Gerangelos on Dixon, J., and Australian Nationhood

Peter Gerangelos, University of Sydney Law School, has posted Sir Owen Dixon and the Concept of 'Nationhood' as a Source of Commonwealth Power, which appears in Sir Owen Dixon's Legacy (Federation Press, 2019): 56-79:

Owen Dixon (wiki)

The principal focus of this chapter is to trace from the reasoning of Dixon J, and those whom he influenced, the High Court’s evolving jurisprudence with respect to the concept of “nationhood” as a source of power. A central thesis of this chapter is that it is questionable whether the reasoning of Dixon J in the Cold War Era cases (Sharkey, Burns v Ransley, Communisty Party Case, and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Case) as well as the reasoning in subsequent pivotal executive power cases in the High Court such as AAP and Davis, support the development of an inherent executive “nationhood” power in s 61 of the Constitution. The chapter examines the extent to which the influence of Dixon J, together with the nature of the very issues considered in these cases, come together to influence the outcome of what is often regarded as the most seminal case on executive power in recent years: Pape v Commissioner of Taxation. 

--Dan Ernst