ABSTRACT
The defence power has been given a different interpretation from others, in that: • it is, as stated in Stenhouse v Coleman (1944), a ‘purposive’ power, by
which the court meant that, unlike in the case of other powers where legislation will be intra vires s 51, provided that it deals with the subject of a power (such as ‘corporations’, ‘trade and commerce’ or ‘weights and measures’), a law purportedly based on the defence power must have a particular purpose – namely, the defence of the Commonwealth;
• as stated in Farey v Burvett (1916), the scope of the defence power varies according to prevailing conditions; that is, it expands so as to
You should be familiar with the following areas:
• the purposive nature of the defence power • the differing scope of the defence power in four distinct
periods: times of peace; times of increasing international tension; wartime; and the period of the aftermath of war
permit the Commonwealth to legislate on topics in wartime that it cannot legislate upon when the power has contracted to a narrower ambit during peacetime.
