Corporations, Pecker Maroo and the Seal

With government continually engaged in corrupt behaviour, there is a lot of speculation about why they would do it. Some of the more outlandish claims centre on Australia being or being owned by a corporation itself and the Governor General being invalid. Hopefully I can explain some of the detail behind this.

Transcript

My office deals with many telephone calls and emails on a whole range of topics. There are a few topics that keep popping up and this video is about responding to the many misconceptions around Australia being a corporation, the use of Australian Business Numbers, the relationship between Parliament, the Judiciary and the Executive and the Great Seal of Australia. There are many social media posts stating that Australia is owned by one or more corporations, or that Australia is a corporation. One such company that many people mistakenly think owns Australia is Pecker Maroo Proprietary Limited. This is not true.

Pecker Maroo owns some cleverly crafted business names that attempt to mimic state and government departments. For example, Pecker Maroo has registered the name Office of Fair Trading New South Wales, whereas the actual government entity is called New South Wales Fair Trading. Simply stated, some businesses operate by buying and selling registered trading names with a view to making a profit. One such company that does this is Pecker Maroo. Australia is not owned by any corporations and is not a corporation. Another commonly asked question is around the use of Australian Business Numbers, ABN’s. The Australian government uses a number of registered business names in order to enter into contracts and agreements with other businesses and countries. This is common international practise and is not unusual. Those government business names and companies are registered in the necessary registers, including foreign registers.

The relationship between the Parliament, the Judiciary and the Executive can be confusing. Australia is a sovereign country and its governance consists of three arms: the Parliament, the Judiciary and the Executive. Australia is also a Constitutional Monarchy, which means the Queen is the Head of State of Australia. Our government relies on the terms of the Australian Constitution, which came into effect upon Federation in 1901. The Parliament is where the laws are made and gathering assent from the Queen or her representatives is part of the parliamentary process of making an Act of Parliament.

The Judiciary comprises the judges within the court system and the courts apply and interpret the law that Parliament makes. The Executive comprises all the public service, including the police force, where our laws are administered. The police, for example, are public servants working for either a State or the Commonwealth government. The current Great Seal of Australia was issued under Royal Warrant by Her Majesty the Queen on 19 October 1973, to be used by the Governor-General and the Queen as Queen of Australia. A Great Seal is a formal, traditional means of certifying a document. The change to the seal in 1973 happened because the Royal Style and Titles Act 1973 changed the previous title of the Queen as set out in the Royal Style and Titles Act 1953. The changes in 1973 essentially removed the words “United Kingdom” and word “Defender of the Faith” from the style and titles, and it was considered appropriate that the Great Seal also reflect those changes.

The Royal Style and Titles Act 1953 states: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of the God of the United Kingdom. Australia and her other Realms and Territories Queen. Head of the Commonwealth. Defender of the Faith. The Royal Style and Titles Act 1973 states it most succinctly: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of the God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth. At times there is a great deal of chatter and argument about the current Great Seal of Australia not being the true Great Seal, or that the incorrect Seal has been used. These arguments have been rejected by the courts. It appears that some parties, who perhaps have received unfavourable outcomes from various laws or decisions, are attempting to discredit and invalidate the laws, the judges, governor generals or elected governments, that operate under the Great Seal of Australia. These claims are baseless and I can assure you that the current Great Seal of Australia is the true Great Seal.