Federation - A federal story?

Getting started

• Explain to students that while today we might see Federation as a natural step for the country, there were many people who opposed the idea at the time.
• Analyse The great work for Friday cartoon using the worksheet in the toolkit.  

Activity (30 minutes)

1. Review the arguments for and against Federation by reading the In focus paper.
2. Categorise reasons for and against Federation using the worksheet in the toolkit.
3. Discuss with students whether they think they would have voted for or against Federation if they were living in one of the colonies at the time.
4. Explain that the writers of the Constitution needed to come up with some solutions to address the concerns that the colonies had raised, in order to convince them to vote for Federation. The scenario that students are about to participate in will help them to see how they addressed some of the concerns.
5. Organise the class into groups according to the group organisation table. Each group will represent a different colony.
6. Ask each group to decide between proposed projects (listed below). Which one will most benefit the people in its colony? The federal government will only be able to afford to undertake one of these, and each group must vote as a block.
   • A high-speed rail line between Melbourne and Sydney
   • A new AFL stadium in Tasmania
   • New hospitals for Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth
7. Vote, tally the votes and announce which project will go ahead.
8. Discuss how the students felt about the vote? Was everyone’s voice heard? Was it fair?
9. Explain to the students that the authors of the Australian Constitution realised there was a dilemma where representation based on population could mean that the voices of the smaller states might not be heard. They overcame this issue by having a bicameral parliament with both a House of Representatives and a Senate, where the states all had equal say. Law-making power was also divided between the states and the federal Parliament, and they included a High Court to resolve disputes.

Discussion questions

• If project B or C was chosen, were all the representatives voting to benefit their colony?
• If project A was chosen, who benefits from it, and why was it chosen?
• Why was it important for the writers of the Constitution to include both a House of Representatives with representation based on population) and a Senate (with equal representation for the states)?

Extension

Another way for the states and territories to have their voices heard is in National Cabinet. Ask students to research National Cabinet using federation.gov.au. They should find out:

• What is National Cabinet?
• When was it established?
• Who are the members of National Cabinet?
• What is the purpose of National Cabinet?
• What are some of the issues discussed in National Cabinet?

• Australian Constitution
• History
• Years 5+6
• Years 7+8