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intention of the enactment is to be gathered from its words. If the words are plain, effect must be given to them; if they are doubtful, the intention of the legislature is to be gathered from the other provisions of the
Statute aided by a consideration of surrounding circumstances. In all cases in order to discover the intention you may have recourse to contemporaneous circumstances – to the history of the law ... In considering the history of the law ... you must have regard to the historical facts surrounding the bringing the law into existence. ... You may deduce the intention of the legislature from a consideration of the instrument itself in the light of these facts and circumstances, but you cannot go beyond it.
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take some time to implement and addressed that transition in 3 periods. The first period was from federation "until the imposition of uniform duties of customs." The second period was from the imposition of uniform duties for 2 years. The third period was between 2 and 5 years from the imposition of uniform duties.
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on 1 January 1901. The intention of the
Constitution was that uniform customs duties would be imposed within two years after federation and that once uniform customs duties were imposed, trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States shall be absolutely free. The Constitution recognised this would
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Tasmania's argument invited the High Court to depart from the usual approach to statutory interpretation when interpreting the
Australian Constitution. In the course of that argument, Tasmania argued that the contested provisions should be applied consistently with draft bills for the Australian
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I will refer to some rules which have been laid down for the interpretation of Acts of
Parliament, for this Constitution is an Act of Parliament. ... It is, however, always a question of construction, whether we are called upon to construe the terms of a section, or to decide whether powers are
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On 8 October 1901 the
Commonwealth had imposed uniform customs duties. The Commonwealth had collected customs duties on goods imported into Victoria and excise duty on goods manufactured in Victoria during the first period. During the second period those goods were transported to Tasmania for
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I do not think it can be too strongly stated that our duty in interpreting a
Statute is to declare and administer the law according to the intention expressed in the Statute itself. In this respect the Constitution differs in no way from any Statute of the Commonwealth or of a State. ... The
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consumption. The
Commonwealth paid the net revenue to Victoria said to be pursuant to section 89 of the Australian Constitution. Tasmania claimed the Commonwealth should have paid the net revenue to it. While the Commonwealth was represented at the hearing, it did not present any argument.
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More significant than the High Court's ruling, were its statements regarding the correct approach to the interpretation of the
Australian Constitution. The High Court concluded that the Australian Constitution should be interpreted according to the approach applied to legislation generally.
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J similarly applied principles of statutory construction that the ordinary meaning of the words and their grammatical construction applied unless there were reasons from its context or intention to construe the provision otherwise.
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The High Court unanimously held that
Tasmania was not entitled under section 89 of the Australian Constitution to be credited with the customs duties collected by the Commonwealth.
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It is an interesting academic question as to what would have been the consequences if the
Federal Parliament had been unable to agree on a tariff and to pass it into law.
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collected in Victoria during the period between Federation and the commencement of the Commonwealth Customs Tariff. Significantly, the High Court established that the
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necessarily to be implied in addition to those which are expressed. The same rules of interpretation apply that apply to any other written document.
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The case concerned customs and excise duties in the transition period following the
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State of Tasmania v The Commonwealth of Australia and State of Victoria
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Australian federal constitutional law: commentary and materials
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should interpreted consistently with the ordinary rules of
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Payment to States for five years after uniform tariffs.
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536:
445:Corcoran, Suzanne; Bottomley, Stephen (2005).
479:Reflections on the Australian Constitution
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441:, 1999. LBC Information Services, Sydney.
325:Trade within the Commonwealth to be free.
309:Payment to States before uniform duties.
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510:The High Court and the Constitution
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419:(1907) 1 CLR 329
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293:Uniform duties of customs.
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451:. The Federation Press.
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157:statutory interpretation
416:Tasmania v Commonwealth
401:Tasmania v Commonwealth
381:Tasmania v Commonwealth
366:Tasmania v Commonwealth
351:Tasmania v Commonwealth
267:Tasmania v Commonwealth
169:federation of Australia
153:Australian Constitution
122:Tasmania v Commonwealth
52:High Court of Australia
34:Tasmania v Commonwealth
24:Commonwealth v Tasmania
555:1904 in Australian law
385:[1904] HCA 11
271:[1904] HCA 11
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448:Interpreting Statutes
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140:concerned a claim by
80:[1904] HCA 11
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524:. Retrieved
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20:Franklin Dam
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421:at 358-359.
391:at 333-335.
356:at 337-338.
71:8 June 1904
539:Categories
254:References
205:held that:
163:Background
22:case, see
339:s 93
323:s 92
307:s 89
291:s 88
142:Tasmanian
134:Australia
76:Citations
507:(2008).
476:(2003).
222:O'Connor
200:Griffith
188:Decision
110:O'Connor
99:Griffith
437:et al.
406:at 338.
371:at 336.
149:tariffs
146:customs
129:of the
125:, is a
68:Decided
526:1 June
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495:1 June
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464:1 June
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337:(Cth)
321:(Cth)
305:(Cth)
289:(Cth)
215:Barton
108:&
106:Barton
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234:Notes
48:Court
528:2012
515:ISBN
497:2012
484:ISBN
466:2012
453:ISBN
144:for
138:case
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273:,
203:CJ
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113:JJ
104:,
102:CJ
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