What were the arguments for and against federation? - Parliamentary Education Office (2024)

FAQs

Why did people disagree with Federation? ›

Anti-Federation groups argued Federation would weaken the colonial parliaments and interstate free trade would lead to lower wages and a loss of jobs.

People also demanded democratic and economic freedoms. For example, women wanted the right to vote, which they did not yet have in most colonies. Others wanted the freedom to travel and trade between colonies without unreasonable cost or inconvenience. These issues were widely discussed in New South Wales in the 1890s.

Conversely, the other colonies were experiencing an economic depression, which concerned some Western Australians who thought their colony's economic and political power would be weakened if it accepted Federation. For example, local goods and produce would face competition from the east.

THE DRAWBACKS OF FEDERALISM. Federalism also comes with drawbacks. Chief among them are economic disparities across states, race-to-the-bottom dynamics (i.e., states compete to attract business by lowering taxes and regulations), and the difficulty of taking action on issues of national importance.

Why were initial attempts to become a Federation rejected? The economy was in a bad way and there were feelings ordinary people needed more of a say. What role did Alfred Deakin play in Australia becoming a Federation? He kept fighting for the cause of Federation and eventually convinced the colonies to try again.

So, our federalist form of government has several advantages, such as protecting us from tyranny, dispersing power, increasing citizen participation, and increasing effectiveness, and disadvantages, such as supposedly protecting slavery and segregation, increasing inequalities between states, states blocking national ...

A federation often emerges from an initial agreement between several separate states. The purpose can be the will to solve mutual problems and to provide for mutual defense or to create a nation-state for an ethnicity spread over several states.

The Federation was established by the British Caribbean Federation Act of 1956 with the aim of establishing a political union among its members. The Governor General was Lord Hailes of Britain and the Prime Minister was Sir Grantley Adams, (Premier of Barbados). The Federal capital was located in Trinidad and Tobago.

Australia in the late 19th century consisted of six self-governing British colonies that were subject to the British Parliament. Each colony had its own – often quite distinct – laws, railway gauge, postage stamps and tariffs.

How does Federation work? ›

Federated identity allows authorized users to access multiple applications and domains using a single set of credentials. It links a user's identity across multiple identity management systems so they can access different applications securely and efficiently.

One of the challenges of writing the Constitution, as it had been more than a century earlier in the United States, was satisfying the concerns of all the states that their separate identities and powers would be submerged under the weight of the Federation unless strong legislative powers were vested in the Senate.

Sir Henry Parkes, Premier of New South Wales (the largest colony), was perhaps the greatest supporter of a federated Australia. In 1889 he gave a famous speech known as the 'Tenterfield Oration'. In the speech he argued that Federation would allow Australia to have a united army for the country's defence.

The capacity of a strong national government to manage issues such as trade, the economy, defence and immigration. The cost of setting up and running an Australian Parliament. Concerns we would lose our cultural ties to England and the emerging cultural identities of the 6 colonies would be lost.

A number of South Australia's politicians believed that Federation would bring financial benefits to the colony, particularly through the abolition of intercolonial tariffs. These were taxes that had to be paid on any goods being transported from one colony to another.

There were a number of reasons for Western Australia's leaders to be uncertain about Federation. The discovery of gold in the early 1890s led to rapid growth in the colony's population and wealth. Farming, the timber industry and shipping were also strong. This provided money to support its development.

A federation often emerges from an initial agreement between several separate states. The purpose can be the will to solve mutual problems and to provide for mutual defense or to create a nation-state for an ethnicity spread over several states. The former was the case with the United States and Switzerland.

Those who proposed Federation were seeking to overcome the barriers between the colonies, and to have the people united as one nation under a common government.