The Constitution of New South Wales provides for the first time a detailed analysis of all the provisions of the Constitution Act 1902 (NSW), including their legislative history and examples of their use. It covers the constitution, operation and interaction of the State legislature, executive and judiciary, as well as the relationship between the State and the Commonwealth in the federal system.

Most importantly, it deals with all the issues necessary to determine the validity of State laws, including:

• the legislative power of the State Parliament,
• limitations on legislative power derived from different sources, including express and implied limitations in the Commonwealth Constitution,
• the effectiveness of State manner and form constraints and the consequences of their breach,
• legislative procedure, and
• the technical rules concerning the passage of taxation and appropriation bills.

While the book uses the Constitution Act 1902 (NSW) as its focus, it addresses constitutional issues arising in all Australian States, such as parliamentary privilege, electoral law, and disputes about money bills, parliamentary procedure, and the qualification and disqualification of Members of Parliament. It deals with these issues from a State perspective, raising important distinctions that are not addressed in texts on Commonwealth constitutional law.

The Constitution of New South Wales places the constitutional framework of the State in its historical and political context. Using previously unpublished government material, it provides a fundamental reassessment of the relationship between the States, the Commonwealth, and the United Kingdom. It also provides the first detailed analysis of the negotiation and application of the Australia Acts 1986, which now form a significant part of State constitutions. It explains how Parliament, the Executive Council, and the Cabinet operate in practice, rather than theory, and gives practical examples to illustrate the operation of constitutional provisions.

Table of Contents

Foreword - The Hon Justice Keith Mason AC

Preface
CHAPTER 1: New South Wales and its Constitution
CHAPTER 2: Imperial links with the States and their removal
CHAPTER 3: The legislature and legislative power
CHAPTER 4: Deadlocks between the Houses
CHAPTER 5: Manner and form
CHAPTER 6: Electoral procedure
CHAPTER 7: The Houses of the legislature and their Members
CHAPTER 8: Qualification, disqualification and the expulsion of Members of Parliament
CHAPTER 9: Parliamentary procedure
CHAPTER 10: Parliamentary privilege
CHAPTER 11: Appropriation and taxation
CHAPTER 12: The executive
CHAPTER 13: The judiciary
CHAPTER 14: The States and a republic
CHAPTER 15: Federalism, the States and the Commonwealth Constitution

Appendix: Constitution Act 1902 (NSW)
Abbreviations
Terminology
Table of Cases
Table of Statutes
Bibliography
Index