Federation is the union of states to become one nation. The Australian government first considered federation in 1890 when Prime Minister Henry Parkes persuaded other premiers to discuss federation in the Convention of the Australasian Federation. Australia finally federated in 1901 after many failed attempts to do so. Australia has finally federated because this essay will discuss two advantages of Australia federating and two disadvantages of Australia doing so. The benefits that will be outlined and discussed in this essay will be that federation helped the Australian economy and was essential for Australia to not be colonized by another country due to a stronger defense force. The disadvantages that will be shown and explained are: There had to be one uniform legal system to suit everyone instead of having separate legal systems to best suit each colony and federation, it was a way to create the perfect "White Australia". The first benefit to Australia from the federation that will be discussed in this essay is that the federation has helped the Australian economy. Before federation the Australian continent was divided into six small economies, each a colony. Federation meant that Australia would become a bigger and better economy, so other governments, particularly Britain, would be more willing to lend to Australia and invest within it, rather than doing so with smaller colonies and separate. The Federation also influenced the tariffs. Before federation entrepreneurs had to pay tariffs, but under federation tariffs would be abolished and free trade would lower production costs and open up many more business opportunities. In this sense, the Federation should have been a necessity for Australia because of all the funding... middle of the paper... it has free trade and is quite rich, the federation also helped our defense force to take off and become a stronger, more efficient unit that worked much better than before to protect and maintain everything it needed. On the other hand, federation also made it extremely difficult for individual states to enact their own laws best suited to their needs, and as a result many difficulties and inconveniences occurred. The Federation was also a rather large racial movement created by Australia in hopes of becoming a white society. Federation has its pros and cons, but it is what created the Australia we know today. sources: class notes • ​​https://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=23455 • http://wiki.answers.com/ D/What_were_the_disadvantages_of_the_federation_of_australia•http://www.kidcyber.com. au/topics/federation.htm•http://australianpolitics.com/democracy/terms/federalism.shtml