The Council for the Australian Federation (CAF) was established on 6 October 2006. The group seeks to promote and enhance the federal system

Federalism

Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...

 of government in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and comprises Premiers and Chief Ministers of all Australian states and territories

States and territories of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...

.

The idea for the Council was originally advocated by the former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks

Steve Bracks

Stephen Philip Bracks AC is a former Australian politician and the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Australian Labor Party, and was party leader and Premier from 1999 to 2007....

 and former South Australian Premier Mike Rann

Mike Rann

Michael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...

. The second meeting was held on the 9 February 2007 in Sydney and the third meeting was conducted on the 12 April 2007. The current chairman is Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson

Paul Henderson (Australian politician)

Paul Raymond Henderson is an Australian politician and the current Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.Henderson was born in Croix-Chapeau, France, where his father was serving with the United States military. He was educated in Great Britain to A-Levels and studied mechanical...

.

The Council for the Australian Federation aims to strategically shape the national policy agenda and provide a forum for political actions. Issues that have been addressed include the National Emissions Trading Taskforce, implementation of the National Reform Agenda and the drought in Australia

Drought in Australia

Drought in Australia is defined as rainfall over a three month period being in the lowest decile of what has been recorded for that region in the past. This definition takes into account that drought is a relative term and rainfall deficiencies need to be compared to typical rainfall patterns...

. The Council funds research and releases reports on topics related to its mission and activities.

See also

• Council of Australian Governments
  Council of Australian Governments
  The Council of Australian Governments is an organisation consisting of the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local Government Association. It was established in May 1992 after agreement by the then Prime Minister, Premiers and...
  
  
• Council of the Federation
  Council of the Federation
  The Council of the Federation is a council in Canada made up of the premiers of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories. Its main function is to provide a united front amongst the provincial and territorial governments when interacting with Canada's federal government...