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(a) No, that's not right. The Commonwealth of Australia owes its legal origins to a law enacted by the government of the United Kingdom - the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900.

This Act contains both the detailed provisions of the constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia and the 'covering clauses' that authorise the new arrangements for government in Australia.

The constitutional legality of Australian governments therefore stems from a foreign law.

Click here to see the Act.