Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942
Parliament of Australia
Long title:	An Act to remove Doubts as to the Validity of certain Commonwealth Legislation, to obviate Delays occurring in its Passage, and to effect certain related purposes, by adopting certain Sections of the Statute of Westminster 1931, as from the Commencement of the War between his Majesty the King and Germany
Introduced by:
Dates
Date passed:
Date of Royal Assent:	October 9, 1942
Commencement:	September 3, 1939
Other legislation
Amendments:	1986 (minor)
Related legislation:	Australia Act 1986

The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which formally accepted the Statute of Westminster 1931, an Act of the British Imperial Parliament which established the legislative independence of the various self-governing Dominions of the British Empire, allowing their parliaments and governments to act independently of the British Parliament and Government. Parliament House, Canberra The Parliament of Australia is a bicameral parliament consisting of the Queen of Australia, the House of Representatives (the lower house) and the Senate (the upper house or house of review). Section 1 of the Constitution of Australia provides that: The legislative power of the Commonwealth shall... Australia coat of arms Used under the educational purposes clause in Use of Arms - Guidelines This image is copyrighted and is not licenced under the GFDL. The licence holder allows anyone to use it for any non-commercial purpose, provided that it is used only in books and related material... The long title (properly, the title) is one of the parts, together with the short title, and the operative provisions (sections and Schedules), which comprise an Act of Parliament or Bill in the United Kingdom and certain other Commonwealth Realms. ... The Statute of Westminster 1931 was the enactment of the United Kingdom Parliament (December 11, 1931) which established the legislative equal status of the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and United Kingdom. ... The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, or the Sovereigns representative in Commonwealth Realms, completes the process of the enactment of legislation by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in Leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Australia Act of 1986 (No. ... A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ... Parliament House, Canberra The Parliament of Australia is a bicameral parliament consisting of the Queen of Australia, the House of Representatives (the lower house) and the Senate (the upper house or house of review). Section 1 of the Constitution of Australia provides that: The legislative power of the Commonwealth shall... The Statute of Westminster 1931 was the enactment of the United Kingdom Parliament (December 11, 1931) which established the legislative equal status of the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and United Kingdom. ... A Dominion is a wholly self-governing or virtually self-governing state of the British Empire or British Commonwealth, particularly one which reached that stage of constitutional development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ...

The Act is more important for its symbolic value than for the legal effect of its provisions. While Australia's growing independence from the United Kingdom was well accepted, the passing of the Act formally demonstrated Australia's independence to the world. It also symbolised the shift in Australia's foreign policy from focusing on the United Kingdom to focusing on the United States. Australia has been active as an independent nation in international affairs since World War II. World War II Relations with Britain At the beginning of World War II, Australias allegiance with the United Kingdom was still strong. ...

History of the Act

Australia's independence had slowly progressed since the time of British colonisation in 1788. The six original colonies became self-governing colonies through the second half of the 19th century, beginning with Victoria in 1852, although New South Wales had an unelected Legislative Council since 1825. When the Commonwealth of Australia was formed at Federation in 1901, it became a Dominion of the British Empire, which accorded it somewhat greater independence. After the end of World War I, each of the Dominions (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa) signed the Treaty of Versailles separately, grouped under the collective heading of the British Empire, and each became a founding member of the League of Nations. This was an important international demonstration of the independence of the Dominions. 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A self-governing colony is a colony with an elected legislature, in which politicians are able to make most decisions without reference to the colonial power with formal or nominal control of the colony. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: Peace and Prosperity Nickname: Garden State Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Government Governor Premier Const. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federated on 1 January 1901, to form the Commonwealth of Australia, of which they became component states. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A Dominion is a wholly self-governing or virtually self-governing state of the British Empire or British Commonwealth, particularly one which reached that stage of constitutional development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... Woodrow Wilson with the American Peace Commissioners The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 is the peace treaty created as a result of six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, which put an official end to World War I between the Allies and Central Powers. ... The League of Nations was an international organization founded after the First World War at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. ...

The Statute of Westminster

During the 1926 Imperial Conference, the Governments of the Dominions and of the United Kingdom made the Balfour Declaration, which declared that the Dominions were autonomous members of the Empire, equal to each other and to the United Kingdom. The Statute of Westminster 1931 gave legal effect to the Balfour Declaration and other decisions made at the Conferences. Most importantly, it declared that the Parliament of the United Kingdom no longer had any legislative authority over the Dominions. The Statute took effect immediately over Canada, South Africa and the Irish Free State, however Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland had to ratify the Statute through legislation before it would apply to them. 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Imperial Conferences were gatherings of British Empire government leaders in London in 1887, 1897, 1902, 1907, 1911, 1921, 1923, 1926, 1930 and 1937. ... The Balfour Declaration of 1926 is a statement of the October-November 1926 Imperial Conference of British Empire leaders in London. ... The Statute of Westminster 1931 was the enactment of the United Kingdom Parliament (December 11, 1931) which established the legislative equal status of the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and United Kingdom. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British and... Newfoundland (French: Terre-Neuve; Irish: Talamh an Éisc; Latin: Terra Nova) is a large island off the north-east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

Australian politicians initially resisted ratification of the Statute. John Latham, the Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs under Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, was particularly opposed to ratifying the Statute, because he thought it would weaken military and political ties with the United Kingdom. Latham had attended both the 1926 Imperial Conference and the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, and he had much experience in international affairs. He preferred that the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Dominions not be codified in legislation. Sir John Latham KBE (born 1877, died 1964), Australian judge and politician, was the fifth Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. ... The current (25th) Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard (sitting, fifth from left), with his Cabinet, 1999 The office of Prime Minister is in practice the most powerful political office in the Commonwealth of Australia. ... Rt Hon Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (September 15, 1879 - April 7, 1939), Australian politician and tenth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Stanley, Tasmania, the son of Irish immigrants. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 was an international conference, organized by the victors of the World War I for negotiating the peace treaties between the Allied and Associated Powers and their former enemies. ...

However, other politicians supported the Statute, and the new independence it gave to Australia. In 1930, shortly before the Statute was enacted, the Labor Prime Minister James Scullin recommended Sir Isaac Isaacs (then the Chief Justice of Australia) to replace Lord Stonehaven as the Governor-General of Australia. This was contrary to the usual practice whereby the British monarch would offer the Prime Minister a number of choices for the position, but in line with the practice laid down by the Balfour Declaration whereby Dominion governments would be able to nominate their own Governors-General. Although King George V disapproved of Isaacs, the 1930 Imperial Conference upheld the procedure under the declaration, and so the King appointed Isaacs. The other Dominions supported this demonstration of political independence. 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Rt Hon James Scullin James Henry Scullin (September 18, 1876 - January 28, 1953), Australian politician and ninth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in the small town of Trawalla, in western Victoria, the son of a railway worker of Irish descent. ... Sir Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs, KBE, PC (6 August 1855 - 12 February 1948) Australian judge and politician, was the ninth Governor-General of Australia, the first Jew, and the first Australian to occupy that post. ... The Chief Justice of Australia is the senior justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. ... The Rt Hon. ... The Governor-General of Australia is a position established by the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act to sign legislation into law, appoint judges and ministers and perform many other important duties. ... This is a list of British monarchs, that is, the monarchs on the thrones of some of the various kingdoms that have existed on, or incorporated, the island of Great Britain, namely: England (united with Wales from 1536) up to 1707; Scotland up to 1707; The Kingdom of Great Britain... His Majesty King George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert Windsor, formerly Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) (3 June 1865–20 January 1936) was the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changing the name to the House of Windsor in 1917. ...

Adoption

Four successive Prime Ministers — James Scullin, Joseph Lyons, Robert Menzies and Arthur Fadden — did not adopt the Statute. John Curtin, who became Prime Minister eight weeks before the Imperial Japanese Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor, was finally prompted to adopt the Statute in 1942 after the disastrous Battle of Singapore and the sinking of the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. Prior conservative governments had asserted that British military forces would be able to protect Australia, but Curtin, along with External Affairs Minister Doc Evatt, thought that focusing on an alliance with the United States would be more valuable. The current (25th) Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard (sitting, fifth from left), with his Cabinet, 1999 The office of Prime Minister is in practice the most powerful political office in the Commonwealth of Australia. ... Rt Hon James Scullin James Henry Scullin (September 18, 1876 - January 28, 1953), Australian politician and ninth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in the small town of Trawalla, in western Victoria, the son of a railway worker of Irish descent. ... Rt Hon Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (September 15, 1879 - April 7, 1939), Australian politician and tenth Prime Minister of Australia, was born in Stanley, Tasmania, the son of Irish immigrants. ... Rt Hon Sir Robert Menzies Sir Robert Gordon Menzies (20 December 1894 – 14 May 1978), Australian politician, was the twelfth and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia serving eighteen and a half years. ... Rt Hon Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden (April 13, 1894 – April 21, 1973), Australian politician and 13th Prime Minister of Australia, born at Ingham, Queensland, the son of a Presbyterian police officer. ... Rt Hon John Curtin John Curtin (January 8, 1885 – July 5, 1945), Australian politician and 14th Prime Minister of Australia, led Australia through the darkest period of its history: when the Australian mainland came under direct military threat during the Japanese advance in World War II. Many Australians regard him... The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (大日本帝國海軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun or 日本海軍 Nippon Kaigun) was the navy of Japan before 1945. ... The Imperial Japanese Navy made its attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. ... This article is about the year. ... The Battle of Singapore was a battle of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, from February 7, 1942 – February 15, 1942. ... The Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a World War II naval engagement which illustrated the effectiveness of aerial attacks against naval forces that were not protected by air cover and the resulting importance of including an aircraft carrier in any major fleet action. ... Rt Hon Dr H V Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt (April 30, 1894 - November 2, 1965), Australian jurist and politician (popularly known as Doc Evatt or H V Evatt) was born in Maitland, New South Wales, to a working-class family of Anglo-Irish origin. ...

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill had promised to send forces to defend Australia in return for Australia's contribution to the war in the Middle East Campaign and the North African Campaign. However relatively few forces arrived, since Churchill was focused on first defeating the Axis Powers in Europe before turning to Japan. Curtin made the decision in December 1941 to recall the 6th Division and the 7th Division to defend Australia. He also openly stated that Australia was turning to America, rather than the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... The Middle East Campaign was a part of the Middle East Theatre of World War II Over view This campaign included: The British police actions in Palestine. ... The North African Campaign, also known as the Desert War, of World War II took place in the North African desert during 1940-1943. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The most well-known 6th Division in the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) during World War II. (The 6th Division name was previously used for a short-lived World War I unit, formed from First Australian Imperial Force troops in England, in... The 7th Division of the Australian Army was formed to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force. ...

Before the 1940s, the United Kingdom had managed Australia's foreign relations for her as a matter of course. Curtin's decision to formally adopt the Statute of Westminster in late 1942 was a demonstration to the international community that Australia was an independent nation. // Events and trends The 1940s were dominated by World War II, the most destructive armed conflict in history. ...

Provisions of the Act

The act had just three sections, one setting out the short title, one declaring that the Act was to come into operation as soon as it received Royal Assent, and one declaring that the Statute of Westminster had been adopted, and was considered to have had effect since 3 September 1939, the beginning of World War II. For a simple Act, it had a significant effect. The short title is one of the parts, together with the long title, and the operative provisions (sections and Schedules), which comprise an Act of Parliament or Bill in the United Kingdom and certain other Commonwealth Realms. ... The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, or the Sovereigns representative in Commonwealth Realms, completes the process of the enactment of legislation by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ...

Section 2 of the Statute of Westminster abrogated the effect of the Colonial Laws Validity Act of 1865, and adopting it meant that laws made by the Parliament of Australia which were repugnant to British laws were no longer invalid. Section 4 of the Statute provided that laws made by the Parliament of the United Kingdom would only have effect on a Dominion at the request of the government of that Dominion. The Colonial Laws Validity Act, 1865 was a statute enacted by the United Kingdom Parliament, in order to remove inconsistency between colonial and imperial legislation. ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Parliament House, Canberra The Parliament of Australia is a bicameral parliament consisting of the Queen of Australia, the House of Representatives (the lower house) and the Senate (the upper house or house of review). Section 1 of the Constitution of Australia provides that: The legislative power of the Commonwealth shall... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... A Dominion is a wholly self-governing or virtually self-governing state of the British Empire or British Commonwealth, particularly one which reached that stage of constitutional development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

Under the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890, the British monarch had the ability to reserve certain legislation for his or her own consideration, rather than simply allowing the Governor-General to give the Royal Assent on the monarch's behalf. Section 6 of the Statute removed this power. The Statute also removed British control over merchant shipping in Australian waters. The Governor-General of Australia is a position established by the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act to sign legislation into law, appoint judges and ministers and perform many other important duties. ...

References

• "Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942". National Archives of Australia: Documenting a Democracy. URL accessed on August 4, 2005.
• "Independent Foreign Policy". John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library. URL accessed on August 4, 2005.