Williams v Commonwealth

Williams v Commonwealth

In Williams v Commonwealth,1 Heydon J’s dissenting judgment is to be preferred to those of the majority and, in any event, the Commonwealth’s response contained in s 32B of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth)does provide the necessary statutory umbrella to validate expenditure to the myriad of programs listed in Schedule 1AA . This is no different to the notion of a General Contracts Act proposed by Sir Owen Dixon to the 1929 Royal Commission on the Constitution of the Commonwealth.

It will also be contended that critics of the Commonwealth’s solution to Williams are wedded to an anachronistic view of the Constitution. The High Court has, since 1920, consistently given a broad interpretation to the heads of power contained in s 51 of the Constitution, supplemented by a carte blanche interpretation of the grants power under s 96. Section 32B is the next logical step in an efficient distribution of Commonwealth funds whose sole constitutional 'sin' appears to be that of by-passing the States. Just as the Senate is no longer the States' House, so too the States are no longer the bulwark against a rampant Commonwealth. The programs listed in Schedule 1AA of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth) benefit all Australians, and there is no valid reason why such expenditure should be channeled through the States.

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.