Engineers:TheCasethatChangedAustralian Constitutional History

Abstract

Australia’s federal system of government is established by the Commonwealth Constitution which provides for a central Commonwealth government with limited powers and six state governments with plenary powers. When the Constitution was originally drafted, the framers sought, in the provi- sions and structure of the Constitution, to retain the powers of the states as much as possible. After Australia became a federation in 1901, the High Court of Australia, in its early decisions, sought, in the method of constitutional interpretation they utilised (originalism), to give effect to the framers’ intention to protect the federal nature of the Constitution. However, in 1920 in Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd (‘Engineers’), the High Court rejected this approach. Instead, the High Court advocated a method of constitutional interpretation (literalism) which favoured a broad interpretation of Commonwealth powers, and which compromised the federal balance there- after. This paper provides an overview and critique of the decision in Engineers, explaining its significance for Australian federalism. This paper concludes with some observations about the role of precedent in Australian constitutional interpretation and seeks to offer some suggestions as to why a decision that was so ill-founded has proven to be so enduring.