Australian Federalism and the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-09

The incoming Rudd government brought to an end what looked like an increasingly rapid spiralling of Commonwealth unilateralism and centralisation in the latter years of the Howard government. At the same time, the framework for a much more generally cooperative federalism introduced in 2007 provided...

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Main Authors: Anderson, G., Fenna, Alan
Format: Journal Article
Published: Centre internationale de formation europeene 2010
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44160
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author Anderson, G.
Fenna, Alan
author_facet Anderson, G.
Fenna, Alan
author_sort Anderson, G.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The incoming Rudd government brought to an end what looked like an increasingly rapid spiralling of Commonwealth unilateralism and centralisation in the latter years of the Howard government. At the same time, the framework for a much more generally cooperative federalism introduced in 2007 provided a ready vehicle for countercyclical policy activism in response to escalating symptoms of overseas financial crisis in 2008. The crisis reinforced centralising elements of the government’s program, but in a muted way. More damaging for the States was the way that the crisis demonstrated their inherently weak fiscal position in the federation. Thanks to a combination of very active countercyclical policy and continuing high demand for its resource exports, Australia experienced no official recession and thus Commonwealth-State relations were not subject to the degree of strain they might have been in more extreme circumstances. At the same time, the High Court’s surprisingly high degree of sensitivity to federalism in the Pape decision further limited the centralising impact of the crisis. Whether this decision will come to have a decisive impact on federalism will depend on future cases that may come before the Court.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-441602017-09-13T16:06:54Z Australian Federalism and the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-09 Anderson, G. Fenna, Alan The incoming Rudd government brought to an end what looked like an increasingly rapid spiralling of Commonwealth unilateralism and centralisation in the latter years of the Howard government. At the same time, the framework for a much more generally cooperative federalism introduced in 2007 provided a ready vehicle for countercyclical policy activism in response to escalating symptoms of overseas financial crisis in 2008. The crisis reinforced centralising elements of the government’s program, but in a muted way. More damaging for the States was the way that the crisis demonstrated their inherently weak fiscal position in the federation. Thanks to a combination of very active countercyclical policy and continuing high demand for its resource exports, Australia experienced no official recession and thus Commonwealth-State relations were not subject to the degree of strain they might have been in more extreme circumstances. At the same time, the High Court’s surprisingly high degree of sensitivity to federalism in the Pape decision further limited the centralising impact of the crisis. Whether this decision will come to have a decisive impact on federalism will depend on future cases that may come before the Court. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44160 10.3917/eufor.358.0131 Centre internationale de formation europeene fulltext
spellingShingle Anderson, G.
Fenna, Alan
Australian Federalism and the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-09
title Australian Federalism and the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-09
title_full Australian Federalism and the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-09
title_fullStr Australian Federalism and the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-09
title_full_unstemmed Australian Federalism and the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-09
title_short Australian Federalism and the Global Economic Crisis of 2008-09
title_sort australian federalism and the global economic crisis of 2008-09
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44160