... Dawson continued on to say, "The continuing legal authority of our constitution derives from its original enactment at Westminster and subsequent retention by those empowered to amend it, which includes the Australian electors. But the latter derived their legal authority from the former".3 If the Queen of England is our constitutional head of state, despite the passage of the Australia Act, and our constitution gains its legal basis from an act of the British Parliament, is Australia really a sovereign state? Is the growing acceptance of popular sovereignty as the legal foundation, as well as the political, an acceptable basis for our constitution? Australia is a sovereign state.4 However, confusion does exist. Krieger argues that, "sovereignty is compatible with citizen rights and the accountability of government and officialdom, including the head of state"5. This is true in Australia where through a process of checks and balances and regular parliamentary elections, the ...

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