[UMA-SR-000000867] ACC 12 Fiscal Powers Sub-Committee Files

Description

IdentifierUMA-SR-000000867Extent25 filesScope and ContentThe Standing Committee established the Fiscal Powers Sub-Committee in June 1983, and referred to it the following three matters which were originally referred to the Standing Committee in April by the 1983 plenary session of the ACC:

States Fiscal Powers

The effect of the provisions of the Constitution, including section 90, in relation to the fiscal powers of the States. (Agenda Item A.14, Resolution 11, 1983 plenary session.)

The Sub-Committee consulted various material relating to this reference, and sought submissions from State treasurers and shadow treasurers. Dr Cheryl Saunders prepared an issues paper for the Sub-Committee based on the submissions and other sources, and subsequently prepared a discussion paper which was widely distributed. The Sub-Committee received 19 submissions on this discussion paper from a range of interested people, organisations and government departments, all of which were taken into account in its final report.

Commonwealth Immunities

Whether the Constitution should be amended or Commonwealth legislation enacted so as to provide that the Commonwealth in its operations within a State is bound by all relevant State laws purporting to bind the Commonwealth save insofar as those laws are inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth. (Agenda Item A.16, Resolution 13, 1983 plenary session.)

In its deliberations on this matter, the Sub-Committee referred to a background paper which had been prepared by New South Wales for the 1983 plenary session, a Commonwealth response to the New South Wales paper, and submissions from government departments and interested organisations.

Paramountcy of Commonwealth Law

Whether the present mechanism for the resolution of conflicts between Commonwealth and State laws provided by section 109 of the Constitution is satisfactory. (Agenda Item A.17, Resolution 14, 1983 plenary session.)

Dr Cheryl Saunders, Research Director to the Fiscal Powers Sub-Committee, commissioned a recent law graduate to find and analyse High Court decisions involving section 109, and

asked Gregory Craven from the Monash University Law School to prepare a brief issues paper based on this research. Following discussion with Greg Craven on his (interim) issues paper, the Sub-Committee commissioned him to undertake further work. His subsequent paper, 'The Operation of section 109 of the Commonwealth Constitution', examined difficulties in the operation of section 109 and suggested some possible solutions.

The three references to the Fiscal Powers Sub-Committee were covered in separate chapters of their Report to Standing Committee, July 1984, which was printed with the Proceedings of the 1985 plenary session of the ACC.

The series of Fiscal Powers Sub-Committee Files includes:

Agendas and Minutes: Agendas and minutes, filed with correspondence and papers relevant to meetings of the Sub-Committee.

Correspondence and Submissions: Submissions from governments, organisations and individuals, other correspondence connected with the work of the Sub-Committee, and miscellaneous papers. The correspondence includes letters to and from the Chief Executive Officer, the Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer and Secretary to the Fiscal Powers Sub- Committee (Don Blackwood), the Chairman (Robert Fordham), and the Research Director to the Sub-Committee (Cheryl Saunders).

Papers: Background and research papers, progress reports and other material.
Report: Drafts and proofs of the Sub-Committee's final report.Access StatusOpen for public accessRequest Access to RecordsRequest records from this SeriesSearch within this Series

Provenance

CreatorAustralian Constitutional ConventionRoleProvenance

Provenance

CreatorFinemore, JohnRoleProvenance

Dates

Date1964-1986

Relationships

Preceding Series[UMA-SR-000000858] ACC 3 Standing Committee 'A' FilesRelated Series[UMA-SR-000000862] ACC 7 Standing Committee Files[UMA-SR-000000874] ACC 19 Printed Proceedings, Reports and Papers[UMA-SR-000000884] ACC 29 Papers on Agenda Items[UMA-SR-000000890] ACC 35 Papers re the Origins, Organisation and Achi

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[UMA-SR-000000867] ACC 12 Fiscal Powers Sub-Committee Files