute, or is unable to perform functions by reason of physical or mental incapacity
Acting Head of State
Who is eligible		Most senior State Gov.	(i) The Vice President; (ii) officers specified by the Parliament; (iii) persons designated by the Constitutional Council; (iv) persons designated by the President; (v) the President of the Senate; or (vi) the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
How chosen		Queen appoints	Automatic
Majority required		N/A	N/A
Can Acting Presidents be removed?		Yes	Probably - by s.60(1) or s.60(3)
Limits on the use of		N/A	No more than 120 days
Ministry & Advisory Council
Unwritten practices codified?		Some	Yes
PM's role entrenched?		No	Yes
Advisory Council	Name	Federal Executive Council	Federal Executive Council. (But note that there is also a Constitutional Council with a distinctly different role)
	Ministers only?	No	Yes
	Appointment on advice?	In practice	N/A. Membership always ex officio.
PM	Appointment	By GG	By President
	Dismissal	By GG	By President
	Appointment & dismissal req. advice?	Uncertain (but prob. not)	No
Other Ministers	Special Kinds	None	Deputy PM, Assistant Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries
	Appoint. on advice?	In practice	Yes
	Dismissal on advice?	In practice	Yes
Other Powers and Functions of the Head of State
Federal Executive Power	Who is vested with it	Queen	President
	Who may exercise it	GG (in practice on advice)	President (on advice of Exec Council)
Royal/ Pres. Assent to Bills	On advice?	In practice	Yes
	Can a veto be overridden?	No	No
Commander-in-Chief		GG	President (on advice of Exec Council)
Summoning & proroguing Parliament: on advice?		In practice	When advised, is bound to do so, but may also summon at his discretion
Dissolutions: on advice?		In practice	When advised, is bound to do so, with some exceptions (ss. 4, 28, 62B)
Deputies power: on advice?		In practice	Yes (on advice of PM)
General limit on exercise of powers?		None	Yes (s61, possibly s51(xl))
Head of State: Miscellaneous
Salary	Can be changed while in office?	No alteration	No reduction
	Who fixes salary	Parliament	Parliament
Presidency: Special Features		None	The exercise of some powers cannot be challenged in court (s61(4))
Other Republican Changes
Impose republic on States?		N/A	Yes
Preamble: new one or modifications only?		N/A	Minor modifications
Covering clauses		N/A	Amended
Disallowance Power (s59)		N/A	Repealed
Reserve Bills Power (s60)		N/A	Repealed
Non-Republican Changes
Judges & serving soldiers can now sit in Parl.?		N/A	Soldiers only (s.44)
Other significant changes		N/A	Establishment of Constitutional Council which includes, amongst others, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, and whose job it is to nominate the President (with scope for expansion of this role to, say, appointment of High Court justices). Retention of term "Crown" to mean the collective bodies politic, represented by the President. The term "President in consultation with Council" is introduced with a meaning distinct from the terms "President", "President in Council" Entrenchment of the Senate's proportional representation electoral system with minimum number of Senators per State set at ten. Removal of the role of State Governments in regulating Senate elections and in filling casual vacancies in the Senate. Retention of the role of State Governors as representatives of the Head of State - formerly the Queen, now the President - but with no shift in Federal-State powers. Removal of spent or obsolete provisions, and removal of references to "colonies" except in the transitional provisions. See Peter Crayson's comments for a complete list.