The military call-out legislation : some legal and constitutional questions

The Australian Labor Party, amid considerable public controversy, combined with the Government of Prime Minister John Howard to pass military call-out legislation the Defence Legislation Amendment Act 2000 (Cth) through both houses of the Commonwealth Parliament on 7 September 2000. However, it does not correspond to the modern sense of the phrase, which refers to violence within homes or families and is a vague expression, undefined legislatively or judicially, found in s 119 of the Constitution, which provides that 'the Commonwealth shall protect every State against invasion and, on the application of the Executive Government of the State protect such State against domestic violence'.