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Scangate Document Vision for Commonwealth’s own police service belonged to Australia’s first publ ic servant Anthony Ralph is a former member of Historical writings show that the AFP and former senior lecturer in although the timing for the force’s establishment was incorrect and police studies at Deakin University. Hughes’ use of the force for political This edited article was extracted from purposes contemptible, the need for his doctoral research into the the Commonwealth’s own investigatory body was arguably legislative and legal influences on the sound. development of federal policing in As La Nauz reveals, responsibility Australia. for drafting legislation and providing the fledgling federal government with legal advice fell upon Australia’s first federal public servant, Sir Robert Garran.1 Anthony Ralph Sir John Latham, in writing an obituary for Garran detailing the work of this brilliant legal mind, stated that statutes “enacted at this time provided Despite the long held and the framework within which the popular belief that the first Commonwealth could come fully to federal policing organisation in life. Garran bore the burden of preparing this legislation”.2 In a tribute Australia was established from to Garran, Hughes was to state that a knee-jerk political reaction by “the best way to govern Australia was to have Sir Robert Garran at his elbow William Morris Hughes in with a fountain pen and a blank sheet 1917, the idea for its formation of paper”. 3 Garran was a man of actually belonged to another. vision utilising the law not only as a form of social control but also as a tool While history accurately records to establish and maintain the that Hughes established the first constitutional framework of an Commonwealth Police Force after an independent federated nation. egg was thrown at him in Warwick, Garran, who also had been part of Queensland, the concept was evident the team which drafted the in legislation more than a decade-and- Constitution was acutely aware that a-half earlier. this foundation Act provided a trilogy What Hughes did was bring to life, of separateness between the albeit under politically dramatic legislative, the executive and the circumstances, someone else’s vision, judiciary. 4 The Constitution the egg-throwing incident serving specifically provides for the merely as a catalyst for an eventuality. formulation of legislation, the The only dilemma Hughes really determining of it through the judicial faced in establishing a force was machinery and, where appropriate, that whether the nation was sufficiently provision be made for the handling of mature to understand the rationale, those convicted for breaching apart from Hughes’ own political Commonwealth laws and/or agenda, behind the need for such an committing offences against the organisation. Commonwealth.5 Hence, it could be No. 53 — December 1996 33 HIST C assumed that a natural progression would be that the states in other parts of the Act removes any provision should be made also for the machinery doubt that Garran’s vision of the future for the to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth. Commonwealth included the establishment of its However, the drafters maintained adherence to own policing body. Why provision was not made the traditional Westminster model by opaquely in the actual Constitution is not clear. Garran and granting this authority to the executive, thus no others engaged in drafting the Constitution specific mention was made for the provision of a appeared content to maintain the Westminster federal policing body.6 Moreover, the authority tradition of incorporating and maintaining ‘to execute and maintain the laws of the executive authority within the reserve powers Commonwealth’ was considered a responsibility provisions of the Constitution. One advantage of of the military with Section 51 (vi) of the such an approach was that the power available via Constitution granting exclusive authority for the this process was not limited as were the development of statutory provisions to enable the provisions to which Section 51 of the military to perform this duty.7 Constitution applies. The ability to co-jointly use Executive authority to establish federal civilian provisions of Section 51 with the reserve powers policing was therefore a prerogative of the provided in Section 61 gives the Commonwealth government, thus removing the need to create greater flexibility in areas such as law such a body by traditional legislative processes. enforcement. Action to establish this force, in the form of an The idea of creating a federal policing body administrative fiat, could only be initiated did not, however, go totally unnoticed even through the existing parliamentary provisions though no such body had been established at this and, as with any public organisation, would rely time. In 1911 work was being undertaken by the on public funding for its creation and Attorney-General’s Department on drafting a continuation. Commonwealth Crimes Bill. This bill was Ongoing tensions over the creation of “Garran vision of the future for the the Commonwealth arguably influenced Commonwealth included the establishment of its Garran and others involved in the own policing body”. drafting of the Constitution, that in order for the Commonwealth to survive as an modelled on the Criminal Code of 1899 (Qld).12 entity in its own right it needed to be able to This reliance on Queensland to assist with function in co-existence with, but independently drafting the legislation is ironical as within a few of, the states.8 An area where the Commonwealth years, tensions between the Federal and was now able to operate independently was that Queensland Governments over conscription of defence of the country where exclusivity to would influence the timing for the eventual raise military forces was within the sole preserve establishment of the first Commonwealth Police of the federal government.9 To place the Force. provision of Section 68 of the Constitution into Thus, the establishment of the first effect a Defence Act needed to be enacted.10 Commonwealth Police by Hughes in 1917 after In 1903 the Defence Act was proclaimed the egg throwing incident brought Garran’s vision establishing the Commonwealth’s military forces to reality. The demise of the force in 1920 must under the control of the Governor-General. Of be seen in perspective as it was not the end of its interest is the inclusion within particular role, rather an alteration of its public identity. The provisions of this Act of specific reference to establishment of the Commonwealth members of “the police force of the Investigation Branch within the Attomey- Commonwealth”.11 As Garran was responsible General’s department, of which Garran was for the drafting of all legislation at this time, and permanent secretary, allowed for the continuation no conflicting evidence exists to disprove his of a federal force that would go on investigating contribution to this fundamental Act, there is no offences against the Commonwealth. doubt that it was Garran who incorporated the But Garran’s involvement with the eventual phrase ‘member of the police force of the development of federal policing did not end here. Commonwealth’ into the Defence Act, 1903 It needs to be noted that it was Garran who (Cth). But this was the extent of reference to such proposed to his long time friend Attorney-General a body at this time. The phrase did not appear in Hughes on July 19, 1927, that policing of the any other legislation enacted before this date and Federal Capital Territory should come under the direct reference to military police and police of control of the Commonwealth.13 From this, 34 Platypus Magazine HISTORY “Members of this new force came under the control of the Director of the Commonwealth Investigation Branch, Major Harold Jones Garran’s vision was extended to incorporate the new Commonwealth Police. Members of this new force came under the control of the Director of the Commonwealth Investigation Branch, Major Harold Jones. He used Commonwealth Police members to assist members of the investigation branch to investigate matters relating to Commonwealth responsibilities outside the jurisdiction of the Federal Capital Territory. Authority to work at a national level was derived from their status as peace officers, an office into which members of both the Commonwealth Police and Commonwealth Investigation Branch were sworn. Jones, as the Superintendent Peace Officer, had control over all three areas of responsibility. The amalgamation of the Commonwealth and ACT police forces in 1979 to form the Australian Federal Police, and the incorporation later of the A young Major Harold Jones In military uniform. Australian Customs Service Narcotics Bureau, returned to one principal Commonwealth policing organisation responsibilities which previously were divided between organisations which were Mr Ralph expressed his thanks to Commissioner Mick Palmer and his office, and Adam Masters, curator of the AFP Museum for their all intrinsically linked. support and assistance during his research. Footnotes: lLaNauz, J.A. Alfred Deakin: A Biography. Melbourne University Press: London. 1965 Volumes l pp. 264-5; 2Latham, Sir John. 'Sir Robert Garran - An Appreciation' in Australian Law Journal Vol. 30. 22 February, 1957. p.495; 3Nairn, B. Serle, G. (Eds.) Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University: Press: Melbourne. 1983. Vol. 8, p.623; 4See: Garran, R.R. The Coming Commonwealth Angus & Robertson: Sydney. 1897; Quick, J. & Garran, R.R. The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth. Legal Books: Sydney. 1901; 5Chapters /, 111 and Section 120 of The Constitution refer respectively; 6Section 61, in conjunction with Section 51 (xxxix), of The Constitution provides, inter alia, the Government with the authority to establish a Federal policing body for the purpose of enforcing Federal legislation and to protect the legislative, executive and judicial organs of the Commonwealth; 7Section 51 (vi) of The Constitution refers; SGarran.
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