Guide 3 to NSW State Archives relating to Responsible Government - OCR - Flipbook - Page 191
A Guide to New South Wales State Archives relating to Responsible Government
A circular letter was sent from the Premier's Department to the
Prime Minister and Premiers of all States 28 September 1922, to
which the Premiers of Western Australia and South Australia
replied that their Governments did not favour the creation of new
States within the Commonwealth.
The Prime Minister, in his letter of 12 June 1923, wrote that the
Commonwealth Constitution already provided that a new State
might be formed by diminishing or altering the limits of an
existing State subject to the consent of the Parliament of that
State and that, as it also empowered the Commonwealth
Parliament to admit any newly formed States, there did not appear
to be any necessity at that stage for submitting the matter to a
Federal Convention. He further advised that
The first step which would appear to be necessary is that the
Parliament of your State should affirm not only the principle
that a partition of the State is desirable, but the terms thereof,
such as the boundaries of the new State, and the allocation
between the parent State and the new State of public debts and
public assets, such as railways and rolling stock. When such a
proposal has been formulated, the Commonwealth Government,
subject to the concurrence of the Commonwealth Parliament as
provided in the Constitution, will be prepared to take whatever
steps are necessary to give effect to the wishes of the
Parliament and people of New South Wales.
Subsequently, a motion was passed on 19 December 1923 "that,
in the opinion of this House, a Royal Commission should be
appointed to enquire into and report upon the proposed creation of
new States to be formed in whole or in part, from the territory of
New South Wales; and matters incidental thereto".
By January 1924 the appointments to the Commission had been
determined as being a Supreme Court or District Court judge as
Chairman with four other members: the Government nominee, a
representative of the Northern District, a representative of the
Western District, and a representative of the Southern District.
Among the terms of reference of the 1924-25 New States Royal
Commission (appointed on 7 April 1924 to inquire into, consider
and report upon any proposals which may be placed before it for
the establishment of a new State or States formed wholly or in
part out of the present territory of the State of New South Wales),
were more particularly to consider and report:
• as to the probable financial, economic, industrial and political
effects of the establishment of any such new State, both upon
the remainder of the State of New South Wales and upon the
area included within any such new State
• so far as practicable, whether it is necessary or desirable for the
establishment of any such new State on a satisfactory basis
that it should include any part of any other State or States
• as to the manner in which the assets and liabilities of the State
of New South Wale should be apportioned between any such
new State and the remainder of the State of New South Wales.
The report of the Commission dated 6 April 1925 was presented to
the Premier on 30 April 1925.
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State Records Authority of New South Wales
