OLD PAGES > PM should act on Constitutional Convention and Federation Commission - 22 Apr

The Prime Minister should act on the recommendation of the 2020 Summit and hold a Constitutional Convention says the region’s largest business group the Illawarra Business Chamber.

The IBC in conjunction with the NSW Business Chamber first made a call for a Constitutional Convention in its 2007 paper Fixing the Federation.  Fixing the Federation highlighted key business areas where federalism issues were hindering business efficiency and productivity.

The IBC and the NSW Business Chamber have also acknowledged the merit of the Summit's proposal to establish structures such as a Federation Commission to review of the roles and responsibilities of the three levels of government.

“Business has been saying for some time that dysfunction within the Federation has become a drain on Australia’s capacity to grow and achieve”, said Mark Grimson, CEO of the Illawarra Business Chamber.

“It is common sense that having clear lines of responsibility and accountability ensures the best outcomes.  We can’t let Australia be held back by a governance structure designed in the nineteenth century”.

“We need to move beyond the talk of co-operative federalism to a concerted effort to achieve a “constructive federalism”.  We need an approach focused on delivering better outcomes for Australians rather than on compromises designed for preserving power bases for each level of government.

Mr Grimson said the challenge before the Federal and State Governments was to shift gears in relation to removing impediments to conducting business across Australia.

“The Federal and State Governments have been already talking about a national approach to OH&S for five years and COAG has committed itself to a solution within the next five years.  If it takes ten years for something like OH&S one can only guess how long it will take for more complex areas such as health and education”.

“Improving the operation of the Federation has to become a first order priority for the Commonwealth and the States.  It is estimated that the costs of the dysfunction between the Commonwealth and States is in the order of $9 billion, or put another way, the costs of this dysfunction are more than the entire Budgets of the Tasmanian and Northern Territory Governments.

“We have to fix the Federation – and a Federation Commission and a Constitutional Convention is the right way to start".

For further information please contact Mark Grimson on 4229 4722 or 0409 155240