Principles of a Modern Federal Community

26-27 May 2008

A conference hosted by The University of Adelaide, Schools of Economics, Law, History and Politics

To be held at The Art Gallery of South Australia

Recent events in Australia highlight the continuing shifts in relationships between the Commonwealth and State governments, and the design and evolution of those relationships will be one of the most important policy issues over the next 5 years. This conference will explore the emerging debates relating to key policy questions that require a coordinated response from Australian Governments.

The two-day conference is organised around both cross-cutting questions and case studies. The questions include the traditional concerns of the allocation of spending and revenue raising powers, the role of institutions such as the Grants Commission, the allocation of regulatory powers, the manner in which agreements are reached between levels of government, and the ways in which governments are held accountable for the implementation of those agreements. Particular case studies of interest include health, water, education and transport. Themes to be addressed will include:

• constitutional challenges
• reform options
• competition power and productivity
• policy studies - case studies of policy issues
  
• fiscal federalism, and
  
• comparitive federalism

Presentations will encourage the interchange between theoretical and applied policy perspectives and will include significant speakers from Government and Universities around Australia and two International Guest Speakers. The conference will be launched by Attorney-General the Hon Michael Atkinson

Sponsors: ARC GovNet, AACL (Australian Association of Consitutional Law), CEDA (Committee for Economic Developement Australia)