COAG has had limited success in harmonising the plethora of conflicting state laws and the multitude of policy approaches that have been developed over the past century by 9 governments and their civil services.

The Australian Local Government Association represents all of local government and disappointingly plays a minor role for now, but not for too long. Its destiny is to replace all 6 states.

The big bang reform that few dare mentions - abolition of the states - is the logical conclusion of successive COAG meetings. Harmonisation makes sence but the logical questions must be: 'Why have State governments and their $50 Billion a year price tag at all?

By having just one parliament and one house of review, with perhaps a reconstituted Senate of 100 regions, we will have achieved one law making body by definition that is guaranteed to harmonise all Australian laws.

Local governments role will be to listen to their communities and use national funding to deliver quality services and infrastructure that meets local priorities. The Municipal Association of Victoria will have a roadmap for the Future of Australian Local Government by the end of 2007.

COAG is the half way house between a broken, costly, massively inefficient Federal System and a unitary system of government. Future constitutional reform is set to empower local communities to share the efficiency dividend with tax payers.

This is the best way that a country of just over 20 million people can get optimal value for their tax dollar. History will record whether it will be Rudd or his successor who delivers this prize for future generations of Australians.

A national convention to reform our constitution has the potential to short cut the evolution of unitary government by stealth.

The danger we are facing is that GoAC might be used to try to circumvent the usage of Section 128 referendums, but the Premiers to agree to hand over legislative powers, albeit not constitutionally possible in this manner, but this is to complicated to set out in this post.
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INSPECTOR-RIKATI® on IR WorkChoices legislation

This book sets out why the high Court of Australia had it so wrong in its judgment.

While many are looking at the tax dollar to have so many State Governments, I for one can only agree with the foresight the Framers of the Constitution had to make it a federation and not a confederation.
To may problems would come to exist if we were to get rid of the States, regretfully many are looking at the dollars they may save in having one centralized government then to consider what indeed the Framers of the Constitution were so smart to recognize it better not to have it as such.

GoAC might be all rights to resolve certain issues, lets say having a unified drivers license test, traffic signs and symbols, etc, but if it is being used to try to circumvent constitutional limitations then we all be loosing out.

There is a reason to have different State laws, and having one kind of criminal law was rejected already by the Framers of the Constitution and I view there were very wise to do so. Trying to save a few dollars, so to say, and in return loose a lot of “civil rights” and ending up with numerous other problems, in my view is failing to look at the bigger picture.