The Character of Australian Federalism
Current issues of taxing power, revenue distribution, policy jurisdiction and intergovernmental relations in Australia today must be seen in the context of the ‘character’ of Australia’s federal system. That character is given by the interaction between constitutional design, judicial interpretation...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law. Atax
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33159 |
| _version_ | 1848753868021694464 |
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| author | Fenna, Alan |
| author_facet | Fenna, Alan |
| author_sort | Fenna, Alan |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Current issues of taxing power, revenue distribution, policy jurisdiction and intergovernmental relations in Australia today must be seen in the context of the ‘character’ of Australia’s federal system. That character is given by the interaction between constitutional design, judicial interpretation, economic and social change, and political processes over the past century. Designed for an earlier epoch, Australian federalism has undergone substantial adaptation to meet the needs of modern social and economic conditions. As has been widely recognised, that adaptation has been highly centralising in its effect. While Australia is not alone in this respect— indeed, such tendencies have been endemic in the established federations — the syndrome is particularly evident in the Australian case. Aspects of this particular character raise continuing issues for resolution as well as imposing severe constraints on what solutions might realistically be considered. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:31:21Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-33159 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:31:21Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law. Atax |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-331592017-03-08T13:18:56Z The Character of Australian Federalism Fenna, Alan Current issues of taxing power, revenue distribution, policy jurisdiction and intergovernmental relations in Australia today must be seen in the context of the ‘character’ of Australia’s federal system. That character is given by the interaction between constitutional design, judicial interpretation, economic and social change, and political processes over the past century. Designed for an earlier epoch, Australian federalism has undergone substantial adaptation to meet the needs of modern social and economic conditions. As has been widely recognised, that adaptation has been highly centralising in its effect. While Australia is not alone in this respect— indeed, such tendencies have been endemic in the established federations — the syndrome is particularly evident in the Australian case. Aspects of this particular character raise continuing issues for resolution as well as imposing severe constraints on what solutions might realistically be considered. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33159 University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law. Atax restricted |
| spellingShingle | Fenna, Alan The Character of Australian Federalism |
| title | The Character of Australian Federalism |
| title_full | The Character of Australian Federalism |
| title_fullStr | The Character of Australian Federalism |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Character of Australian Federalism |
| title_short | The Character of Australian Federalism |
| title_sort | character of australian federalism |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33159 |