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The Forum > Article Comments > Scrap the states? Would we have to scrap the constitution too? > Comments

Scrap the states? Would we have to scrap the constitution too? : Comments

By Gabrielle Appleby, published 4/1/2013

Bob Hawke has reprised his call from 1984 for the abolition of the states. Is it that easy?

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In Qld the recent forced Council Amalgamations have already proven that this remote control kind of managing is a total disaster. Even so, I'd like to see an East, West, North & South Australia instead of the setup now. The constitution is more or less a waste of time nowadays unless of course it was actually implemented & followed properly in everyday life instead of just used in idealistic reports & forums. Perhaps we could have Justice then ?
Posted by individual, Saturday, 5 January 2013 4:48:47 PM
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I think no better argument exists for dismantling state govt admins, than the school hall roll-out. Up to 30% of this money was apparently absorbed by state administrations as "management fees"!
The second most convincing argument was and remains NSW, and the level of perceived corruption, sheer incompetence/mismanagement/waste, and serial crisis/political scandals!
By and large, state govts are little more than money grabbing middle men, taking and distributing federal money!
And charging the long suffering tax payer around 70 billions per, for that imposition.
Abolish the states and we can have rapid rail serving the entire East Coast this year!
Abolish the states and we can have a rail tunnel to Tasmania the year after.
Abolish the states and we can have all the black spot roads properly fixed up the year after that, with projects like the Toowoomba bypass an actual reality in around three years, rather than something that rears its head, as in prospect, at every federal election!
Abolish the states and redirect federal spending on long overdue decentralisation, rather than concentrate so much of it, on state power bases; and or, city centric politicians and bureaucrats; and their pet projects/ultra-costly "centralisation and correlation".
Instead of states bickering and or holding the rest of the country to ransom over federal funding!
Money should be allocated on a population pro rata basis formula, instead of party politics or preference; and then adjusted upwards by around ten dollars per person, for every one hundred kilometres of distance from existing state capitals.
State's rights can be more than adequately protected by the senate, or house of review; and or, ITS STATE APPOINTEES!
Rhrosty.
Posted by Rhrosty, Sunday, 6 January 2013 10:31:53 AM
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One could comfortably argue, most of those in favour of keeping the states, are predominantly state politicians and bureaucrats, and young members of various political parties, who see this; and or, state pollies/politics, as part of (a) currently existing possible career pathway(s).
I mean, many young folk get into young Labour/liberal/etc, with just one thing in mind? i.e., get a job as a party staffer, which then becomes a pathway to a political career! [And then we wonder, why places like NSW are virtual failed states?]
Manifest self interest, that really ought to be entirely discounted, as logical or cogent argument here.
Abolish our ultra expensive state parliaments and you abolish around 75-85% of those job prospects!
Hence the preponderance of posts in favour of the current status quo?
Besides, where else can self evidently failed/almost bankrupt doctors, [who faint at the sight of blood,] and lawyers then go, who'se only real gift, is the gift of the gab/ manifest mendacious verisimilitude?
Slimming tea/second hand car salesmen perhaps?
Rhrosty.
Posted by Rhrosty, Sunday, 6 January 2013 11:09:28 AM
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Just two points:

1. The 1900 British preamble means nothing: if we don't observe it, then we may break the British law - but so what? we are not British!

2. What should be abolished is the commonwealth, not the states, turning Australia into a confederation of independent countries.

The bigger a body, the more oppressive it can be. Hogging a whole continent, enforcing one regime over all the people who happen to live in such a vast area of land, controlling what they may and may not do, is obscene, totally sick. The smaller the sovereign states become, the more options people have, so if one finds the laws in their country unacceptably oppressive, then they have more options to move to a more acceptable country.
Posted by Yuyutsu, Sunday, 6 January 2013 2:19:12 PM
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We will not have the money or the will to support the number of pollies
that we have now.
I believe the states will wither on the vine as they are starved for money.
My thought for a regional body is for it to be responsible for lending
to local councils expensive equipment such as earth moving machines.
It might have responsibility for environmental laws, hospitals etc.

One of the few responsibilities of the National government would be
taxation, defense, border protection and foreign affairs.
Immigration will have to cease totally, we simply will not have the
financial or physical resources.

The whole wind down of government may well be forced upon us by the
economy of the times.
Posted by Bazz, Sunday, 6 January 2013 2:54:11 PM
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If any thing Rhrosty, it would probably be better to abolish the commonwealth, rather than the states. Once we get Labor in Canberra we always have a disaster on the way.

Can you imagine if this bunch now got access to all the mining revenue. They would bag it all, take it to Canberra, & not a cent would ever get out of the place.

What we need is the states to take back their taxing power, & strip it from Canberra. The saving in public service costs would be immense. God wouldn't it be good to abolish their ABC.

Canberra going to the states, with it's cap in hand would stop billions of waste, & the states could afford some services. All we would have to do then, for a bit of equity, would be move each state capital to the geographic centre of it's state.
Posted by Hasbeen, Sunday, 6 January 2013 4:47:57 PM
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