Federal Limitations on the Legislative Power of the States and the Commonwealth to Bind One Another

The existing state of the law is addressed with regard to the power of the legislature of one polity within the federation to bind the executive government of another, and the legislative power of one polity to impose a tax upon another. The fundamental 'Cigamatic' doctrine is analysed and its possible replacement with a reverse application of the 'Melbourne Corporation' principle is discussed, as a means of providing a more coherent basis for determining the difficult question of the extent to which one polity may legislate to bind or affect another.