Best practice federalism

The Australian federation was designed to share power between the Commonwealth and the States. This relationship continues to evolve and is best developed when the two levels of government respect each other’s place in the system and each other's responsibilities. The exploration of cooperative and collaborative structures for joint decision-making is a key challenge for enduring best practice.

Twomey A (2008). Australia's Commonwealth government ends blame game: window of opportunity opens for co-operative federalism.

Federations (June/July): 23-25. Link to PDF (2.3 MB)

Anne Twomey is an Australian constitutional lawyer and an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Sydney. She was a member of the Governance Group at the 2020 Summit. She writes:

"Instead of giving up on federalism, the state premiers united and performed reconstructive surgery. They formed the Council for the Australian Federation in October 2006 creating a structure for the states to negotiate with the federal government, and also achieve harmonisation of laws where needed."