1st Reason - The
Australian Constitution -
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SECT 51 and
SECT 98 provides for the Australian Parliament to make laws
regarding States expenditure on
"...railways
the property of any State";
and
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SECT 97 'Audit' requires the Commonwealth Govt to evidence that 'Financial assistance to
States' is expended cost-effectively
SECT 96
'Financial assistance to
States' of the Australian
Constitution allows the Commonwealth Parliament to make financial grants
to the States predicated "...on
such terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit....".
Due to
the magnitude
of the on-going annual tax payer wastage evident in
Annexure A and
hereunder, SECT 96
behooves the Commonwealth Govt. to 'Centralise' responsibility
for measuring, quantifying and ranking all proposed infrastructure
projects with forecast Capex >$20m upon the Commonwealth
Productivity Commission.
Below are the two aforementioned sections of the
Australian Constitution (SECT 51 and SECT 98) that obligate the Commonwealth Govt to enact
new laws to 'Centralise' responsibility to ensure that all future major
State infrastructure projects are robust and cost-effective and do not waste the
Commonwealth Govt's Public Purse:
SECT 51(i) of the Australian Constitution enables the Parliament
of Australia to make laws with respect to:
"trade and commerce with other countries,
and among the States;"
SECT
51(xxxiv)
of the Australian Constitution enables the Parliament of Australia
to make laws with respect to
"railway
construction and extension in any State with the consent of that
State;"
The meaning of trade and
commerce is clarified in the below extract of SECT 98
of the Constitution
includes navigation and State railways:
"The
power of the Parliament
to make laws
with respect to trade and
commerce
extends to navigation and shipping,
and to
railways the property of any State."
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