Australian Politics and Government: The Commonwealth, The States and The Territories [Paperback]

Jeremy Moon (Editor), Campbell Sharman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0521532051 | ISBN-13: 978-0521532051

This examination of the six states and two self-governing territorial, as well as national, governments reveals the variety and innovation which characterizes the government and politics of the Australian federation. Chapters by leading scholars in the field merge information and analysis for the specialist as well as the general reader. The work is an invaluable source for reference and teaching to anyone concerned with Australian politics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is well documented and indexed. It would be very useful as either a reference work or as an introduction to Australian politics and could lead students into original analysis using links to the data set. Highly recommended." Choice

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive survey of the variety and innovation which characterises the government and politics of the Australian federation. This entails an examination of the six state and two self-governing territory governments as well as the national government. The chapters are written by leading scholars in the field and bring together information and analysis which will be of interest to both the specialist and the general reader. The work will be an invaluable source book for reference and teaching for anyone concerned with Australian politics.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521532051
• ISBN-13: 978-0521532051
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,458,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars compare the Australian and American systems of government, March 15, 2009

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W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Australian Politics and Government: The Commonwealth, The States and The Territories (Paperback)

If you don't know much about the Australian political system, this book is as good a place to start as any. It describes the 3 levels of government, federal, state and local. Though the latter is only briefly covered. The federal-state relationship is like that in the United States, and historically was directly modelled as such. Just over a century ago, the Australians and British who put together the new nation copied a successful American arrangement. Inspired in part by the sheer size of Australia.

The Australian Senate is the direct analog of the US Senate. Virtually equivalent in powers to the House of Representatives. Unlike Canada, whose Senate has historically been a weak institution.

From the book, you can see an analysis of the Constitution. Like the US, Australia has an explicit Constitution. Which also has rules for how to amend it. But, a key difference from the US is the lack of a Bill of Rights. In this sense, a very British thing. In Australia, then, individual rights are governed by case law, that can in fact stretch back to cases in Britain itself.

Another difference from the US is that Australian states have less power than American states. Taxation is gathered at the federal level, and the federal government then disburses portions to the states each year. So the feds control the purse strings. Plus, there are no state militias. The Constitution was drawn up in the early 1900s, not too long after the American Civil War. So a parsing of the book might suggest, perhaps cynically, that the arrangement was meant to make separation and civil war much harder to achieve.