What is respect for authority?

Respect for authority in Australian usage is the expectation that people follow legitimate rules and directions from authorities such as Parliament, courts, police, employers, teachers, and parents, while retaining the right to question, challenge, or criticise that authority through proper channels.

The Australian relationship with authority is distinctive. The egalitarian tradition, the convict origins of European settlement, the Eureka Stockade tradition of standing up to unjust authority, and the ordinary scepticism of pretension all produce a country that respects legitimate authority but is wary of authority for its own sake. Politicians, police, and other authority figures are expected to earn respect through competence and integrity rather than receive it automatically.

Several specific forms of authority are particularly important. Courts are respected through the convention that everyone stands when the judge enters, that proceedings are addressed to 'Your Honour', and that court decisions are complied with even when disagreed with (the right to appeal handles the disagreement). Police authority is respected through compliance with lawful directions, with complaints about police conduct made through the relevant state police integrity body. Parliament's authority is respected through free debate, compulsory voting, and peaceful transfers of power.

Respect for authority in Australia is balanced by the right to question and challenge. The implied constitutional freedom of political communication protects criticism of government. Press freedom, anti-corruption bodies (NACC, ICAC, IBAC), whistleblower laws, and judicial review all support accountability. The ancient principle that 'the King is under no man but God and the Law' (Bracton, thirteenth century) extends in Australia to all authorities: everyone is subject to the law, including Parliament, ministers, judges, police, and public servants. Civil disobedience in the tradition of the Eureka Stockade, the 1965 Freedom Rides led by Charles Perkins, the 1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy, and contemporary climate and reconciliation protests remains an accepted (though legally consequential) way of challenging authority Australians consider unjust.