It has become normal, after any decision of the High Court affirming yet another claim by the Commonwealth that it possesses a heretofore unrecognised legislative power, for commentators, and even some High Court judges, to complain that this was not the kind of federalism that the “founding fathers” intended. But as some members of the High Court have frequently pointed out, the intentions of the founding fathers were not homogeneous; the Constitution had many fathers and who knows what any of them really intended. However, if we do pick one of the founding fathers, Alfred Deakin, then there is enough…