Anne Twomey argues in this article that it is in the interests of all of us to make federalism work better. Much could be achieved without the need for a constitutional amendment. All that is required is will and commitment. Recognising the problems is one thing, but now we need to do something to fix...

Media commentators, satirists, artists and activists should be safe from controversial sedition laws—even if their ideas are unpopular and confronting—as long as they don’t urge the use of violence, under changes to federal law proposed by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC).

A number of papers from the conference, held in February 2006, are available online. They include: • Alex Reilly, Macquarie University – Appropriations and Expenditures: Where do the Limits Lie? Combet v Commonwealth • David Bennett QC, Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth – The High Court on Constitutional Law: The 2005 Term • Dr Andrew Lynch...

Andrew Lynch tests the assumption that constitutional cases generally produce a heightened level of disagreement among members of the High Court. He finds that although the court decides a higher percentage of constitutional cases over dissenting opinions than it does overall, there is not enough evidence to confirm that the Justices simply disagree per se...

Peter Prince and Thomas John examine the extent of the Commonwealth’s power under the Australian Constitution to establish a single national industrial relations system.