High Court Challenge

[SydneyGuy]

I think that the challenge to the Australian High Court by the State Governments against the new Commonwealth Industrial Relations laws will succeed.

I base this view on these grounds;

1) The Australian Constitution Act specifies that the States have jursidiction over Industrial Relations matters in their own States.

2) The corporations powers given to the Commonwealth Parliament by the States do not say that the Commonwealth Parliament has absolute and unrestricted powers to enact any laws it likes with regards to corporations.

3) The High Court has previously ruled that even in cases where the Commonwealth Parliament has jursidiction over certain matters it must still comply with State laws (eg. The Department of Defence is obliged to register vehicles that make use of roads built by State Governments).

In the unlikely event that the High Court dismisses the challenge by the State Governments all is not lost. If all six State Parliaments decide to repeal the relevant laws that gave the Commonwealth Parliament those corporations powers then the current Commonwealth Industrial Relations laws will then have to be declared null and void by the High Court. So either way the States cannot lose.