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Section 51 of the Constitution of Australia grants legislative powers to the Australian (Commonwealth) Parliament only when subject to the constitution. When the six Australian colonies joined together in Federation in 1901, they became the original States and ceded some of their powers to the new Commonwealth Parliament. There are 39 subsections to section 51, each of which describes a "head of power" under which the Parliament has the power to make laws. The Commonwealth legislative power is limited to that granted in the Constitution. Powers not included in section 51 are considered "residual powers", and remain the domain of the states, unless there is another grant of constitutional power (e.g. Section 52 and Section 90 prescribe additional powers). Matters covered in section 51 may be legislated on by the states, but the legislation will be ineffective if inconsistent with or in a field 'covered by' Commonwealth legislation (by virtue of s109 inconsistency provision). ==Powers of the Parliament== The most important heads of section in terms of supporting contemporary Commonwealth legislation are: *‘the interstate trade and commerce power’: s51(i) trade and commerce with other countries, and among the States: *‘the corporations power’: s51(xx) "foreign corporations, and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth" *‘the external affairs power’: s51(xxix) external Affairs: *'Taxation power': s51(ii) "taxation; but so as not to discriminate between States or parts of States": (Combined with s96 –see ‘tied grants’ below). Federation was intended to address problems caused by having separate colonies on the one island continent. Section 51 therefore encompasses a group of ‘nationhood’ powers which reflect what powers a ‘nation’ was viewed as possessing. These include: * Military defence: s51(vi) ( See ''Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth (1951)'' for a landmark decision on the use of this power) 〔''Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth'' () HCA 5; (1951) 83 CLR 1 (Austlii )}〕 * Quarantine: s51(ix) * Census and Statistics: s51(xi) * Currency: s51(xii) * Weights and measures: s51(xv) * Service and execution of court processes: s51(xxiv) and the recognition of judgements s51(xxv) * Naturalisation and aliens: s51(xix) and immigration s51(xxvii) * Powers for implementation of a uniform railway system (s51(xxxiii), s51(xxxiv), and s51(xxxii)) * "the acquisition of property on just terms from any State or person for any purpose in respect of which the Parliament has power to make laws"; s51(xxxi) * "postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and other like services" s51(v). The Constitution also grants powers over: * Pensions (s51(xxiii) and s51(xxiiiA) (an amendment - see Social Services Referendum 1946). * Pacific relations 51(xxx) * The influx of criminals s51(xxvvii) * ‘Special laws’ for people of any race: s51(xxvi) * Marriage and divorce (s51xxi and s51xxii) * Copyright, patents, and trade marks s51(xviii) * Bankruptcy: s51(xvii) * Bills of exchange s51(xvi) * Banking (other than state banking) s51(xiii) * Insurance other than state insurance s51(xiv) * Conciliation and arbitration of industrial disputes: s51(xxxv) (NB: this power was used to support the conciliation and arbitration system, but future legislation is intended to be based on the broader corporations power) Flexibility is allowed by: * ‘the referral power’: s51(xxxvii) allows State parliaments to refer matters to the Commonwealth * ‘the incidental power’ s51(xxxix) allows the Commonwealth to act on matters ‘incidental’ to an enumerated head of power. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Section 51 of the Constitution of Australia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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