Posted
| UpdatedAustralian history is full of great moments, which could serve as alternative dates for Australia Day, including April 7, when the most Australian movie ever made — The Castle — was released, writes Ben Pobjie.
Topics: federation, history, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, national-days, offbeat, australia-day, australia
Posted
| UpdatedDuring a recent appearance on Q&A, Industry Minister Christopher Pyne claimed that between 2009 and 2014, the Commonwealth increased its funding to public schools, while the states reduced their funding.
"So we're always increasing Commonwealth funding and the states are removing funding from their schools. That's the facts," Mr Pyne said.
Is this really the case? ABC Fact Check examines the numbers.
Topics: schools, education, federation, federal---state-issues, budget, australia, act, nsw, nt, qld, sa, tas, vic, wa
Posted
Malcolm Turnbull has a lawyer's understanding of the constitution and a politician's understanding of how to deal with the states. But federation reform is about more than just law and politics.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, federation, federal-election
Posted
| UpdatedNorthern Territory independent MLA Kezia Purick tells Joe Hockey to "come up more regularly and listen to the people" after he says Territorians do not want statehood.
Topics: federation, federal---state-issues, darwin-0800, sydney-2000
Posted
| UpdatedWhat would you call the Northern Territory if it became the nation's seventh state? Listeners of 105.7 ABC Darwin suggest a few names.
Topics: federation, government-and-politics, nt
Posted
| UpdatedA push by the South Australian Premier to charge heavy vehicle users to fund road improvements is welcomed by a construction lobby group, which says the industry is "really suffering".
Topics: federation, government-and-politics, state-parliament, federal---state-issues, sa
Posted
| UpdatedSouth Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says his state would be willing to pilot a national scheme which would charge heavy vehicle users to fund road improvements.
Topics: federation, government-and-politics, states-and-territories, parliament, federal---state-issues, sa, australia
Posted
Health service funding will prove one of the more contentious issues in the upcoming negotiations over federation reform, and history suggests the road to reform will be far from easy.
Topics: government-and-politics, forms-of-government, federation, federal---state-issues
Posted
It's time to renew the federation by decentralising power. We need to shatter the illusion that the Commonwealth is the "Swiss army pocketknife" of government in Australia.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, forms-of-government, federation
Posted
Since the time of Federation, the economically stronger states have contributed financially to the weaker ones to keep everyone on relatively equal footing.
The push by some to ditch that principle would mean proposing that citizens from weaker states would not get the same opportunities as people in other states.
How much would this impair our national meritocracy?
Topics: federation, government-and-politics, community-and-society
Posted
The President of the Australian Local Government Association says it's time for an honest discussion on Australia's three levels of Government.
Topics: local-government, federation, federal---state-issues, federal-government, tamworth-2340
Posted
| UpdatedThe Federal Minister for Agriculture is reviving the debate over state boundaries, following the announcement of a Federal White Paper on the Reform of the Federation.
Topics: joyce-barnaby, rural, federation, tamworth-2340
Posted
| UpdatedFederal agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce explains why he thinks it is time to re-think Federalism in Australia, after the Government launches a white paper on the topic.
Topics: joyce-barnaby, rural, federation, tamworth-2340
Posted
| UpdatedIt's strange that we favour Gallipoli as a national starting point over the diligent, purposeful blue sky thinking of the men who actually stitched our disparate colonies into one at federation.
Why dwell on the courage of war over the quieter guts it took to clear a block of bush by hand and raise and feed a family from the stumpy soil?
A more mature country might call war a dead end, a source of little more than regret. It's perhaps a sign of our lingering callowness that we call it a starting point.
Topics: world-war-1, history, community-and-society, federation
Posted
| UpdatedSBS TV will kick of a new three part documentary series on mining this Sunday night at 8.30 'Dirty Business: How Mining Made Australia'
Topics: mining-rural, documentary, mining-industry, tax, historians, federation, 19th-century, 20th-century, 21st-century, coal, perth-6000
Posted
| UpdatedWriting a final Murray-Darling Basin plan relies on rewriting history, argues Mike Sexton.
Topics: murray-darling-basin, rivers, environment, water-supply, water-management, water, federation, history, community-and-society, constitution, government-and-politics, federal---state-issues, federal-government, states-and-territories, irrigation, rural, sa, renmark-5341, adelaide-5000, australia, nsw, albury-2640, narrandera-2700, qld, toowoomba-4350, wodonga-3690, mildura-3500, vic
Posted
| UpdatedSA's Premier claims the state is gaining support for its Murray-Darling Basin water policy from residents of the upstream states.
Topics: irrigation, rural, states-and-territories, federal---state-issues, government-and-politics, murray-darling-basin, rivers, water-management, water, water-supply, environment, federation, sa, adelaide-5000, goolwa-5214, renmark-5341, australia
Posted
| UpdatedMinisters from three states have visited the Murray mouth, but again highlighted their differences on the draft plan for the river system.
Topics: murray-darling-basin, rivers, environment, water-supply, water-management, water, community-and-society, federation, government-and-politics, local-government, states-and-territories, federal---state-issues, irrigation, rural, goolwa-5214, renmark-5341, sa, adelaide-5000, vic, qld
Posted
| UpdatedA story of wool so fine it impressed a King.
Topics: royal-and-imperial-matters, animals, offbeat, wool, sheep-production, federation, 19th-century, canberra-2600
Posted
| UpdatedCentrelink workers have gone to South Australia's far north-west Aboriginal lands to help locals manage their welfare payments.
Topics: aboriginal, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, federation, community-and-society, indigenous-policy, federal-government, federal---state-issues, government-and-politics, food-and-cooking, sa, marla-5724, adelaide-5000, port-augusta-5700, port-lincoln-5606, port-pirie-5540
Posted
| UpdatedA new display has been unveiled at the National Museum of Australia celebrating the country's history and growth.
Topics: library-museum-and-gallery, 20th-century, 21st-century, federation, education, canberra-2600, act
Posted
| UpdatedThe National Museum of Australia in Canberra has a new permanent gallery telling the story of Australia's history.
Topics: library-museum-and-gallery, 20th-century, 21st-century, federation, education, canberra-2600, act
Posted
The ACT Government is hailing its new autumn festival Enlighten a success but a new report suggests otherwise.
Topics: community-and-multicultural-festivals, carnivals-and-festivals, tourism, federation, states-and-territories, canberra-2600
Posted
| UpdatedThe National Library is celebrating John Gould's life his most famous work with a new book.
Topics: 19th-century, non-fiction, library-museum-and-gallery, federation, ornithology, canberra-2600, australia, england
Posted
A watercolour depicting Western Australia's first settlement farm at Strawberry Hill. The picture, which was found in a 19th century British sketchbook, will be auctioned in England on July 22, 2010.
Topics: art-history, federation, wa, united-kingdom, england