Question
Due to poor performance in the 2020 Summer Olympics in various sports, the Commonwealth government decides to implement a national takeover of State hockey, soccer and water polo leagues.
The Minister for Sport issues a press release saying “The performance of Australia in international sport is an embarrassment. It is time for Australia to stand up and be counted. Only the Commonwealth has the resources to ensure that Australian sport is adequately funded”.
The government introduces the Fixing Australian Sport Bill 2022 (Cth) into the Commonwealth Parliament; it is duly passed by both houses and receives royal assent.
The relevant provisions of the Fixing Australian Sport Act 2022 (Cth) are as follows:
Fixing Australian Sport Act 2022 (Cth)
(1) The National Academy of Sport is established by this section.
(2) All academies and institutes of sport owned or operated by a State or Territory within Australia are hereby abolished, and their assets and employees are transferred with immediate effect to the National Academy of Sport.
(3) All corporations with an annual income of $20,000,000 are liable annually to pay an amount equal to 20% of their income to the Commonwealth.
(4) The sum of $100,000,000 is appropriated for purposes related to the National Academy of Sport’s functions.
After the enactment of the Fixing Australian Sport Act 2022, the Minister for Sport makes a payment of $50 million to the National Academy of Sport to enable it to purchase equipment, hire staff and commence training athletes.
The Minister for Sport serves notice to the Victorian, Queensland and New South Wales governments that their hockey, soccer and water polo leagues are to be transferred to the National Academy of Sport pursuant to the Fixing Australian Sport Act 2022 with effect from 1 July 2022.
The Minister for Sport makes a payment of $20 million to the Victorian government to compensate it for the transfer of its hockey, soccer and water polo leagues to the National Academy of Sport subject to a condition that the Victorian government must implement the federal’s government’s new national curriculum in all Victorian schools.
The Victorian Hockey League, the New South Wales Soccer League and the Brisbane Water Polo League wish to challenge the validity of the Fixing Australian Sport Act 2022 and the payments made under that Act.
You are asked to advise on the following:
(a) Can the Fixing Australian Sport Act 2022 (Cth) be characterised as being supported by a constitutional head of power? (11 marks)
(b) Are there are any grounds for challenging the constitutional validity of the Fixing Australian Sport Act 2022? (11 marks)
(c) Are the payments made by the Minister for Sport constitutionally valid? (8 marks)