the-french-artist/wikipedia_20220301.simple_sentence_split huggingface dataset:
Insulin is a hormone produced by cells in the pancreas.
Insulin is responsible for moving sugars out of the blood and into cells to be used for energy.
If insulin is not made, the body will search for other ways to get the sugars needed to feed the body's cells, including breaking down muscle and fat, leading to a loss of weight.
Insulin is not being produced in the pancreas due to an autoimmune condition attacking its cells.
The body's immune system mistakenly attacks the cells responsible for producing insulin in the pancreas, the beta cell, damaging the cells in a way the prevents them from producing more insulin.
As more and more cells are damaged, less insulin is produced in the body.
This means that more sugar remains in the bloodstream rather than being moved into cells.
This high blood sugar causes the symptoms seen in type 1 diabetes.
In the past, type 1 diabetes was generally thought to be a disorder in children and teenagers.
However, it's now been found that adults can be diagnosed with the disease.
Although type 1 diabetes can now be diagnosed at any age, it is one of the most common chronic conditions in children and young adults.
Being diagnosed at ages 5–7 or at the start of puberty is particularly common.
Type 1 diabetes is also slightly more common in boys.
Cases of type 1 diabetes have been increasing across the world for several decades.
Approximately 1 in 300 people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes by the age of 18 in the United States.
If this rate continues, the number of cases of type 1 diabetes could double in the next decade.
In type 1 diabetes, symptoms generally develop over a few days or weeks, though may take longer in adults.
The main symptoms are:
- Feeling very thirsty
- Urinating more often then normal, especially at night
- Exhaustion
- Loss of weight
- Itchiness around the genital area
- Blurring of sight
- Slow healing of wounds and grazes
Nausea, vomiting and heavy breathing are more serious symptoms.
They occur at a later stage in the disease, and if they're seen a sufferer should be taken to hospital immediately.
Short term complications
Hypoglycaemia
Hypoglycaemia is when blood sugar levels decrease to below normal.
This is most commonly due to overuse of medications for diabetes type 1 like insulin or from poor diet control.
The risk of suffering from low blood sugar is increased by drinking alcohol.
Leads to various symptoms, including confusion, loss of consciousness, clumsiness, seizures or death.
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a very serious complication of type 1 diabetes.
It is always a medical emergency and requires rapid medical attention to prevent further damage to a patient, if left untreated it can potentially lead to death.
DKA occurs when there is not enough insulin in the body to supply sugars to the body's cells.
In order to give its cells enough energy to survive, the body begins to produce acidic ketone bodies which are then used to feed energy to the cells.
- Vomiting
- Dehydration
- Difficult breathing
- Fast heartbeat
- Confusion
- Coma
Long term complications
Small blood vessel complications
Diabetic retinopathy, damage to the blood vessels prevent enough blood from reaching the eye.
This can lead the eye's retina being damaged, resulting in loss of vision or blindness.
Diabetic neuropathy, damage to blood vessels near nerves can result in reduced blood flow.
This can damage the nerves, leading to a loss in the sense of touch, normally starting from the hands or feet, before spreading up the body.
Diabetic nephropathy, blood vessels in the kidney become damaged, making the kidney work less effectively.
In sever cases.
this can result in kidney failure.
Large blood vessel complications
Increased risk of heart disease and stroke
Narrowing of blood vessels (peripheral arterial disease).
Diabetic foot, narrowing of blood vessels reduces sensitivity and slows wound healing in the foot.
If not managed appropriately, can lead to ulceration and gangrene in the foot.
In very severe cases, amputation may be required.
Currently, there is no known cure for diabetes.
Instead, treatment is designed to help keep blood sugar levels normal in order to reduce the chances of complications developing as the disease progresses.
There are two main method that are combined to manage diabetes type 1:
Healthy eating: eating a diet focused on fruit and vegetables, whilst limiting fats, salt and sugar helps keep blood sugar levels in check.
Exercise: regular physical activity helps to lower your blood sugar level.
A good goal to aim for is 150 minutes of exercise a week.
Stopping smoking: smoking further increases the risk of heart disease, peripheral arterial disease and stroke.
Stopping or reducing smoking will reduce the risk of these complications.
Reducing alcohol: alcohol can either raise or lower blood sugar, and makes it difficult to monitor your own blood sugar levels.
Drinking alcohol in moderation can reduce these risks.
Insulin injections
Type 1 diabetes occurs due to the bodies inability to produce its own insulin.
To counter this, insulin can be injected into the blood manually.
When diabetes is first diagnosed, a plan should be made for insulin treatment in order to not under or overdose, which can lead to serious complications.
A sufferer should monitor their own blood sugar levels continuously to know whether they need a dose of insulin to lower their blood sugar.
Rapid-acting insulin and short-acting insulin get insulin into the bloodstream very quickly.
They are typically taken before a meal to prepare for the rise in blood sugar that follows eating food.
Long acting insulin provides insulin in the system for up to 24 hours.
It is generally taken once a day
Eagle Mountain is the highest point in Minnesota, at 2,301 feet (701 m).
It is located in northern Cook County.
Geography of Minnesota
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken (born May 21, 1951) is a former United States Senator from Minnesota.
He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, which affiliates with the national  Democratic Party.
Before he was a Senator, Franken was a writer and actor on Saturday Night Live.
Franken was also a left-wing pundit and has written several books on politics.
His second cousin was actor Steven Franken.
Office of Senator Al Franken
Campaign contributions  at OpenSecrets.org
Al Franken topic page at The New York Times
in 2002
in 2003
in 2004
Al Franken profile in Moment Magazine in 2005
Politicians from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis-Saint Paul is the most populous urban area in the state of Minnesota, United States, and is made up of 186 cities and townships.
Built around the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers, the area is also nicknamed the Twin Cities for its two largest cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Flyby video courtesy NASA/Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio
Fact sheet about Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area Comparison
History of the National Weather Service in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
Twin Cities Daily Photograph — One photograph a day of the Twin Cities Metro Area
GIS-based Demographic Guide to Twin Cities Region
The Arrowhead Region is in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota.
It got its name from its pointed shape.
The mainly rural region is 27,575.19 km² (10,635.26 sq mi) of land area and comprises Carlton, Cook, Lake and St. Louis Counties.
At the 2000 census 248,425 people lived there.
Counties of the Arrowhead Region, Minnesota  United States Census Bureau
Northland Connection Local website
The Misquah Hills are a range of large hills or small mountains in northeastern Minnesota, in the United States.
They are located in or near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness within Superior National Forest.
They contain Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota at 2301 feet (701 meters).
The Sawtooth Mountains are low ridges on the North Shore of Lake Superior in the U.S. state of Minnesota.
They extend about 30 miles (50 km) from Carlton Peak near Tofte on the west, to Grand Marais on the east.
The Leaf Hills Moraines, sometimes called the Leaf Mountains, are a range of hills in west-central Minnesota.
The lands typically rises to a height of  to  above the surrounding farmland throughout the duration of its range, occasionally reaching higher than .
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a major political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota.
It was created on April 15, 1944, when the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party merged.
Hubert Humphrey was a major part in this merger.
The party is affiliated with the national Democratic Party.
Both members of the party and non-members in Minnesota often use "DFLer" instead of "Democrat".
Candidates endorsed in 2010
Margaret Anderson Kelliher for Minnesota Governor
Dan Powers for US Representative (2nd District )
Jim Meffert for US Representative (3rd District )
Tarryl Clark for US Representative (6th District )
Mark Ritchie for Minnesota Secretary of State
Rebecca Otto for Minnesota State Auditor
Lori Swanson for Minnesota Attorney General
Tim Walz for US Representative (1st District )
Betty McCollum for US Representative (4th District )
Keith Ellison for US Representative (5th District )
Collin Peterson for US Representative (7th District )
Jim Oberstar for US Representative (8th District )
Current elected officials
Constitutional officers
Attorney General Lori Swanson
Auditor Rebecca Otto
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie
State legislative leaders
President of the Senate James Metzen
Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Margaret Anderson Kelliher
Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller
Minnesota Senate Asst.
Majority Leader Tarryl Clark
Minnesota House of Representatives Majority Leader Tony Sertich
Members of Congress
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Senator Tina Smith
U.S. Representative (1st District ) – Tim Walz
U.S. Representative (4th District ) – Betty McCollum
U.S. Representative (5th District ) – Keith Ellison
U.S. Representative (7th District ) – Collin Peterson
U.S. Representative (8th District ) – Jim Oberstar
Current leadership
Chair – Brian Melendez
Associate Chair – Donna Cassutt
Treasurer – Lori Sellner
Secretary – Sue Rego
Affirmative Action Officer – Frank Brown
United States presidential election, 1984
Official Minnesota DFL Party website
Official Dodge County DFL Party website
Minneapolis City DFL Party website
Delton, Jennifer A. Making Minnesota Liberal: Civil Rights and the Transformation of the Democratic Party.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002.
Haynes, John Earl.
Farm Coops and the Election of Hubert Humphrey to the Senate.
Agricultural History 57, no.
2 (Fall 1983).
Dubious Alliance: The Making of Minnesota's DFL Party.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984.
Henrickson, Gary P. Minnesota in the 'McCarthy' Period": 1946–1954.
Ph.D. diss.
University of Minnesota, 1981.
Lebedoff, David.
The 21st Ballot: A Political Party Struggle in Minnesota.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1969.
Ward Number Six.
New York: Scribner, 1972.
Discusses the entry of radicals into the DFL party in 1968.
Mitau, G. Theodore.
The Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Schism of 1948.
Minnesota History 34 (Spring 1955).
Class I
Class II
All living senators
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
Chronological list of U.S. Senators
Senators from Minnesota
The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch.
Thirty-nine different people have been governor of the state.
State governors are elected to office by popular vote.
The current governor of Minnesota is Democratic Tim Walz.
The governor appoints these department heads, who are usually called commissioners.
Cabinet-level departments include:
Department of Administration
Department of Agriculture
Department of Employee Relations
Department of Employment and Economic Development
Department of Human Rights
Iron Range Resources (Also known as the IRRB [pronounced "eye-triple-r-b"])
Department of Labor and Industry
Bureau of Mediation Services
Metropolitan Council
Department of Military Affairs
Minnesota Higher Education Services Office
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Department of Revenue
Department of Veterans Affairs
Website of the governor and lieutenant governor
Minnesota Constitution, Article V
is a town in Greater Metropolitan Tokyo, Japan.
Okutama has an area of 225.63 km².
Mount Kumotori, Tokyo's highest peak at 2017 m, divides Okutama from the Okuchichibu region of the neighboring Saitama and Yamanashi Prefectures.
Tokyo's northernmost and westernmost points lie in Okutama, as does Lake Okutama, an important source of water for Tokyo, located above the Ogōchi Dam in the town.
http://www.town.okutama.tokyo.jp/english/index.html ;
The Flag of Minnesota is the state seal on a  blue background.
The flag that people use now was made in 1957 and the state seal on the flag was changed in 1983.
In the past, people used a different flag that looked like the one that Minnesota uses now, but it had different colors on the front and back of the flag.
Some people don't like the flag because they think it is too complicated and they think it should be simpler.
Sweet corn (Zea mays convar.
saccharata var.
rugosa; also called Indian corn, sugar corn, and pole corn) is a variety of maize with a high sugar content and prepared as a vegetable.
Alternative country (sometimes called alt-country, or Americana) is a type of country music.
It has singers or bands that sound very different from mainstream or pop country music. "
Alternative country" has been used to describe country music bands and artists that have influences such as roots rock, bluegrass, rockabilly, Americana, honky-tonk, alternative rock, folk rock, or punk.
In the 1990s the term alternative country (which is like the term alternative rock, which was becoming popular at the same time), began to be used to talk about different groups of musicians and singers who did not follow the same traditions of regular country music, and who had a different sound.
Many of them did not follow the high production values (such as spending a lot of money in the recording studio) of the big country music industry at the time, which was mostly based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Lyrics in alternative country might be depressing or about social issues, and often from the heart.
They do not follow the clichés sometimes used by mainstream country musicians as often.
In other ways, the sounds of alternative country artists do not always have much in common.
They can include traditional American folk tunes, bluegrass, and other types of sounds.
It can be music that does not sound like mainstream rock or country.
This has become even more confusing with "alternative country artists" saying that they do not want to be called alternative country, with more mainstream artists saying they are alternative country, and with people saying that older musicians or musicians from the past are alternative country.
No Depression, the most popular magazine about alternative country, said that it covered "alternative-country music (whatever that is)".
In the 1980s, in southern California, some musicians tried to make some music that had parts of country and parts of punk.
This was called the "cowpunk scene".
It had bands like Jason and the Scorchers.
These styles came together in Uncle Tupelo's popular album No Depression, which came out in 1990.
Many people think it was the first alternative country album.
A magazine called No Depression later came out that was written about alternative country.
The magazine was named after Uncle Tupelo's album.
The band made three more important albums and joined a big record label.
The band broke up in 1994.
Musicians in the band and people around the band later started three other important alternative country bands: Wilco, Son Volt and Bottle Rockets.
Bottle Rockets signed, along with acts like Freakwater, The Old 97's and Robbie Fulks, to the Chicago-based indie record label, Bloodshot.
They played a type of alternative country called insurgent country.
The bands Blue Mountain, Whiskeytown, Blood Oranges and Drive-By Truckers  kept going in this direction before most began to move more in the direction of rock music in the 2000s.
Alden, Grant; & Blackstock, Peter (1998). "
No Depression: An Introduction to Alternative Country Music.
Whatever That Is".
Dowling Pr. .
Goodman, David (1999).
"Modern Twang: An Alternative Country Music Guide and Directory".
Kasten, Roy (April 29, 2008), Fifteen Things You Might Not Know about The Bottle Rockets, on Their Fifteenth Birthday, Riverfront Times.
Hogeland, William (March 14, 2004),  Emulating the Real and Vital Guthrie, Not St. Woody, New York Times.
"Radio Heartland ~ Streams online with Alternative Country, Americana, Blue Grass and more "
Joe Sixpack's alternative country music guide
"So what is insurgent country anyway?"
alt.country: what is this stuff?
from American Studies at the University of Virginia
Americana-UK UK Homeplace for alt.country / americana
The Upper Midwest is a region of the United States with no agreed-upon boundaries, but it almost always lies within the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwest region, which includes the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana.
The History of the Upper Midwest: An Overview
USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Upper Midwest Mineral Resources Program
The Animikie Group of sediments were deposited between 2.5 and 1.8 billion years ago, within the Animikie Basin.
This group of formations are divided into the Gunflint Range, the Mesabi and Vermilion ranges, and the Cuyuna Range.
"Hail!
Minnesota" (also simply called "Minnesota" in early years) is the state song of Minnesota.
It began at the University of Minnesota in the early 1900s when some students decided to honor their graduating class with a new song.
In 1945, the Minnesota State Legislature approved the tune as the state song.
Minnesota, Hail to Thee!
Hail to Thee, our state so dear,
Thy light shall ever be
A beacon bright and clear.
Thy sons and daughters true
Will proclaim Thee near and far.
They shall guard thy fame and adore thy name;
Thou shalt be their Northern Star!
Like the stream that bends to sea,
Like the pine that seeks the blue;
Minnesota, still for Thee
Thy sons are strong and true!
From thy woods and waters fair,
From thy prairies waving far.
At thy call they throng with a shout and song;
Hailing Thee their Northern Star!
Minnesota Secretary of State  with sheet music and recording.
Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible mushrooms closely related to the cup fungi.
These appear honeycomb-like in that the upper portion is composed of a network of ridges with pits between them.
MushroomExpert.com's Morel section
Healing-mushrooms.net's Morel page
Morel Satisfaction: Stalking the Wild Mushroom from National Public Radio
Morel Mushroom Discussion Forum
Cypripedium reginae, also known as he Showy Lady's-slipper, the Pink-and-white Lady's-slipper, or the Queen's Lady's-slipper, is a rare temperate lady's-slipper orchid native to northern North America.
It grows white flowers, with pink labella.
NatureServe (2006), "Cypripedium reginae", NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life, Version 6.1.,
Gray's Manual of Botany of the Northern United States, American Book Company, 1889
Minnesota Secretary of State: State Flower , accessed January 31, 2004
US Geological Survey: Showy Lady Slipper, accessed January 31, 2004
Showy Lady's-slipper: Queen Lady's-slipper(botany.wisc.edu) , accessed Nov 19, 2005
NRCS: USDA Plants Profile: Cypripedium reginae
The Lake Superior agate is a type of agate stained by iron and found on the shores of Lake Superior.
Its wide distribution and iron-rich bands of color reflect the gemstone's geologic history in Minnesota.
In 1969 the Lake Superior agate was picked by the Minnesota Legislature as the official state gemstone.
Minnesota's State Gem: The Lake Superior Agate
Wild rice (also called Canada rice, Indian rice, and water oats) is four species of grasses forming the genus Zizania, and the grain which can be harvested from them.
The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both North America and China.
While it is now something of a delicacy in North America, the grain is no longer eaten in China, where the plant's stem is used as a vegetable.
Australian wild rice; information about cultivated wild rice in Australia
Zizania in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System
Save Our Rice Alliance; information on wild rice harvest, management and distribution across the Upper Great Lakes Region
Multilingual taxonomic information from the University of Melbourne
Asian Vegetables
Zizania aquatica
Jenks, Albert Ernest (1901).
The wild rice gatherers of the Upper Lakes: a study in American primitive economics.
The Red Pine (Pinus resinosa) is a pine native to northeastern North America.
The Red Pine grows in the area from Newfoundland west to southeast Manitoba, and south to northern Illinois and Pennsylvania, with a small outlying population in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia.
In the Upper Midwest of the United States it is sometimes known by the confusing name Norway Pine even though it is not native to Norway.
Gymnosperm Database: Pinus resinosa
Flora of North America: Pinus resinosa
Red Pine Content: Pinus resinosa
L'Étoile du Nord is a French phrase meaning "The Star of the North".
It is the motto of the U.S. state of Minnesota.
It was chosen by the state's first governor, Henry Hastings Sibley, and was adopted in 1861, three years after Minnesota became a state.
Because of this motto, one of Minnesota's nicknames is The North Star State.
The Minnesota North Stars chose the English translation for their name.
Grace is a 1918 photograph by Eric Enstrom.
It depicts an old man, Charles Wilden, with hands folded, saying a prayer over a table with a simple meal.
It was created in Bovey, Minnesota.
In 2002, the Minnesota State Legislature established it as the state photograph.
GRACE by Enstrom  - Website for Photograph
Walleye  (Sander vitreus) is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States.
Boyd Huppert (December 7, 2004). "
Walleye or Zander?
What are you really eating?"
KARE.
FishBase information on Walleye
Nativefish.org article about the blue walleye
Information about Sander vitreus from the University of Minnesota
American states:
Transportation:
"Douglas Dakota", military transport C-47 Skytrain (aircraft)
Earthbound character Mr. Saturn often utters the phrase "Dakota"
sl:North Dakota
The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota.
Territorial Governors
Territorial Secretaries
Charles K. Smith, 1849–1851
Alexander Wilkin, 1851–1853
Joseph Rosser.
Charles L. Chase 1857–1858
Congressional Delegates
Henry Hastings Sibley, 31st Congress, 32nd Congress, 1849–1853
Henry Mower Rice, 33rd Congress, 34th Congress, 1853–1857
William W. Kingsbury, 35th Congress, 1857–1858
Minnesota historic documents (incl.
Organic Act, Enabling Act, Act of Admission and territorial maps)
History of Minnesota
The Constitution of Australia is the law that set up the Australian Commonwealth Government and says how it works.
It is made up of several documents.
The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia.
The people of Australia voted in referendums from 1898–1900 to accept the Constitution.
The Constitution was then passed as a part of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Imp), an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Queen Victoria signed it on 9 July 1900.
The Constitution became law on 1 January 1901.
Even though the Constitution was an Act of the United Kingdom parliament, the Australia Acts took away the power of the United Kingdom parliament to change the Constitution.
Now only the Australian people can change it by referendum.
Two other laws support the Australian Constitution.
The first is the Statute of Westminster, as passed by the Commonwealth as the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942.
The second is the Australia Act 1986, which was passed by the Parliaments of every Australian state, the United Kingdom, and the Australian Federal Parliament.
Together, these Acts had the effect of cutting all constitutional links between Australia and the United Kingdom.
Even though the same person, Queen Elizabeth II, is the monarch of both countries, these are now separate countries.
The history of the Constitution of Australia began with moves towards federation in the 19th century.
The Australian colonies joined together to form the Commonwealth of Australian in 1901.
In the mid-19th century, the Australian colonies needed to work together on things that affected them all, especially tariffs between the colonies.
This cooperation led to plans to join the colonies together in a single federation.
The push to do this came mainly from Britain and there was little local support.
The smaller colonies thought they would be taken over by the larger ones.
Victoria and New South Wales did not agree about the need to protect local industry, as opposed to allowing everyone to trade freely.
The then-recent American Civil War also weakened the case for federalism.
These difficulties led to the failure of several attempts to bring about federation in the 1860s and 1850s.
By the 1880s Australians were worried about the growing presence of the Germans and the French in the Pacific.
Along with a growing Australian identity, this created the opportunity to start the first inter-colonial body, the Federal Council of Australasia, in 1885.
This Federal Council could make laws on certain subjects, but did not have a permanent office, an executive, or its own source of income.
New South Wales, the largest colony, would not take part.
Henry Parkes, the Premier of New South Wales, pushed for a series of conferences in the 1890s to talk about federalism.
The first was in Melbourne in 1890, and another, the National Australasian Convention, in Sydney in 1891.
These were attended by colonial leaders.
By the 1891 conference, many people wanted a federal system.
Most of the discussion was about how this federal system would work.
With help from Sir Samuel Griffith, a draft constitution was written.
These meetings did not have popular support.
The draft constitution also left out important, but difficult, issues, such as tariff policy.
The draft of 1891 was given to colonial parliaments but was not supported by New South Wales.
Without New South Wales, the other colonies were unwilling to continue.
In 1895, the six premiers of the Australian colonies agreed to set up a new Convention by popular vote.
The Convention met over the course of a year from 1897 to 1898.
The meetings produced a new Constitution that was the same as the 1891 draft, but with added provisions for responsible government.
To get popular support, the draft was voted on by the electors of each colony.
After one failed attempt, a changed draft was given to the electors of each colony except Western Australia.
Five colonies passed the Bill that was then sent to the Westminster Parliament with a letter requesting the Queen to make it into law.
The British government made one change before the Bill was passed.
The Chief Justices of the colonies wanted the right to appeal decisions of the High Court to the Privy Council on constitutional matters.
They were worried that the limits of the powers of the Commonwealth or States could be changed by parliament.
The British Parliament passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act in 1900.
Western Australia finally agreed to join the Commonwealth in time for it to join the Commonwealth of Australia, which officially began on 1 January 1901.
In 1990, the Public Records Office in London loaned the original copy 1900 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act to Australia.
The Australian government wanted to keep the copy.
The British parliament agreed by passing the Australian Constitution (Public Record Copy) Act 1990.
The Statute of Westminster and the Australia Acts
Although Federation made Australia independent of Britain, legally the Commonwealth was a creation of the British Imperial Parliament, through the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Imp), which applied to Australia.
As a result, there was continued uncertainty as to whether British Imperial laws still applied to the Commonwealth.
This was fixed by the Statute of Westminster 1931, adopted by the Commonwealth via the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942.
The Statute of Westminster freed the Dominions, including the Commonwealth, from Imperial laws and controls.
Legally, this is the moment of Australia's national independence.
However, British laws were still more important in Australian states.
This was fixed by the Australia Act 1986, which was passed by the parliaments of Australia, the United Kingdom, and each of the states.
This law stopped the British Parliament's power to make laws over Australian states.
It also stopped appeals from the Australian courts to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
As this was a very important document, Queen Elizabeth II travelled to Australia to sign the proclamation of the law.
One result of these two laws is that Australia is now a fully independent country.
The Constitution is now different from the original Act, as the Australian people can change the Constitution, by referendum.
However, the original Act remains on the UK's law book with a note saying, "The Constitution is not necessarily in the form in which it is in force in Australia".
Even if the United Kingdom Parliament were to remove the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, it would have no effect on Australia.
The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Imp) contains a Preamble, and nine sections.
Sections 1– 8 are the laws to set up the Commonwealth.
Section 9, starting with the words "The Constitution of the Commonwealth shall be as follows ...", contains the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia.
The Constitution itself is in eight chapters, with 128 sections.
The Parliament
Chapter I sets up the Parliament of Australia.
This has three parts:
the Sovereign (King or Queen) of Australia, who is represented by the Governor-General of Australia
the House of Representatives
the Senate.
Section 1 says that legislative power belongs to the Parliament.
It is the most powerful part of government.
Part II of Chapter 1 is about the Senate.
Senators are to be "directly chosen by the people of the State", voting as a single electorate.
Each State is to have the same number of senators.
Currently, there are 12 senators for each State, and 2 each for the mainland territories, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
Part III of Chapter 1 is about the House of Representatives.
Section 24 says the House must have twice as many members as the Senate, each elected by a single electorate.
This is called the 'Nexus'.
It designed to prevent swamping of the senate's power in the case of a joint sitting (see Section 57 below).
The number of electorates in a State is to be based on its share of the national population.
Part V of Chapter 1 is about the powers of the parliament.
Section 51 deals with powers of the Commonwealth parliament and are called "specific powers".
There are also "concurrent powers", and both the Commonwealth and the States can make laws on these subjects.
Federal law is more important if the laws are different (Section 109).
Of the thirty-nine parts of section 51, a few have become very important in deciding how much power the Commonwealth government has in law.
These include the Trade and Commerce Power, the Corporations Power and the External Affairs Power.
Section 52 deals with powers that belong only to the Commonwealth parliament.
States cannot make laws on these subjects.
The Executive Government
Chapter II sets up the executive branch of government.
Executive power is to be exercised by the Governor-General, advised by the Federal Executive Council.
The Governor-General is the commander in chief.
He or she may appoint and dismiss the members of the Executive Council, ministers of state, and all officers of the executive government.
These powers, along with the powers to dissolve (or refuse to dissolve) parliament (Section 5, Section 57), are termed "reserve powers".
The use of these powers is by convention.
Generally, the Governor-General acts only on the advice of the Prime Minister.
There has been only one instance of the Governor-General not taking the Prime Minister's advice.
Governor-General Sir John Kerr, acting on his own, dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.
Reserve powers in all Westminster nations are only extremely rarely exercised outside of the understood conventions.
However, in contrast with the constitutions of other Commonwealth Realms such as Canada, which formally grant extensive reserve powers to the Monarch, even the formal powers of the Queen of Australia are extremely limited, and most powers can be used only by the Governor-General.
Section 68 says that the Command in chief of Australia's naval and military forces "is vested in the Governor General as the Queen's representative".
The Commander in chief of the Australian Defence Force is now Her Excellency Quentin Bryce as the Governor General of Australia.
The Queen of Australia is not in command of the military.
The Judicature
Chapter III sets up the judicial branch of government.
Section 71 gives judicial power to a "Federal Supreme Court" called the High Court of Australia.
The Parliament can also make new federal courts or give other courts federal powers.
Such courts, called "Chapter III Courts", are the only courts that can use federal judicial power.
Sections 73 and 75-78 outline the original and appellate jurisdiction of the High Court.
Section 74 explains how an appeal can be made to the Queen in Council.
Section 79 allows Parliament to limit the number of judges able to exercise federal jurisdiction and section 80 guarantees trial by jury for indictable offences against the Commonwealth.
Finance and Trade
Chapter IV deals with finance and trade in the federal system.
Section 81 says that all Commonwealth revenue shall form the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Parliament can make laws as to the how its money is spent (Section 53).
Unlike most other powers of the parliament, laws made under this power cannot usually be challenged.
Section 90 gives the Commonwealth exclusive power over duties of custom and excise.
Section 92 provides that "trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States shall be absolutely free".
The precise meaning of this phrase is the subject of a considerable body of law.
Section 96 gives the Commonwealth power to give money to States "on such terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit".
This power is not limited by any other part of the Constitution, such as Section 99 that forbids giving preference to one State or over another State.
It is subject only to Section 116, freedom of religion, and possibly other such freedoms.
This power, which was only meant to be used ("during a period of ten years ... and thereafter until the Parliament otherwise provides"), has been used by the Commonwealth to encourage cooperation by the States to various extents over the years.
The States
Chapter V says what the States can do in a federal system.
Sections 106-108 preserve the Constitution, the powers of the Parliament, and the laws in force of each of the States.
Section 111 says that a State can give up any part of its lands to the Commonwealth.
This has happened several times.
South Australia gave the Northern Territory to the Commonwealth.
Section 114 stops any state from having its own military force.
It also stops the State or the Commonwealth taxing each other's property.
Section 116 sets out "freedom of religion", by stopping the Commonwealth from making any law to start a religion, to impose any religious observance, or to stop a religion, and by stopping religious discrimination for public office.
Chapter VI allows new states to be made, or to join the Commonwealth.
Section 122 allows the Parliament to provide for the representation in Parliament of any new territory.
Section 123 says that changing the boundaries of a State needs the support of the Parliament of that State and must pass a referendum in that State.
Chapter VII says that the seat of government of the Commonwealth (now Canberra) shall be in New South Wales but no less than one hundred miles from Sydney, and that the Governor-General may appoint deputies.
Section 127 first said that Aborigines cannot be counted in any Commonwealth or State census.
This section was changed in 1967.
Alteration of the Constitution
Chapter VIII sets out how the Constitution can be changed.
Section 128 says that changes must be approved by a referendum.
A successful change needs:
a majority in both houses of the federal parliament; and
a majority of votes nationally in a referendum.
a majority in a majority of states
The Governor-General must put the referendum bill to the people between two and six months after passing parliament.
After the constitutional amendment bill has passed both the parliament and the referendum, it then receives Royal Assent from the Governor-General.
This makes it the new law and the wording of the Constitution is changed.
An exception to this process is if the amendment bill is rejected by one house of Federal Parliament.
If the bill passes the first house and is rejected by the second, then after three months the first house may pass it again.
If the bill is still rejected by the second house, then the Governor-General may choose to still put the bill to the people's vote.
Forty-four proposals to change the Constitution have been voted on at referendums.
Eight have been approved.
The following is a list of changes that have been approved.
1906– Senate Elections– changed Section 13 to change the length and dates of Senators' terms of office.
1910– State Debts– changed Section 105 to give the Commonwealth power to take over state debts.
1928– State Debts– added Section 105A to make sure the Financial Agreement reached between the  Commonwealth and State governments in 1927 was legal.
1946– Social Services– added Section 51 (xxiiiA) to give more power to the Commonwealth government over a range of social services.
1967– Aborigines– changed Section 51 (xxvi) to give power to the Commonwealth government to legislate for people of any race to Aborigines; repealed Section 127 which stated that "In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted."
Senate Casual Vacancies– part of the political fallout of the constitutional crisis of 1975; formalised the convention, broken in 1975, that when a casual vacancy arises in the Senate, the relevant state parliament must choose the a new Senator from the same political party as the departing Senator (if that party still exists).
Referendums– changed Section 128 to allow residents of the Territories to vote in referendums, and be counted towards the national total.
Retirement of Judges– changed Section 72 to make judges retire at age 70 from federal courts.
The role of conventions
As well as the written Constitution and Letters Patent issued by the Crown, conventions are an important part of the Constitution.
These have developed over the years and define how various constitutional mechanisms work in practice.
Conventions play a powerful role in the operation of the Australian constitution because of its set-up and operation as a Westminster system of responsible government.
Some important conventions include:
The constitution includes a Prime Minister of Australia.
This position began as the head of the cabinet.
While there are few constitutional restrictions on the power of the Governor-General, by convention the Governor-General acts on the advice of the Prime Minister.
However, because conventions are not written down, their existence and practice are open to debate.
Real or alleged violation of convention has often led to political controversy.
One extreme case was the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975, in which the operation of conventions was seriously tested.
The ensuing constitutional crisis was resolved dramatically when the Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed the Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, appointing Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister pending the 1975 general election.
A number of conventions were said to be broken during this episode.
The convention that, when the Senator from a particular State vacates his or her position during the term of office, the State government concerned would nominate a replacement from the same political party as the departing Senator.
This convention was allegedly broken first by the Lewis government of New South Wales and then by the Bjelke-Petersen government of Queensland, who both filled Labor vacancies with, respectively, an independent and a Labor member opposed to the Whitlam government.
Note: The convention was written into the Constitution after the national referendum of 1977.
The change means a new Senator has to be from the same party as the old one.
This would have prevented the appointment by Lewis, but not that by Bjelke-Petersen.
However, the change also says that if "before taking his seat [the chosen Senator] ceases to be a member of that party...he shall be deemed not to have been so chosen or appointed".
Bjelke-Petersen appointee Albert Patrick Field was expelled from the Labor Party before taking his seat and would not have been appointed under the changed Constitution.
The convention that, when the Senate is controlled by a party which does not control the House of Representatives, the Senate would not vote against money supply to the government.
This convention was allegedly broken by the Senate controlled by the Liberal-Country party coalition in 1975.
In line with the common law tradition in Australia, the law on the interpretation and application of the Constitution has developed largely through judgments by the High Court of Australia.
In a number of important cases, the High Court has developed several doctrines which underlie the interpretation of the Australian Constitution.
Separation of powers– The three separate chapters dealing with the three branches of government implies a separation of powers, similar to that of the United States, but unusual for a government within the Westminster system.
Thus, for example, the legislature cannot purport to predetermine the legal outcome, or to change the direction or outcome, of a court case.
Division of powers– Powers of government are divided between the Commonwealth and the State governments, with certain powers being exclusive to the Commonwealth, others being concurrently exercised, and the remainder being exclusively held by the States.
Intergovernmental immunities– Although the Engineers' Case held that there was no general immunity between State and Commonwealth governments from each other's laws, the Commonwealth cannot enact taxation laws that discriminate between the States or parts of the States (Section 51(ii)), nor enact laws that discriminate against the States, or such as to prevent a State from continuing to exist and function as a state (Melbourne Corporation v Commonwealth).
Protection of rights
The Australian Constitution does not include a Bill of Rights.
Some people at the 1898 Constitutional Convention wanted a Bill of Rights like the United States Constitution, but the majority felt that the traditional rights and freedoms of British subjects were enough.
These would be protected by the Parliamentary system and independent judiciary which the Constitution would create.
As a result, the Australian Constitution has often been criticised for not protecting rights and freedoms.
Right to trial by jury– Section 80 creates a right to trial by jury for indictable offences against Commonwealth law.
There are serious limits to this right however, since the Commonwealth is free to make any offence, no matter how serious the punishment, triable otherwise than on indictment.
As Justice Higgins said in R. v. Archdall & Roskruge; Ex parte Carrigan and Brown (1928) 41 CLR 128: "if there be an indictment, there must be a jury, but there is nothing to compel procedure by indictment".
In practice, however, no major issue of abuse of this loophole has been raised.
Right to just compensation– Paragraph 51(xxxi) creates a right to just compensation for assets taken by the Commonwealth.
Right to freedom of religion– Section 116 creates a limited right to freedom of religion.
It stops the Commonwealth (but not the states) from "making any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion."
This section is based on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but is weaker in operation.
As the states keep all powers they had as colonies before federation, except for those explicitly given to the Commonwealth, this section does not affect the states' powers to legislate on religion, and, in accordance with High Court interpretations, no Federal legislation on religion, short of establishing an official religion of Australia, would be limited by it either.
Right to freedom from discrimination against out-of-State residents -Section 117 stops disability or discrimination in one state against the resident of another state.
This is interpreted widely (Street v Queensland Bar Association), but does not prohibit states from imposing residential requirements where they are required by the State's autonomy and its responsibility to its people.
In 1992 and 1994, the High Court of Australia found that the Constitution gave an "implied" right to freedom of political communication, in a series of cases including the Australian Capital Television case and the Theophanous case.
This was seen as a necessary part of the democratic system created by the Constitution.
The application of this "implied right" has, however, been restricted in later cases, such as Lange v ABC.
It is in no way equivalent to a freedom of speech, and only protects individuals against the government trying to limit their political communication: it offers no protection against other individuals.
In 2007, the High Court of Australia in Roach v Electoral Commissioner said that sections 7 and 24 of the Constitution, by providing that members of the House of Representatives and the Senate be "directly chosen by the people", created a limited right to vote.
This means that there is a universal franchise in principle, and limited the Federal Parliament's legislative power to change it.
In the case, a legislative change to stop all prisoners from voting (as opposed to only those serving sentences of three years or more, as it was before the amendment) was rejected as breaking that right.
While a pro forma preamble prefaces the Imperial Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, the Australian Constitution itself does not have a preamble.
There have been some calls to add one to express the spirit and aspirations embodied in the constitution.
However, there has been fierce opposition, usually on the basis of the content of the preamble, as well as possible legal ramifications of this text.
In 1999, a proposed preamble, written by John Howard, the then Prime Minister, was defeated in a referendum held concurrently with the Republic referendum.
The "Yes" vote (in favour of the insertion of the preamble) did not achieve a majority in any of the six states.
Republic proposals
There have been many people who have wanted Australia to become a republic.
On 6 November 1999, Australians did not support a law to remove the Queen and replace the Governor-General with a President.
The President was to be appointed by a two-thirds majority of the members of the Commonwealth Parliament.
Opinion poll results said that the majority of Australians were in favour of some form of a republic.
Many voters who voted against the 1999 referendum wanted to be able to vote for a President.
In research and polling following the 1999 referendum, people said that an appointed President would not be able to act independently of the Parliament.