jurisdiction and (4) relating to the same matter claimed under the laws of different States. The Parliament may, with respect to matters in which the High Court has or may be invested with original jurisdiction, make laws defining the jurisdiction of any federal court other than the High Court and the extent to which the jurisdiction of any federal court shall be exclusive of that which belongs to or is invested in the courts of the States, and investing any court of a State with federal jurisdiction. The appellate jurisdiction of the High Court is to hear and determine appeals from (1) any justice or justices exercising the original jurisdiction of the High Court, (2) any other federal court or court exercising federal jurisdiction, (3) the Supreme Court or any other Court of any State from which at the establishment of the Commonwealth an appeal lay to the Queen in Council and (4) the Inter-State Commission, but as to questions of law only. In 1968 appeals from decisions of the High Court to the Queen in Council were abolished. It is now not possible to ask for special leave to appeal to Her Majesty in Council against decisions of the High Court except decisions on appeals from State Supreme Courts on matters that do not involve the exercise of federal jurisdiction, or on matters that do not involve the application or interpretation of (1) the Constitution, (2) a law made by the Commonwealth Parliament or (3) an instrument made under such a law. It is also not possible to appeal to Her Majesty in Council from any decisions of Federal Courts other than the High Court. The Constitution guarantees that the trial on indictment of an offence against any law of the Commonwealth shall be by jury, and that every such trial shall be held in the State where the offence was committed, and that if the offence was not committed within any State the trial shall be held at such place as the Parliament prescribes. FINANCE AND TRADE Upon the establishment of the Commonwealth, the collection and control of duties of customs and excise, and the control of the payment of bounties passed to the Government of the Commonwealth and uniform duties of customs were required to be imposed within two years. With the imposition of uniform duties in 1901 the power of the Commonwealth Parliament to impose duties of customs and excise, and to grant bounties on the production or export of goods became exclusive and all laws of the States with respect to these matters ceased to have effect. A further consequence of the imposition of uniform duties was that trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States became ‘absolutely free'. Under a financial agreement entered into by the Commonwealth and the States in 1927, provision was made first for the taking over by the Commonwealth of the public debts of the States and the payment of interest thereon and for the reimbursement of the Commonwealth by the States in respect thereof, and second, for the establishment of the Australian Loan Council, consisting of a Minister from the Commonwealth and each of the States, to regulate borrowing by the Commonwealth and the States so as to avoid competition between the respective governments for loan funds. Among the terms of the agreement was one requiring the Commonwealth to submit certain proposals to the Parliament and the people for the amendment of the Constitution to give the Commonwealth clear constitutional authority to enter into and carry out the terms of the agreement. The agreement was approved by the Financial Agreement 1928 and the proposal for the amendment of the Constitution was passed by both Houses and approved by referendum in 1929. As a consequence of this constitutional amendment the Parliament passed the Financial Agreement Validation Act 1929 validating the 1927 agreement. In 1933 the Parliament enacted the Commonwealth Grants Commission Act 1933 which established, in the same form as it exists today, a three-member Commission appointed by the Commonwealth Government to enquire into claims made by the States for financial assistance and to make recommendations to the Government in respect thereof, Parliament being empowered to grant financial assistance to any State on such terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit. TAXATION The power of the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws with respect to taxation is one which is exercisable concurrently with the taxing powers of the several States. Prior to 1942 the amount of tax payable in each State under the respective State income tax laws was considerably in excess of that levied by the Commonwealth in respect of the same income. In 1942, the Commonwealth Government, in the light of the exigencies of the wartime financial position, secured the passage through Parliament of a scheme comprising four bills the nature of which was such as to increase the rate of Commonwealth income tax to a level that would make further State taxation of income virtually impossible. One of the Acts forming part of the scheme provided for the making of grants to the States by way of taxation reimbursements calculated on a formula related to the income tax that each State would have received had it continued to levy taxation. Although the constitutional authority of the scheme, known as Uniform Taxation was challenged by the States in High Court proceedings, it was, for the most part, upheld and now forms the basis of income taxation in Australia, although the formula for reimbursement of States has been varied. THE STATES Provision was made for the saving of the Constitutions of the States and the powers of the Parliaments of the States, except those powers exclusively vested in the Commonwealth Parliament, and for the saving of State laws relating to any matter within the powers of the Commonwealth Parliament until provision is made in that behalf by the Commonwealth Parliament. The Parliaments of the States are also empowered to surrender any part of the State to the Commonwealth whereupon that part of the State is to become subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commonwealth. States may not, without the consent of the Commonwealth Parliament, raise or maintain any naval or military forces or impose any tax on property of any kind belonging to the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth, in turn, is required to protect every State against invasion and, on the application of the Executive Government of the State, against domestic violence, and is not permitted to impose any tax on property of any kind belonging to a State. The States are required to make provision for the detention in State prisons of persons accused or convicted of offences against the law of the Commonwealth and for the punishment of persons convicted of such offences. Full faith and credit must be given throughout the Commonwealth to the laws, the public Acts and records, and the judicial proceedings of every State. The Commonwealth is expressly prohibited from making laws establishing any religion or for imposing any religious observance or for prohibiting the exercise of any religion, and no religious test is permitted to be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth. The Constitution guarantees that a subject of the Queen, resident in any State, shall not be subject in any other State to any disability or discrimination which would not be equally applicable to him if he were a subject of the Queen resident in such other State. NEW STATES The Commonwealth Parliament may admit to the Commonwealth, or establish, new States and may upon such admission or establishment impose such terms and conditions, including the extent of representation in either House of Parliament, as it thinks fit. A new State formed by separation of territory from a State may only be so formed with the consent of the Parliament of the State concerned and a new State formed by the union of two or more States or parts of States may only be so formed with the consent of the Parliaments of the States affected. Furthermore, the Commonwealth Parliament may increase, diminish, or otherwise alter the limits of a State only with the approval of the majority of the electors of the State voting upon the question and upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed on, and may, with the like consent, make provision respecting the effect and operation of any increase, diminution or alteration of territory in relation to any State affected. TERRITORIES The Commonwealth Parliament alone has long had power to make laws for the government of any territory surrendered by a State to, and accepted by, the Commonwealth, or of any territory placed by the Queen under the authority of and accepted by the Commonwealth or otherwise acquired by the Commonwealth, and may allow the representation of territory in either House of Parliament to the extent and on the basis it thinks fit. In 1922, the Parliament exercised this latter power to permit the representation of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory in the House of Representatives by one member for each territory, either member being entitled to vote on any question arising in the House except on a motion for the disallowance of any Ordinance of the Territory which the member represented. Full voting rights were extended to the member for the Australian Capital Territory in 1966 and to the member for the Northern Territory in 1968. In 1974, the Australian Capital Territory's representation in the House of Representatives was increased to two. In the same year a Legislative Assembly was elected in each of the Northern and Australian Capital Territories, but their division of legislative labour with the Federal legislature has not yet been settled. The Commonwealth Parliament has exercised its power with respect to Territories to create a Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and a Supreme Court of the Northern Territory which have jurisdiction in their respective territories comparable to that exercised by the Supreme Court of each State. Appeals lie from Territory Supreme Courts to the High Court of Australia. THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT The Constitution directed the Commonwealth Parliament to determine the Seat of Government, subject, however, to the requirements that it be situated in territory within the State of New South Wales to be granted to or acquired by the Commonwealth and that it be situated not less than one hundred miles from Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales. Provision was made for the Parliament to sit at Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, until it met at the Seat of Government. In 1908 the Parliament determined the situation of the Seat of Government in the place now known as the Australian Capital Territory although it was not until 1927 that the Parliament first met in Canberra, the National Capital situated in that Territory. ALTERATION of the conSTITUTION A proposed amendment of the Constitution must be passed by an absolute majority of both Houses of Parliament and must, not less than two or more than six months after its passage through both Houses, be submitted in each State to electors qualified to vote for the election of members of the House of Representatives. If, however, one House refuses twice to pass a proposed amendment that has been passed by the other House twice in the same session with an interval of not less than three months between each passage, the GovernorGeneral may, notwithstanding such refusals, submit the proposed amendment to the electors. A proposed amendment submitted to the electors must be passed by an absolute majority of all electors voting and absolute majorities of the electors in a majority of the States. When so passed, the proposed law must be presented to the Queen for her assent. Since 1901 thirty-two proposals have been passed by both Houses and submitted to the electors, the most recent being four proposals submitted in May 1974, and, of these, five only have been approved by the electors. In 1906 minor alterations were made to the provisions for the election of Senators; in 1910 the power of the Commonwealth to take over the debts of the States, which had hitherto been limited to debts existing at the establishment of the Commonwealth, was extended; in 1928 provisions empowering the Commonwealth to make agreements with the States with respect to the public debts of the States were inserted (see 'Finance and Trade' supra); in 1946 the Commonwealth Parliament was given concurrent powers with respect to social services; and in 1967 provisions (1) precluding the counting of aboriginals in reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, and (2) excluding the aboriginal race from the races in respect of whose people the Commonwealth Parliament may make special laws, were deleted. GOVERNMENT After the general election held in May 1974, the composition of the political parties in the House of Representatives became: Australian Labor Party 66; Liberal Party 40; Country Party 21. The Government was formed by the Australian Labor Party. HEAD OF State H.M. The Queen GOVERNOR-GENERAL His Excellency The Honourable Sir John Kerr, KCMG, K St J, QC THIRD WHITLAM MINISTRY Prime Minister: The Hon. E. G. Whitlam, QC, MP Minister for Minerals and Energy: The Hon. R. F. X. Connor, MP Minister for Foreign Affairs: Senator The Hon. Don Willesee Special Minister of State and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister in Minister for Northern Australia: The Hon. Rex Patterson, MP Minister for Manufacturing Industry: The Hon. Lionel F. Bowen, MP Minister for Urban and Regional Development: The Hon. Tom Uren, MP Minister for Aboriginal Affairs: The Hon. Les Johnson, MP Minister for the Capital Territory: The Hon. Gordon Bryant, ED, MP Minister for Police and Customs: Senator The Hon. J. L. Cavanagh Minister for Tourism and Recreation, Vice-President of the Executive Council LEADER OF OPPOSITION LEADER OF COUNTRY PARTY Rt Hon. D. J. Anthony, MP SENATE President: Senator The Hon. Justin O'Byrne Clerk of Senate: J. R. Odgers, CBE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Speaker: The Hon G. G. D. Scholes, MP Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees: J. M. Berinson, MP |