Briefing: Australia before and after Federation

Before 1901, the six British colonies in Australia governed themselves in many matters. Supporters of federation argued that a national government could coordinate issues such as defence and trade. After referendums in the colonies, the Commonwealth of Australia began on 1 January 1901. The Constitution established a federal system, dividing powers between the Commonwealth and the states. A constitution is the basic set of rules for how a country is governed. The new Parliament was bicameral: it had a House of Representatives and a Senate. At Federation, the Constitution did not provide equal voting rights to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; federal voting eligibility for Aboriginal people depended on the laws that applied in their state. People also argued about trade. Protectionists supported tariffs—taxes on imported goods—to help Australian industries compete. Free-trade supporters wanted fewer barriers to trade between countries. Federation did not make the nation’s history fair or complete. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples of Australia, with continuing cultures and connections to Country. The doctrine of terra nullius (“land belonging to no one”) was used to justify British occupation, despite the presence and law of First Peoples. Frontier conflict accompanied colonisation and dispossession. In the late nineteenth century, Pacific Islander people were recruited and sometimes coerced or kidnapped through blackbirding to work, including in Queensland’s sugar industry. These histories must not be treated as side notes to nation-building.