‘To restore federalism, strengthen the states and make Australia more republican‘, The Conversation, 18 September 2014
Only by providing states with the capacity to raise the taxes they need to finance their operations can we restore them to their rightful place as responsible political actors within the Australian federal system. Only in this way can the republican principles inherent in federalism be restored and the slow, but inexorable, movement towards a 21st-century monarchy based on the CEO ideal not only be halted but reversed.
This article is one of a series of 14 articles in The Conversation dealing with issues of federalism. Other authors include Eva Cox, Brian Galligan, John Hewson, John Freebairn, Kevin Donnelly and Cheryl Saunders. They were associated with a symposium in October 2014 and a COAG meeting which launched a government initiative on federalism.