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Landmark Case

Commonwealth v Tasmania

Also Known As Tasmanian Dam Case
Judicial Review and Separation of Powers

Commonwealth v Tasmania, popularly the Tasmanian Dam Case, is a 1983 decision of the High Court of Australia arising from a dispute over the proposed construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania. The Tasmanian government supported the project; the federal government opposed it after the area was designated a World Heritage site under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and passed the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983 to stop construction. A 4-3 majority held that the federal government could validly prohibit the dam under section 51(xxix) of the Australian Constitution, the external affairs power, because the legislation gave effect to Australia's treaty obligations, a ruling that substantially expanded federal power over the states. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Decision Year
1983 2
Decision Date
1983-07-01 2
Holding
Held, 4-3, that the federal Parliament could validly enact legislation under the external affairs power, section 51(xxix) of the Australian Constitution, to prohibit construction of the dam, because the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983 was reasonably capable of being considered appropriate and adapted to implement Australia's international treaty obligations under the World Heritage Convention. 2
Current Status
In force; its broad reading of the external affairs power remains the leading authority for federal implementation of international treaty obligations in Australian constitutional law. 2
Case Status
Case Status (category)
Controlling Precedent 1
Connections

Decided By

High Court of Australia, Courts
Source Commonwealth v Tasmania (Wikipedia)

In Legal System

Common Law, Legal Systems
Source Commonwealth v Tasmania (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Australia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Wikidata: Commonwealth v Tasmania
  • Wikidata Q5153917, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
  • Landmark High Court of Australia external-affairs-power decision, still leading authority; no indication of overruling in source
View the Source
2. Commonwealth v Tasmania (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead paragraph - entity-description
    Commonwealth v Tasmania (popularly known as the Tasmanian Dam Case) was a significant Australian court case, decided in the High Court of Australia on 1 July 1983.
  • Lead paragraph - decision-year
    decided in the High Court of Australia on 1 July 1983
  • Significance section - holding
    It is now firmly established that under section 51(xxix) of the Australian Constitution the Australian Government has the power to enact legislation that is reasonably capable of being considered appropriate and adapted to fulfill Australia's international legal obligations.
  • Significance section - case-status
  • In Category: Landmark Cases, Category placement - in-category
  • Decided By: High Court of Australia, Lead paragraph - decided-by
  • In Legal System: Common Law, Significance section - in-legal-system
  • In Group: Executive Power, Federalism and Limits on Government Cases, Introduction, sentences 2-3
    The case was a landmark decision in Australian constitutional law, and was a significant moment in the history of conservation in Australia. The case centred on the proposed construction of a hydro-electric dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, which was supported by the Tasmanian government, but opposed by the Australian federal government and environmental groups.
View the Source

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