National Development and the Constitution

But state administrations, even today, are entering into direct commercial negotiations with foreign governments. A recent example is the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ between the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory and the Premier of China on sale of natural gas and gas liquids. Such actions worry me.

The two decades after the end of the war were a period of great nation-building by the Commonwealth and the States. The State Governments, through their public instrumentalities, got on with major works in irrigation and water supply, sewerage and drainage systems, electricity supply, gas distribution, ports and, harbours and roads and so on. The tasks of management of these public enterprises attracted a notable range of very capable professionals, many of them engineers, some quite distinguished. ( it was the sort of professional leadership that these days has been filtered out!).

In 1949 the Commonwealth Government began to build the great Snowy Mountains Scheme. It was authorised under the defence powers. This was a multi-purpose project designed to divert the coastal flowing waters of the Snowy River to the inland for the benefit of people in Victoria, NSW and S.A. The objective was to serve the nation.

It was the first time in the history of Australia that a major project was undertaken in the interest of the nation rather than an individual state. The States later challenged the authority of the Commonwealth Government to undertake the work. It was only eight years after construction commenced that the States of New South Wales and Victoria agreed to authorize the construction of the project.

As we consider the prospect of the new republic of Australia, and the concept of Australia as a nation-state, we may contemplate what we may want to do if Australia was truly one nation. I have prepared conceptual plans for some major national infrastructure projects that could be put in hand if the national government was empowered to build national public works. These projects are to enable a massive increase in production in Australia. Funding is not a critical issue, as the projects are highly economic. The key factor is the constitutional authority of the Commonwealth to lead the development of the nation, rather than state governments, and to plan and build for national economic development.

The Economic Consequences of the Constitution.

Last year a Constitutional Convention was held to discuss the question of Head of State. But that was the only item allowed on the agenda. The Australian people were not given the opportunity to discuss the Constitution, at a Constitutional Convention! The consequent deliberations were then hailed as a great democratic achievement! Such deliberate thought control of a major national issue is really quite astonishing.

All citizens must now prepare to cast their votes on the question of the Head of State at a Constitutional referendum later this year. However, when we vote we will not be allowed to express our views on any of the issues that should be included in any review of the need for a new Constitution for Australia.

The move towards the nomination or election of a Head of State for the Commonwealth Government should only be regarded as a first step. It is a symbolic move, but not substantive. The critical problems of the managerial relationships between the State and Federal Governments remain and need to be addressed.

The Constitution now presents a major impediment to our national progress. It preserves the concept of sovereign states, each with their own laws and bureaucracies. It is an unreal concept in a world of globalisation and international financial manipulation, where the states could be quite vulnerable. There are many needlesss differences in laws from state to state which could be unified. There is a corresponding bureaucracy at national level, monitoring state expenditures. There is continued frustration of trade across state borders, and thereby, international trade, eg. separate state rail and port systems.

This incredible duplication of activities from state to state, and between the states and the Commonwealth, creates enormous costs, amounting to tens of billions of dollars each year. It is a burden of cost which is carried, through taxation, by every enterprise in Australia.

Measuring national progress.

Another major impediment to our national progress is the present structure of the Austalian economy. In essence, we have created a service economy, (now about 80% of GDP), which can no longer be supported by the production sector of the economy (20%). The production sector is exposed to international competition, and it is struggling. The services sector is protected from international competition, with some parts showing remarkable, but quite unsustainable, prosperity.

When the Treasury reports that the Gross Domestic Product is growing at 5% per annum, it is loudly inferred in political circles that national prosperity is increasing at that rate, but it is not mentioned that :-