Checks and balances

Australians often take the checks and balances offered by a federal system for granted. Yet this system has given us over 100 years of stable government.

Having governments at both State and Commonwealth level gives citizens more than one point of access into the system of government. It allows them to select different parties at different levels if they prefer their different approaches to policy issues. This allows for multiple centres of power and approaches between the States and Territories and the Commonwealth Government.

As well, the balance of power between different jurisdictions is a brake on radical and major change and means such major change cannot be undertaken without a degree of bipartisan support or debate and discussion.

Gallop G (2008). A radical legacy.

Griffith Review (19) Autumn: 55-62. Link to HTML

Gallop G (2008). The federation.

In: Mann R (ed), Dear Mr Rudd: Ideas for a Better Australia. Melbourne: Black Inc Agenda (pp 42-58).

One of the more interesting features of the 2007 election campaign was … [t]here was more interest and argument about our federal system than in any election since those of the Whitlam years.

Former Western Australian Premier Geoff Gallop explores the debate between Kevin Rudd's ‘cooperative federalism’ and John Howard's ‘aspirational nationalism’, as articulated in the 2007 Federal Election, against the backdrop of the development of Commonwealth-State relations since the 1970s.

"The heart of the case for federalism", he writes, is that "it creates multiple centres of power and entrenches them in a constitution" (p. 48).

Inman RP (2008). Federalism's Values and the Value of Federalism.

National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 13735. Link to HTML

Abstract:

What is it about federal governance that makes it so attractive to economists, political philosophers, and legal scholars and is there any evidence that would suggest all this attention is warranted? Proponents see federalism as a means to more efficient public and private economies, as the foundation for increased political participation and democratic stability, and as important check on governmental abuses of personal rights and liberties. This study provides a working definition of federal governance and classifies a sample of 73 countries as either a constitutionally-based federal democracy, an administratively-based federal democracy, a unitary democracy, a federal dictatorship, or a unitary dictatorship.

Twomey A, Withers G (2007). Australia's Federal Future.

A report for the Council for the Australian Federation. Link to PDF (2.6 MB) Link to Word (5.5 MB)

This report was commissioned by CAF to support its role in promoting and harnessing Australia's federal system of government. The authors identify and explore a number of benefits of federalism, including checks on power, voter choice, customisation of policies, competition, creativity and cooperation.