https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/~/link.aspx?_id=AFF6CA564BC3465AA325E73053DED4AA&_z=z#chapter-01_part-05_5251. Legislative powers of the ParliamentThe Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power
to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to:trade and commerce with other countries, and among the States;
(ii) taxation; but so as not to discriminate between States or parts of States;
(ix) quarantine;
https://sielearning.tafensw.edu.au/MBA/19194J/commerc_law/lo/u1_t3_parlaw/u1_t3_parlaw_02.htm#:~:text=Exclusive%20powers%20are%20those%20powers,raising%20naval%20or%20military%20forces
Commonwealth Parliament
The British Parliament enacted the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act which established the Commonwealth of Australia from 1 January 1901.The Commonwealth Constitution does the following:
-It outlines the functions and structure of Parliament.It establishes the powers of Parliament.It provides for the settling of disputes about the Constitution.It outlines the procedures for changing the Constitution.
The main section we will deal with is the part that establishes the power of the Parliament to make laws.The Constitution sets out clearly the division of powers between the State and Federal Governments. It does this by stating the powers given to the Federal Government and then providing that the powers not mentioned remain with the states. Such powers are called residual powers.
The Constitution allows the states to make laws in areas over which the Commonwealth has power (provided that the state laws do not conflict with those of the Commonwealth). This occurs where the states and the Commonwealth have concurrent powers—that is, a shared power to legislate. An example of this is in the area of taxation, where state taxation takes the form of stamp duty and federal taxation takes the form of income tax.
If there is a conflict of interest between the states and the Federal Government, or if there is an inconsistency in these laws, the federal laws prevail over state law.The Constitution outlines specific powers given to the Commonwealth by the states. These specific powers can be classified as either exclusive or concurrent.
Exclusive powers
Exclusive powers are those powers that can only be exercised by the Federal Parliament. These powers are listed in the Constitution and include:
section 90 the power to impose customs and excise duties
section 114 prohibits the states from raising naval or military forces
section 115 prohibits the states from minting their own coins.
Concurrent powers
Concurrent powers are those powers that can be exercised by both the states and the Commonwealth.
Some of them can be found in s 51, including:trade and commerce with other countries
taxation postal, telegraphic, telephonic and similar services
marriage divorce (including the custody and guardianship of children).
A power is said to be concurrent if both the State and Federal Governments can pass laws on the same matter.
If there is a conflict of interest between the states and the Federal Government, or there is an inconsistency in these laws, the federal laws prevail over the state laws (s 109).
Section 109 states that:
When a law of the State is inconsistent with the law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid.
An inconsistency exists where a state law is in conflict with a federal law, making it impossible to obey both laws.Residual powersBefore Federation, each colony had its own set of powers. At Federation some of these powers were handed over to the Commonwealth (s 51).
The remaining powers stayed with the states (s 108); they are called the residual powers and only the states can make laws based on these powers. Examples of residual powers can be found in the areas of:law and order commerce and industry
primary production
education
housing
transport
development
public health and social welfare issues.
