When was federation introduced in australia

In celebrating a centenary we should remember not only Gallipoli and the heroic events but the dangers averted. We should remember the Second World War. Australia was better prepared for the First World War, which was largely fought far from home, than for the Second World War which was fought at the front door.

Australian soldiers were well equipped for Gallipoli but were not well equipped for Singapore. Whereas in the years before the First World War both Labor and non-Labor believed strongly in defence, and the Labor party even believed strongly in compulsory military training, Australia was politically divided towards defence and foreign policy in the late ls.

Whereas England faced its acute military threat from Hitler with a united government, Australian politicians shunned the idea of a united government. In the initial two years of war, the personal and party and factional divisions in Canberra were acute. Indeed the Federal Parliament early in the war could be said to possess two warring Labor parties, and several warring Country or National parties. The nation also possessed one Liberal Party then called the UAP which could not conceal its internal rifts.

In crisis the nation, politically, was deeply divided. Public opinion and the attitudes of political and non-parliamentary activists were equally at fault.

I must emphasise that I make that statement with no intent to blame one political party more than others. The wartime leaders—Menzies, Fadden and Curtin—were great men in their different ways.

The nation learned a lesson from the war of — So much that happened in national life in the following quarter century—the encouragement of a larger population, the fostering of self-sufficiency in manufacturing—came from that sense of shock experienced when Darwin was bombed, Rabaul was captured, Papua was invaded, and Australia itself seemed in peril. Australia was probably much more successful in the years to l—a period stretching from the first gold rushes to the last gasp of the urban boom.

The other long period of relative success was the 30 years extending from to l That —70 period was marked by a very low level of unemployment, and in each year it was nearly always lower than that of the USA. For most of the s Australia has achieved an impressive rate of economic growth though the unemployment is still high. Of the six founding states of the Commonwealth, which state has gained the most and lost the most financially from the federation?

New South Wales and Victoria have gained the most financially, in my view. They have usually had the biggest say in the federation; in addition their economies have gained most from federal economic policies. The Commonwealth is run from the Hume Highway because the southeast corner has the bulk of the population.

Western Australia, and to a lesser degree Queensland, are entitled to feel some doubts and to vent considered criticisms. They were the last to decide to enter the federation, largely because their huge untapped base of natural resources promised them a relatively fine economic future, irrespective of federation.

Western Australia has had at times the strongest cause for complaint. It tried to secede again in when 44 of the 50 lower house seats voted for secession. What were its grievances? Its capital city, Perth, was the most remote by far from the seat of federal power. It felt its isolation acutely. As an inducement to enter the federation, it was promised a railway in place of the long and rough sea voyage across the Bight. The railway did not arrive until l—16 years after the birth of the Commonwealth.

Even after the railway came, Western Australia felt isolated from the rest of Australia, and still does. This was a powerful reason for the secession movement in Western Australia. Since the ls the economic policies of the Commonwealth have been more favourable to Western Australia, but many would say that the Native Title Act has reduced substantially that gain.

But I say that with some reserve; and I am speaking only of economic matters. In various political and social ways Queensland and Western Australia have gained enormously from membership of this federation.

Western Australia and Queensland are the states which traditionally, with their huge area and long coastline, are most interested in defence; and they have certainly gained from a united national defence policy. They could have been in a grave plight in the wartime years of if, as two isolated and independent nations, they had had to defend themselves against the Japanese.

Britain of course would have given some help, and the Commonwealth of Australia probably would have given some help. In a federation there will always be losers and winners.

And from time to time some of the losers become winners and some of the winners become losers. My own view is that the political power base of Australia, the south east corner, is less interested than it should be in the needs and interests of the outlying states of the Commonwealth.

New Zealand in the last two decades has been a special gainer from the creation of the Commonwealth. New Zealand sent delegates to the early federal discussions in the s and some of its leaders at first thought that their country might gain by joining the proposed Commonwealth and the common market it offered them. Indeed the Australian Constitution still has a sentence envisaging that New Zealand might one day join in. In the s, unexpectedly, New Zealand began to join the Australian common market and now is virtually a full member: a fact known by nearly everyone in New Zealand but by few in Australia.

Australians remained British citizens until the Nationality and Citizenship Act provided for separate Australian citizenship. The six states felt that they belonged together because they shared not only a continent, but also a British background. Federation achieved an independence of sorts for Australia. However, the desire for independence does not seem to have been the main driver of the Federation movement; it was more a desire for unification.

Exploring Democracy, Museum of Australian Democracy. Federation fact sheet, Australian Electoral Commission. Federation of Australia, National Library of Australia. The National Museum of Australia acknowledges First Australians and recognises their continuous connection to country, community and culture. Defining Moments Federation. See our classroom resource.

Defining Moments: Australian Federation It also called for an Australasian convention where parliamentary representatives from the colonies would develop a constitution which would provide for a federal government and a federal parliament: The opportunity has arisen for the consideration of this great subject and I believe that the time is at hand … when this thing will be done.

Tom Keneally British approval As the colonies were under British rule, Federation would only come about if the British Parliament passed the necessary legislation. Federation as a Defining Moment Federation was a remarkable political achievement. Curriculum subjects. Year levels. In our collection. Commemorative mug for the Federation of Australia in Souvenir china mug printed with 'Rose and Waratah' pattern green decorations, designed by John Slater and John Shorter.

Explore Defining Moments. Third session of the Australasian Federal Convention held in Melbourne. Inauguration of the Commonwealth in Sydney 1 January. End of hostilities in the Boer War May. Women win the right to vote for the Victorian Parliament. Australian Capital Territory established January.

Second referendum to conscript Australians into battle fails. Canberra becomes the national capital. This fact sheet examines the arguments for Federation, the path to Federation, the creation of the territories and the opening of the Australian Parliament.

For at least 50 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on these lands and practiced traditional cultures and languages. From the late s, British colonies were established. By the late s, these colonies had their own parliaments but were still subject to the law-making power of the British Parliament.

Each colony had its own government and laws, including its own railway system, postage stamps and tariffs—taxes. This caused many problems and people began to think about the benefits of uniting as one nation. They argued a national government would:. This helped spark the Federation movement. Australasian Federation Conference Representatives from each of the colonies and New Zealand met , and decided the colonies should unite to become a nation.

First National Australasian Convention A draft constitution for the new nation was written.