Britain Reportedly Refuses to Give Up Australia’s Charter
SYDNEY, Australia — Britain has refused to give Australia its original constitution to mark the country’s bicentennial next year, the Sun-Herald newspaper reported Sunday.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has agreed to lend the historic document to Australia, but only if Australia agrees to return it soon after the 1988 celebrations, the newspaper said.
The report said that Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke is furious over Thatcher’s argument that the constitution is a bill of the British Parliament and belongs to her government.
Hawke wanted the 86-year-old constitution bill, which gave Australia independence from Britain, displayed in a new Parliament House now under construction.
Australia, which was first settled by Britain as a colony in 1788, severed its final legal links with Britain only last March when its Parliament passed an act ending powers of the British Parliament over Australian states.
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