Papua New Guinea has played a pivotal role in some key moments in Australian history- including Federation.
Articles on Federation
Displaying 1 - 20 of 28 articles
History shows us there is no guarantee of sweetness and light simply because the same party holds office in a state and in Canberra.
Australia has a great story to tell about its democracy – recent events have shown the importance of understanding and celebrating that.
WA Premier Mark McGowan’s strong stance on borders has reminded many of the long streak of separateness that has defined Western Australia throughout history.
Exclusion has been central to utopian ideas of Australia since before Federation. It still lingers. To progress in this climate-challenged century, Australia’s foundational wrongs must be righted.
Australia’s island identity and attitude to border security was forged from handling pandemics since the time of federation. Here’s what we’ve learned along the way.
Parkes is known as the ‘Father of Federation’. His tireless championing of a united Australia brought the colonies together and set them on a course for nationhood.
The federal government is trying to entice independent schools to open by offering them advance payments. But do they have powers beyond enticement with which they could control state schools?
Yes, there has been friction over social distancing restrictions and the Ruby Princess debacle, but our federal system of government has actually worked very well during the crisis.
In the early 1900s, fortune-telling provided entertainment, social connection and a job for some Australians. Its legal status made criminals of women, yet allowed others entry to the police force.
With world-first compulsory and preferential voting, Australia was born not on the battlefield but at the ballot box.
The $444 million awarded to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation has been criticised as a politically calculated move. But governments have been asking what the reef can do for them ever since colonial times.
Politics Podcast: Judith Brett on The Enigmatic Mr Deakin
Judith Brett's biography, The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, reveals the intense inner world of one of the most important fathers of Australian federation.
Like Malcolm Turnbull, the three-time prime minister Alfred Deakin was sometimes accused of lacking substance, but he had core political commitments from which he never wavered.
Given the small percentages involved, South Australia’s bank levy won’t interfere with the federal government’s levy, and would arguably be compatible with it.
This year is the 120th anniversary of the Australasian Federal Convention through which, with rancour, prejudices and vested interests, the Australian nation was eventually born.
Australia’s Constitution is a product of foreign and domestic political influences. It has become one of the enduring aspects of Australian politics and law, for better and worse.
Federal politicians and the public like the idea of abolishing the states. But consider the likely result: a more powerful Canberra, with regional governments amounting to glorified shire councils.
Commitment to a stronger, ongoing and more bipartisan federal reform process is one of the true tests of modern political leadership.
The reality is that intergovernmental relations are not the strong point of federal systems generally. But some do it better than others.
Top contributors
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Professor of Politics, Curtin University
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Associate Professor of History, UNSW
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Emeritus Professor of Politics, La Trobe University
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ANU Law, Australian National University
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Adjunct Principal Research Fellow, Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith University
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Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Fellow, Monash University
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Professor of Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Public Policy & Law, Centre for Governance & Public Policy, Griffith University
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Lecturer in Science and Society, James Cook University
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Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow at Monash University and, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of History and Professor of Public Engagement, La Trobe University
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Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland
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Associate Professor of Law, Adelaide University
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Associate Professor, Paediatrics, Griffith University