THE NATURE AND IMPLICATIONS OF TEXT OF INCONSISTENCY OF STATE LAW WITH THE COMMONWEALTH ACT UNDER SECTION 109 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION

Abstract

In the main, under the sanction of the federal constitution of Australian Federation there is a concurrent legislature field were both federal legislature termed the Commonwealth parliament and States can make laws concurrently. Taxation, health, marriage, weights and measures being some examples of such areas were the commonwealth shares concurrent legislative powers with the states. Essentially, the Australia federal constitution allows the states to make laws in areas over which the commonwealth has power with a provision that such state laws do not conflict with those of the commonwealth. In light of the foregoing, this paper examines the nature of inconsistency that may occur between the commonwealth Act and the state Law and the implications under section 109 of the constitution under the doctrine of covering the field and as further judicially explained in terms of judicial inconsistency.