Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
1303rd Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 1 June 2022
“Federalism, borders, and National Cabinet — What has the pandemic taught us?”
Professor Anne Twomey AO
Professor of Constitutional Law, U, University of Sydney
https://royalsoc.org.au/blog/1303rd-ogm-and-open-lecture
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the Speaker: Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN, President, Royal Society of NSW
00:01:32 Presentation: Professor Anne Twomey AO
00:41:49 Q&A Session: moderated by Emeritus Professor Christina Slade, Chair, Program Committee, Royal Society of NSW
01:11:13 Vote of Thanks: Ms Judith Wheeldon, Vice-President, Royal Society of NSW
Summary:
Professor Twomey discusses who is responsible for matters such as State border closures, quarantine and vaccine mandates, and what the Constitution has to say about it. The operation of a federal system in a national crisis, such as a pandemic, can cause confusion, but also reap benefits. The National Cabinet was supposed to provide national coordination while still allowing each State to deal with the different circumstances it faced. Has it succeeded, or is it just a mechanism for spreading a cloak of secrecy over government operations?
1303rd Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 1 June 2022
“Federalism, borders, and National Cabinet — What has the pandemic taught us?”
Professor Anne Twomey AO
Professor of Constitutional Law, U, University of Sydney
https://royalsoc.org.au/blog/1303rd-ogm-and-open-lecture
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the Speaker: Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN, President, Royal Society of NSW
00:01:32 Presentation: Professor Anne Twomey AO
00:41:49 Q&A Session: moderated by Emeritus Professor Christina Slade, Chair, Program Committee, Royal Society of NSW
01:11:13 Vote of Thanks: Ms Judith Wheeldon, Vice-President, Royal Society of NSW
Summary:
Professor Twomey discusses who is responsible for matters such as State border closures, quarantine and vaccine mandates, and what the Constitution has to say about it. The operation of a federal system in a national crisis, such as a pandemic, can cause confusion, but also reap benefits. The National Cabinet was supposed to provide national coordination while still allowing each State to deal with the different circumstances it faced. Has it succeeded, or is it just a mechanism for spreading a cloak of secrecy over government operations?
