Constitutional Law of Australia: Analyzing the Safety and Security Implications of a Proposed Bill

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Civil Law

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Part 1..........................................................................................................................................3
Part 2..........................................................................................................................................4
Part 3..........................................................................................................................................6
Part 4..........................................................................................................................................7
Part 5..........................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The constitutional validity of any legislation or an action must be assessed and evaluated in a
proper and appropriate manner. Any provision or an action can be declared unconstitutional
by the respective court of competent jurisdiction if such a judicial authority is of the opinion
that the provision or action contravenes the basic tenets of the constitution of the country. It is
imperative that the constitution of the country in question is the main enactment which has
governance over almost all the legislations in the country with reference to their territorial
jurisdiction. The main aim of the essay is to present an overview of the Constitutional Law of
Australia with regard to the passing of a proposed bill taking account of the safety and
security of the citizens and residents of Australia. Such a bill is purported to ensure that the
terrorist attacks in Australia are prevented to a large extent as far as the issuing of passports
to the right people are concerned. In this aspect, the issuing of passports would be taken into
account as far as criminals and militants are concerned. The constitutional aspect of the
proposed bill would be analyzed in a proper and appropriate manner.
Part 1
The Transport Security Protection Board is to be established in order to promote safety and
security for all Australians as far as travelling is concerned. It also includes vigilance as far as
appropriate verification of the travelers in question is concerned. The Transport Security
Protection Board is purported to ensure that the wrong people do not enter Australia thereby
causing a massive security threat1. In order to ensure the same, the passports of all people
must be checked at all transit points such as seaports, airports, land border crossings and
other related check posts. The fees for the Transport Security Protection Board would be a
hundred thousand dollars on a yearly basis which would be contributed by owners of
aircrafts, pilots and shipping companies as far as security with reference to all means of
external transport is concerned2. The locations of these kinds of entities would be at almost
all major cities of Australia which include Perth, Brisbane Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin.
1 Loveland, I.D, Constitutional Law. (Abingdon, Routledge, 2018).
2 Şen, İ.G,. Sovereignty Referendums in International and Constitutional Law. (Dordrecht, Boston, New York,
Springer, 2015).

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The compensation amounting to fifty thousand dollars on part of airline companies with
reference to compliance with the Act seems to be unconstitutional as it implies regressive
conditions with reference to bonus which seems to be quite ambiguous in nature thereby
implying inequality3. Additionally, the legal proceedings may be initiated against a company
entrusted with carrying out of activities relating to travel and tourism on grounds of acting in
contravention of the Act. Such may be both civil and criminal depending upon the gravity of
the offence or misconduct. However, the constitutional aspect of the legal action in relation
to the offence or misconduct has to be taken into account with reference to the provisions
enshrined and envisaged in the Commonwealth of Australia Constitutional Act of 1900 read
with the provisions enshrined and envisaged in the Australia Act of 1986. It is to be ensured
that this part of the act does not lead to the violation of basic human rights and civil liberties
of a person as far as illegal detention at the airport is concerned with reference to the grounds
of just mere suspicion of being involved in a criminal activity or any related offence with
regard to terrorism4.
Part 2
This part of the proposed bill implies the registration of people; single businessperson,
partnership firms, association and corporate authority entrusted with providing services
related to passenger travel and cargo transport for the purpose of become licensed suppliers5.
By 1st April 2022, a Transport Security License must be purchased by such entities failing
which their businesses are liable to be sealed by the virtue of an order passed by the
Transport Security Protection Board and all their assets would be converted in the Fund
initiated by the Transport Security Protection Board6. Such a Fund would be known as the
3 Dyzenhaus, D. and Thorburn, M. eds,. Philosophical Foundations of Constitutional Law. (Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 2016).
4 Veitch, S,. Law and the Politics of Reconciliation. (Abingdon, Routledge, 2016).
5 Uhr, J.,. The Performance of Australian Legislatures in Protecting Rights. In Protecting Rights Without a Bill
of Rights(Abingdon, Routledge, 2017), at 60.
6 Alexy, R., 2016. The Absolute and the Relative Dimensions of Constitutional Rights. Oxford Journal of Legal
Studies, 37(1), at 38.