Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie has called for the abolition of the states, saying they could be replaced by larger councils.
Mr Beattie told The Australian newspaper that the states needed to be redefined or abolished given a High Court decision in 2006 that upheld the Work Choices laws.
He said the states had become "hand maiden of the Commonwealth" in the wake of the federal industrial relations laws.
Mr Beattie suggested that larger regional councils could in the long term erode the power of the states and lead to a new structure of government for Australia.
This would reduce duplication and provide better government services, the newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Mr Beattie said one of the reasons he quit state politics was because he thought the future of state governments was "dim".
AAP reports former prime minister Bob Hawke recently urged that state governments be scrapped.
The Commonwealth of Australia was created on 1 January 1901 when six colonies became states and formed a federation. Referendums on a proposed national constitution were previously held in each colony between 1898 - 1900.
