The Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs has tabled a report on harmonisation of legal systems . The media reporting on it has been that Australia and New Zealand should form union . The conservative fear is that it will end up in a PEPC . The inquiry advocates harmonisation on a case by case basis - but their methods cause centralisation.

From the report;

2.19 The main mechanisms by which legal harmonisation can be facilitated or achieved within Australia include:

• High Court judicial interpretation;
• High Court declaration of a single Australian common law;
• Model legislation;
• Referral of powers to the Commonwealth by the States;
• Cooperative legislative schemes; and
• Constitutional amendment.

The constitutional amendment has buckley's chance as voters have been rejecting centralising referendums in large numbers. I also like how they also believe the High Court can have a role in subverting the commonwealth and states with a proclamation on high - probably using the old standard of the corporations power (j/k).

To be truthful I find options one and two repugnant. A judicial arm of government is not supposed to operate that way.

We also need to recognise that nationalising laws and unitary parliament is a structural weakness. The co-operative legislative option is far better a choice.

Chapter 3 of the report includes a section of harmonisation of laws between Australia and New Zealand - noting that this is already occurring by different means on a case by case basis. The recommendations include;

• The Committee recommends that the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament invite the New Zealand Parliament to establish a trans-Tasman standing committee to monitor and report annually to each Parliament on appropriate measures to ensure ongoing harmonisation of the respective legal systems.
• The Committee further recommends that the trans-Tasman standing committee be required to explore and report on options that are of mutual benefit, including the possibility of closer association between Australia and New Zealand or full union.
• The Committee recommends that the Australian Government actively pursue with the New Zealand Government the institution of a common currency for Australia and New Zealand.
• The Committee further recommends that appropriately equitable arrangements would need to be put in place with respect to the composition of a resulting joint Reserve Bank Board.
• The Committee recommends that the participating Australian governments move to offer New Zealand Government ministers full membership of Australasian (currently Australian) ministerial councils.

Increased co-operation between Parliaments is always a good thing. There is always a romantic sentiment to bring New Zealand into the fold of Australian federation, to finish what should have been done in 1901, but under globalisation the costs of being a nation-state are getting less and less.

New Zealand already gets many second-order effects from Australia anyway - such as a benevolent region due to Australian military projection. This means New Zealand has been able to avoid spending heavily on its military.

However, New Zealand isn't a basketcase and it is doubtful it needs Australia at all. This looks like Australian big-government centralisation with seems to be the dominant philosophy of governance in Australia.

More Reading on Australia

• Australia
• New Zealand
• Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
• Professional Australians
• War and Peace and War and Australia
• Australian Federal Referendums
• Nation-State Equilibria
• Harmonisation of Laws
• Australian union, or not
• Dick Cheney: What he really meant
• First Prime Minister of Australia
• Why No Aboriginal Agrarianism?
• Australian Rhythms in Globalisation