Book Description

The Prime Minister has called for revision of the balance of power between the national and state governments in Australia. In Canada, in the wake of Meech Lake, the future of the country is under debate. In both, a re-arrangement of responsibilities of the two levels of government is firmly on the political agenda. In this book, the author examines the nature and effect of the federal systems of Australia and Canada. He does so by a detailed analysis of the conduct and outcome of one of the most significant intergovernmental disputes of the past 40 years - the battle for control of the offshore waters with their potential bonanza through petroleum exploration. Despite the parallels of size, economy, constitution and cultural and social mix, the federal systems of the two countries have produced divergent outcomes reached by different routes. In Canada, the power of regionalism has dominated the outcome so that there are a series of provincial regimes without any consistent national focus - a reflection of the relatively weak sense of Canadian national identity. In Australia, in contrast, the debate has been characterised by a national focus. The states have emphasised technical legal arguments rather than federal issues, and the dominance of the Commonwealth government in the dispute raises again the question: can or should federalism survive in Australia?