Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts The Parliament may take over from the States their public debts,
or a proportion thereof according to the respective numbers of their people as
shown by the latest statistics of the Commonwealth, and may convert, renew, or
consolidate such debts, or any part thereof; and the States shall indemnify
the Commonwealth in respect of the debts taken over, and thereafter the
interest payable in respect of the debts shall be deducted and retained from
the portions of the surplus revenue of the Commonwealth payable to the several
States, or if such surplus is insufficient, or if there is no surplus, then
the deficiency or the whole amount shall be paid by the several States.