Reasons against Federation for Australia

Answer 1

Arguments for Federation in Australia included:

• Trade: There were steep tariffs imposed on the transport of goods across the borders of the states. Federation would remove these tariffs and allow for free trade between the states.
• Unions and labour laws: It was hoped that labour laws would be standardised across the states with Federation. The great Shearers' Strike of the 1890s had resulted in the formation of workers' unions, and the newly-formed Australian Labor Party saw that unification would allow this standardisation.
• Transport: There was no standard railway gauge across the country and railway lines changed at the colonial borders. It was believed Federation would see the introduction of uniform railway gauges across the states, but in reality this did not occur for another eighty years or so.
• Some Australians wanted a "White Australia" policy. They believed Federation would enable the development and maintenance of a "White Australia", by toughening Immigration laws. There was lingering resentment over the Chinese who had come during the gold rush, made their fortune (as they were far more industrious than Australians) and then returned to their own country, taking their fortune with them. Some stayed and set up businesses in towns, but they were always looked down upon. It was hoped by some (not all) that a White Australia policy would ensure employment for Australians. Some colonies were opposed to this policy as they used foreign labour, which was often much cheaper than local labour. An example of this is Queensland, which employed Kanakas (people from the Cook Islands). Under the new constitution, not only the Kanakas, but also the much-feared Chinese, who came to Australia during the gold rush, would not be allowed into Australia. Thus Federation would eliminate unwanted foreigners, providing more employment for Australians.
• Independence from England: Federation was but a small step in the overall independence of Australia, allowing it to move away from the influence of Mother England and become a self-governing nation in its own right. Again, this was a process which took many decades, but Federation certainly enabled that first step.
• Other important laws were expected to be made uniform, such as taxes and banking. This was particularly important in the light of the recent (1892) depression, which was a time of economic instability. Many saw that Federation, in bringing unity, could only bring more stability to the country.
• Defence: Each of the states had its own defence force. Each individual state's defence force was not strong enough to protect Australia's vast coastline from attack. There were distinct advantages in uniting the defence under one command, an important consideration as the German and French presence in the Pacific increased.
• Laws: Laws could be enforced better if accused people could not escape to a neighbouring colony.
• As a result of the goldrushes, Australia was wealthy enough to govern independently of England.
• Patriotism was becoming stronger, with the rise of Australian talents like 'Banjo' Paterson advocating the idea of freedom, the bush life and tossing off authority.
• Sporting teams were representing "Australia", not individual states.
• Having a single economy big enough and robust enough to give confidence to those who want to trade in it.

Answer 2

FOR
1. trading fees between borders would be canceled
2. train track sizes were different when traveling interstate which meant you needed to change trains
3.a united defense force would make more sense than a state by state one
4. a foreign policy throughout Australia would be more effective than a state by state one and would keep people of other races out easier
5. Britain would only need to deal with one nation instead of 6 colonies.
AGAINST
1. The smaller states could easily be outvoted in parliament and Victoria or New South Wales could block 3 other states
2. Queensland would lose their pacific islander slaves that worked on their sugar cane plantations lowering their profit margins or raising their prices
3. New South Wales might lose some of it's land closer to Queensland or South Australia
4. Western Australia and Tasmania were very distant from the rest of Australia which meant that they would be the last ones to get news
5. There was much argument about whether to put the capital in Melbourne or Sydney

Answer 3

Each of the Colonies had its own self-government, and was suspicious of curtailment of their independent rights. They also were suspicious of expansionist federal government taxing and consuming their funds and interfering in their state government. As a result federal powers were limited, and the Federal Government was required to pay back taxes to the states which were above the limits necessary for a lean federal administration. Today's federal government has fulfilled those fears.