ON 18 JANUARY 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip and his small fleet finally entered Botany Bay, before making their short voyage around South Head to establish a settlement at Sydney Cove a week later. This not only marked the beginning of European settlement in Australia, but the very date of the First Fleet’s arrival in Botany Bay coincided with the publication of Federalist 39, James Madison’s inspired and revolutionary essay on federalism which had an enduring influence on the structure and scope of Australian Government.[i]

The American model of federalism, described by Madison more than two centuries ago, was a major influence on the founders of our Constitution, who were determined to ‘preserve national unity, while allowing free scope for diversities, and free play to members of the federation’.[ii]