WEST Australians had better "hope like hell" they don't see tanks crossing the Nullarbor if they try to leave the federation, the nation's foremost expert on secession, Greg Craven, has warned. Perhaps tongue in cheek, perhaps not.
"Well, you have to remember that when Quebec has tried . . . there have been occasions where there have been tanks in the streets of Montreal," Craven tells Inquirer.
One thing is certain as Craven and other constitutional law experts ponder Western Australia's growing isolationist stance: secession would not be easy.
"A state can't unilaterally secede. The only way out would be to amend the Constitution, which means you would have to have a referendum and of course that would fail because the rest of the country . . . would not let you out," he says. "There is another way if you're prepared to say, 'We don't care if we're acting illegally; we're just going to illegally secede. But if you do that, what history shows is that you have to be prepared to fight your way out. You'd have to hope like hell you didn't see Australian tanks coming across the Nullarbor."
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