Reading the Royal Email

Determining whether an exercise of constitutional executive power is a manifestation of the royal prerogative, or merely a new excuse for executive excess, is notoriously difficult to define. The royal prerogative remains elusive, notwithstanding a millennium of its exercise. Often its use is viewed as falling within the fringes of government action—honours and awards, the exercise of mercy, or the movement of troops around the country. Other times it has been abridged by statute: either explicitly or implicitly. Yet, its breadth and depth remain potent within modern Australia. This paper looks to address specifically the oft-reference and historically well-used prerogative of reading the royal mail. It does so to highlight the residual power that remains in section 61 of the Australian Constitution, and to provide a useful case study on the fine line between valid prerogative evolution and invalid expansion of executive power.