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Anne Twomey

Anne Twomey

Anne Twomey is a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sydney.

The Duke of York laughs during a visit to Royal Naval Air Station, Somerset, 2015.

Can we go it alone on ditching Andrew? Yes, but here’s why we won’t

To remove the former Prince Andrew from the line of succession, Australia must wait for the United Kingdom to act first.

  • Anne Twomey

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.

One word makes proposed race hate law changes problematic

The government’s proposed changes to hate speech legislation may have unintended consequences, and fall foul of the Constitution.

  • Anne Twomey
Gisele Kapterian (left) and Nicolette Boele.

Every voter’s squiggle counts: why Bradfield court battle could drag on for months

The Liberal court challenge will come down to pencil strokes - and what voters apparently intended by them. Was a 5 really an 8, and was that squiggle actually a 7?

  • Anne Twomey

Why we have nothing to fear from a hung parliament

There are constitutional conventions to cover every eventuality after the election, so don’t believe the doomsayers.

  • Anne Twomey

She may have split ‘heirs’, but Lidia Thorpe’s oath won’t get her sacked

The Indigenous senator’s claim that she never swore allegiance to the Crown is uncharted territory for Australia, but we are not the United Kingdom.

  • Anne Twomey
Nigel Hawthorne as Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby in Yes Minister.

Is a reshuffle still an opportunity to shred sensitive documents? No, minister

A key Federal Court ruling is going to make it harder for public servants and their political masters to hide behind nonsensical rules which keep documents secret.

  • Anne Twomey
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It’s been almost half a century since a referendum has passed in Australia.

The Constitution was designed to be hard to change. It was not meant to be impossible

In a hyper-partisan and post-truth world, the prospects of referendum success are now near zero without bi-partisan support. But there are great dangers in leaving our constitution frozen in time.

  • Anne Twomey
Peter Dutton announced the Liberal Party will not back the Voice to parliament.

Despite the rancour, Coalition’s Voice policy is very similar to Labor’s

The campaign is likely to be rancorous, but the similarities between the major parties’ policies should negate some of the arguments.

  • Anne Twomey

Should the law stop Lidia Thorpe from jumping ship? Here’s the catch

Some countries don’t allow politicians elected on a one-party ticket to defect mid-term and keep their seat in parliament. It’s not easy to impose such a law in Australia.

  • Anne Twomey
The Aboriginal flag flies near Parliament House in Canberra.

Parliament, not the devil, should control the detail on the Voice

It does not make sense to argue over the detail of a proposal in advance of a referendum, just as it makes no sense to put that detail into the constitution.

  • Anne Twomey