The suitability of Australia’s constitutional system for meeting the challenges of COVID-19.

Evaluate the suitability of Australia’s constitutional system for meeting the challenges of COVID-19. You are welcome to address any issue that fits within the lens of constitutional law, but you must consider: • Commonwealth-State relations (federalism) • implied freedoms such as political communication and association/movement • section 92 You need not consider legislative heads of power in any detail, including the so-called ‘nationhood power’. See the unit outline for other details. First, you need a contention, the main point being advanced, often called the thesis or a conclusion. A thesis gives an essay purpose and direction. If you are given a specific research question, the thesis is the answer to this question. In this essay, you will need to make a normative contention, for example ‘Australia should have a bill of rights’ (not the actual question). This can be contrasted with a factual contention (eg ‘Countries with bills of rights are in the majority’) and an interpretive contention (eg ‘Countries with a bill of rights have a better record of rights compliance’). Second, you need premises to support your conclusion and you should be clear about how they support the conclusion. Premises may be factual, interpretive, or normative. Just as premises support the conclusion, you need to support your premises. Typically, a normative statement rests on good consequences (eg many lives saved, economically efficient, convenient, etc) or being inherently right (eg respects inherent dignity of the person, complies with shared values etc.). A factual statement rests on the ability to demonstrate truth through observation (evidence/data) or logic. An interpretive statement in law tends to involve interpreting the meaning of primary texts through case analysis or statutory interpretation. Structure Generally your structure should be based on sections containing your individual premises. We recommend the ‘pro and con approach’. This is a balance of considerations or ‘dialectic’ approach. Typically, the format consists of the confirmation of an idea, the objection to the idea, and the ‘thesis’ as a compromise arrived at by balancing considerations. For example, ‘the market is efficient, but the market is unjust, therefore the market should be partially regulated.’ Another approach is the analysis of alternatives approach. On this approach, the essay lists and analyses a number of options in an attempt to persuade the audience to accept one is preferable, or the lesser of the evils.