Restrictions
State Restrictions
Within the Constitution, States are restricted from accessing certain law making powers. This is executed through certain law making powers being made exclusive to Commonwealth parliament. Examples of these include:
S.52 department of public service matters has been given to the Commonwealth and therefore only the Commonwealth can legislate on.
States are further restricted in certain areas of law making based on expressly written Sections within Constitution barring States such as S115 whereby States shall not coin money. This therefore makes it an exclusive power of the Commonwealth since States are prevented from legislating within this area.
Lastly, S109 within the Commonwealth is designed to deal with inconsistencies. That is, if a State law conflicts or is inconsistent with that of a Commonwealth law, the state law shall become invalid. This further restricts law making powers of the States because the High Court have had a history of broadly interpreting wording within the Constitution and thereby expanding Commonwealth power. This can be seen in the Tasmanian Dam case whereby 'external affairs' was interpreted making the Heritage Act (Cmth) valid and therefore overriding the residual power of Tasmania in its ability to construct dams on State land.
Other State Restrictions:
S114: A state shall not raise or maintain any naval or military force. This means that States do not have the legislative authority to raise or maintain any armies or defence force. This area of law making is regarded as an area of national concern and as such left with the Cmth.
S92: Trade amongst States within the Commonwealth of Australia shall be free. This means that States do not have the law making authority to impose any taxes or excise duties on goods that have been traded between state to state. This further reinforces the notion of a federated nation.
State Restrictions
Within the Constitution, States are restricted from accessing certain law making powers. This is executed through certain law making powers being made exclusive to Commonwealth parliament. Examples of these include:
S.52 department of public service matters has been given to the Commonwealth and therefore only the Commonwealth can legislate on.
States are further restricted in certain areas of law making based on expressly written Sections within Constitution barring States such as S115 whereby States shall not coin money. This therefore makes it an exclusive power of the Commonwealth since States are prevented from legislating within this area.
Lastly, S109 within the Commonwealth is designed to deal with inconsistencies. That is, if a State law conflicts or is inconsistent with that of a Commonwealth law, the state law shall become invalid. This further restricts law making powers of the States because the High Court have had a history of broadly interpreting wording within the Constitution and thereby expanding Commonwealth power. This can be seen in the Tasmanian Dam case whereby 'external affairs' was interpreted making the Heritage Act (Cmth) valid and therefore overriding the residual power of Tasmania in its ability to construct dams on State land.
Other State Restrictions:
S114: A state shall not raise or maintain any naval or military force. This means that States do not have the legislative authority to raise or maintain any armies or defence force. This area of law making is regarded as an area of national concern and as such left with the Cmth.
S92: Trade amongst States within the Commonwealth of Australia shall be free. This means that States do not have the law making authority to impose any taxes or excise duties on goods that have been traded between state to state. This further reinforces the notion of a federated nation.