About the Lecture

Professor Anthony Gray and Emeritus Professor Greg Craven AO

The future of federal financial relations following Vanderstock

This lecture brings together two constitutional law experts to discuss the implications of the High Court decision in Vanderstock v Victoria.

Professor Gray will discuss the recent Vanderstock decision in the context of the broader question of the future of federal financial relations in Australia. Most would agree that the existing federal financial arrangements are unsatisfactory in one way or another. There is less consensus on what reforms should occur and/or whether substantial reform is even possible. Australia requires a mature discussion about the allocation of responsibilities between different levels of government, and then a mature discussion about providing the respective levels with adequate sources of revenue that are efficient and equitable. Professor Gray's presentation will offer some ideas for consideration.

Emeritus Professor Greg Craven AO will discuss how the decision in Vanderstock has both an immediate and wider significance. While the decision is immediately relevant to the scope of State powers of taxation, its broader importance is as a further important stage in the failure of the High Court to protect the fundamental principle of federalism in the Australian Constitution.