Government Powers Under a Federal Constitutional

Part A - Constitutional Concepts and Their History

1. The Significance of Constitutions and Constitutional Law
2. Sources of Constitutional Ideas
3. The Colonisation of Australia and the development of six self-governing colonies
4. Federation and the Creation of the Commonwealth Constitution
5. Independence - From the Sovereignty of the UK Parliament to the Sovereignty of the People

Part B - General Principles of Constitutional Law and Litigation

6. The Constitution as Supreme Law, and an Outline of its Provisions
7. Constitutional Litigation
8. General Principles of Interpretation of the Commonwealth Constitution

Part C. The “branches” of government, general limits on their powers, and consequences for individual rights

C1. Parliamentary powers and limits on them, other than federal limits

The structure of Parliaments and voting rights

9. Commonwealth Parliament: the direct choice of members by the people
10. Commonwealth Parliament: the law-making process.
11. State and Territory Parliaments: the law-making process and special limits on it

Limits (and non-limits) applying to all Parliaments in Australia

12. The constitutional freedom of political communication
13. Four non-limits on legislative powers
14. Interpretation of legislation to protect rights - ‘quasi-constitutional’ principles and mechanisms

Limits specific to Commonwealth Laws

15. Just terms for the acquisition of property
16. Other express - but sometimes weak - constitutional protections of rights

C2. Executive power and its subjection to law

17. Governors and Ministers - dignified fictions and the reality of executive power
18. Sources of executive power
19. Parliamentary control of taxation and government spending
20. Modern developments in the Rule of Law

C3. Limits inherent in the nature of judicial power

21. Commonwealth judicial power not to be given to non-judicial bodies
22. Commonwealth judicial bodies to be independent, and not to be given significant non-judicial power
23. Effect of the Commonwealth Constitution on State Courts and Tribunals

Part D. The federal division of legislative powers

D1. The range of Commonwealth legislative powers

24. Sources and Interpretation of Commonwealth Legislative Powers
25. Business-regulation powers
26. Nation-State powers
27. “Social’ powers
28. Financial powers
29. “Federal” limitations on Commonwealth powers

D2. The effects of the Commonwealth Constitution on the States and Territories

30. General effects of the Commonwealth Constitution on States’ powers – concurrent powers, Commonwealth exclusive powers, and prohibitions
31. States not to impose customs or excise duties
32. Freedom of interstate trade, commerce and intercourse
33. Discrimination against out-of-State residents prohibited
34. Inconsistency with laws of the Commonwealth
35. Intergovernmental immunities
36. Final note on the States, and the drive for more uniform laws
37. The Territories – like States in some ways but not in others

Part E – Possible Changes to the Federation

38. New States, and Changing the Boundaries of States
39. Formal Alteration of the Constitution – the Record So Far and Current Issues