What Are The Factors That Lead Australia Into Federation

On the 1st of January 1901, six British colonies were legalised by the British parliament to govern as a part of the Australian Federation. With the legalisation of unification also held the birth of national independence of Australia. Under a federal system, powers were divided between a central government and several regional governments. Power was divided between the federal government and the governments of the six colonies, which were renamed 'states' by the Constitution. One of the first pieces of legislation passed in the new Federal Parliament was the Immigration Restriction Act. Now known as the infamous White Australia Policy. This immigration restriction made it significantly difficult for Asians and Pacific Islanders to migrate to Australia.

First of all, there are some similarities between the Australian government and the American government. They both have a congress, although they call it parliament in the Australian government. Both have a federal government; this means that they have state and federal governments. They have senators that represents the states. They have a house that is elected by the people. In both countries, legislation has to be passed through both houses. They both have a court that interprets the constitution and handles final appeals (Supreme Court in U.S. and High Court in Australia). Also, they both have written constitutions that describes the powers of government. However, they both have differences.

Australia has been federated for 114 years, yet we still don’t have our own head of state. Yes, we have a head of state in the form of a Governor General, but this person does not represent the views of the Australian people, but rather serves as the representative of the Queen. A Queen that will never be a true Australian.

Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire in 1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Now, Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels.

Essay: Federation of Australia By Tristan Scheirs

Defence
A very important reason why Australia decided to become a nation (having a federal government) was because of an inadequate defence force. Each of the six colonies in Australia had their own military force. But when it came to patrolling the extensive Australian coastline, they had to rely on the British navy to fulfil that task. Due to there being a number of countries such as Germany, France, and Russia who had colonised parts of the Pacific, there was a growing fear that one of them could have attacked Australia. There was a report released by British Major - General Sir J Bevan Edwards in 1889, states the individual colonies of Australia did not have enough soldiers,

To introduce, Australia was country solely owned and run by Britian until 1901, the year of Australian federation, from 6 separate self-governing colonies to one, on the 26th day of January 1901. ’While Federation was not perfect, it was a system (of both laws and beliefs) that enabled Australia to flourish.’ The question itself represents the states coming together as one uniting nation. The laws, the beliefs, the privileges and the embellishment of the phrase gives you a sense of welcoming into the history of Australian federation.

On the first of January 1901 Australia became a federation when the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act came into force. Since this time, Australia has been a federated country, consisting of a Commonwealth Parliament and six State Parliaments these being Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia. The Division of law-making power has changed considerably since 1901.

The Australian national identity was affected by the foreign policy and changing of alliances in World War Two, which is seen by, Australia’s alliance with America and their detachment from the mother country, their increase in victories on the battlefield as well as their economic progress post-war, which made Australia more independent and therefore shaped how it was viewed as a country. Throughout the war Australia was left vulnerable by Britain so America was called upon to help in defense. Australia fought many crucial battles with America and their victories paved the way for national success. After the war Australia had many great achievements economically which created their national identity.

There are several similarities contained within the preambles of the Australian and United States constitutions. Immediately, they both tell of the people and their states which will be affected and governed by the constitution which follows. Next, they say they have agreed to come together to create a union of some form. In addition, they both end the opening of the

Australia saw many changes during the course of the Second World War. WWII begun on September 3 1939 when Britain declared war on Germany due to the German invasion of Poland 2 days prior. (www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww2/overview/ww2-01.html) Because Australia was allies with Great Britain, Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, declared war on Germany stating “that in consequence of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her and that, as a result, Australia is also at war.”(Prime Minister, Robert Menzies’ declaration of war speech – www.ww2australia.gov.au/wardeclared/) Changes that occurred in Australia effected the political, economic and social factors of our National Identity, some of which being permanent whilst others were only temporary.

In 1901 Federation changed the way Australia treated Aboriginal people. The new Australian Constitution agreed that the federal government wouldn’t make laws for the Aboriginal people and the Aboriginal people would not be counted in the census. The next year in 1902 the Franchise act took the Aboriginal peoples votes away. They were still able to vote in some states but not in the federal government.

The Australian Gold rush days had brought may immigrants from all over the world to Australia. Many of the migrants who joined the goldrush left their families and their homeland behind. This is particularly difficult for the Chinese because they come from a traditional culture that focused greatly on family and their village. Most Chinese men who came to New South Wales were not for individual fortune but came for their family. The Chinese immigration shaped and influenced Australian policy for over a 100 year, which became one of the driving factors for the Australian Federation.

Over the years, things started to go downhill. Ships loaded with items were stolen from other colonies and would get away with it. They started decreasing items, making it an unfair trading. It continued on for too long until conflicts started arising.

Trade affected the birth and development of the British colonies in America. In the case of the first colony, Virginia, trade was at the heart of its survival. When Virginia was

Australia, a continent in between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, had no territorial claims made until the 17th century when the East Coast was claimed by Great Britain in 1770. In 1829 all of Australia was claimed by the British and in 1901 Australia federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia. Located in the Southern Hemisphere, South of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and North of Antarctica, it is the sixth largest country in the world and mostly made of low plateau with deserts and fertile plain in the Southeast.The name ‘Australia’ is actually comes from the latin word Austrials meaning Southern.