Reforming federalism without being radical

There are three main areas of our federal system that need reform. The first is the allocation of powers and functions between the levels of government. The allocation made by the framers of the Constitution in the 1890s may no longer be appropriate today. Many of the complaints of unnecessary duplication, cost-shifting and lack of coordination can be traced back to the absence of clear divisions of responsibility. The second area is Commonwealth-State financial relations, which currently provides perverse incentives for inefficiency and buck-passing. The third area is inter-governmental relations, where cooperative efforts have been thwarted by the absence of constitutional support.