An Australian state breaking away

Pangur

Donor
What are the chances on an Australian state breaking away from the Australian commonwealth? There was a referendum in WA in 1933 which was successful however it was not acted on as it did not have the support of the federal gov. Two questions

1 Is that result still valid (the WA vote bit)

2 It possible for the matter to come up again and this time be successful with either the federal gov backing it or the WA gov breaking away ?
 
What are the chances on an Australian state breaking away from the Australian commonwealth? There was a referendum in WA in 1933 which was successful however it was not acted on as it did not have the support of the federal gov. Two questions

1 Is that result still valid (the WA vote bit)

2 It possible for the matter to come up again and this time be successful with either the federal gov backing it or the WA gov breaking away ?

Somewhere between zero and none?
 
I'm a West Australian. It's occasionally brought up from time to time but noone seriously proposes it. In more recent times a WA First political party was registered for the last Federal election and it barely gathered a significant turn out. The State Minister for Mines, Norman Moore, is an outspoken secessionist who often 'hints' at secession - but the Premier pretty quickly comes out to officially dispel any suggestion there is a serious consideration of it.

We have seen a lot of argy bargy over the GST receipts to WA recently, each review it seems WA will be getting less and less and consequently the Premier raises this as an issue. WA has also announced it would join the mining companies legal action against the Commonwealth over the Mining Tax as they (WA) believe it is unconstitutional. But this is mostly partisan political in nature. Premier Barnett is enjoying making life more difficult for a very unpopular Federal Government and it is reflected in his high opinion poll figures. If it were a Liberal Government in Canberra, or conversely a Labor Government in Perth, I dare say the whole thing would die down.

In regards to the 1933 referendum, if memory serves me right it was the Conservative Coalition that pushed hard for the referendum. Even though the referendum was successful, the Coalition lost that election very badly. Labor had campaigned against it, but when they won Government felt honor bound to 'do their best' so to speak. They sent a delegation to London and petitioned the British Parliament to once more become a crown colony and secede from the Australian Commonwealth. After some deliberation London decided it could not, legally, intervene in what was a sovereign matter for the Commonwealth of Australia.

If you could somehow get that Conservative Government to win the election which drove them to oblivion, it is possible they may push hard enough to secede. Legally I don't think it's possible, but if there is an outright declaration of independence and a refusal to pay Commonwealth duties I'm not sure what would happen. Civil War would seem highly unlikely. I suppose it would be a battle of wills. Would the Commonwealth or the State cave in first?

Either way if you want an independent WA the 1933 referendum is your best bet IMHO. There has been no other statistically significant support on the issue since then.

P.S: Just as a matter of interest the way the Constitution is worded the Commonwealth and the States each have their own Monarch, represented by the Governor-General or Governor respectively. This was an issue raised during the republican debates at which some States (WA included) indicated they would like to remain a constitutional monarchy even if Commonwealth became a republic. There remains to this day considerable debate amongst constitutional lawyers about how this particular issue would be resolved. So theoretically there could be a potential legal remedy to secede but I highly doubt it.
 

Pangur

Donor
I don't have any plans to write a TL of WA breaking away. It is a straight up and down question. Thanks for replies and even more so for adding the information about the way the Constitution is worded in regards to the Commonwealth and the States each have their own Monarch, represented by the Governor-General or Governor respectively. Did not know that however having read it, I can see how that works as it were
 
While I'd consider it unlikely it is possible for states and territories to succeed...indeed png is a former territory of Australia.

While there is no provision for a state leaving the commonwealth in the constition,
Such a separation would require the consent of the federal parliment, as section 114 and 115 of the condition of Australia prevents the formation of armed forces and the issuing of currencies (the building blocks of nationhood) by individual states without federal consent.
 

Pangur

Donor
While I'd consider it unlikely it is possible for states and territories to succeed...indeed png is a former territory of Australia.

PNG is some what different I think. it was a German colony that be came an Australian colony after ww1 Where as where I was going was in regards to the states and territories that came together in 1900
 
After looking it up I have to agree with you Pangur... although Papua territory (southern png) was administered from Australia from 1888, and Canberra from 1904 - with German new guinea added after wwi, it does remain technically a British possession till independence. Quite a weird arrangement , but that's colonialism for you !
Thanks for correcting me !
 
What are the chances on an Australian state breaking away from the Australian commonwealth? There was a referendum in WA in 1933 which was successful however it was not acted on as it did not have the support of the federal gov. Two questions

1 Is that result still valid (the WA vote bit)

2 It possible for the matter to come up again and this time be successful with either the federal gov backing it or the WA gov breaking away ?

To questions 1 and 2, no and no.

Also, don't know if anyone's ever mentioned this here, but until the passage of the Australia Acts in the 1980s a state secession would also require the assent of the British parliament.
 

Cook

Banned
While I'd consider it unlikely it is possible for states and territories to succeed...indeed png is a former territory of Australia.
PNG did not secede; it was a colony that was given independence. German New Guinea (the northern half of PNG including Bougainville) was taken over by Australia during the First World War, and following the war was administered by Australia under a League of Nations Mandate. At the end of the Second World War, New Guinea and Papua were amalgamated into a single administrative block, governed by Australia under a United Nations trusteeship to prepare it for independence. PNG was never a territory with elected representation in Canberra, which is the situation with the States and Northern Territory.
 
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