Legal Studies Unit 3
REVISION – AREA OF STUDY 1
PARLIAMENT AND THE CITIZEN
DP 1: PRINCIPLES OF AUSTRALIAN
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM
Can you define these KEY TERMS?
• Constitution
• Bicameral
• Government
• Cabinet
• Constitution
• Governor
• Governor General
• Federal
• Westminster system?
• Monarchy
The bicameral system
 The Commonwealth and state parliaments operate
on a bicameral system, which means two houses: an
upper house and a lower house.
 Name the two houses at a federal level.
 Name the two houses in Victoria.
 Draw a flow chat that explains the bicameral
system at a federal level and in Victoria.
Answer
 The two houses at a federal level are:
The House of Representatives (the lower house) and
the Senate (the upper house).
• The two houses in Victoria are:
The Legislative Assembly (the lower house) and the
Legislative Council (the upper house).
PRINCIPLES OF THE AUSTRALIAN
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM
 Name the three principles that underpin the
Australian parliamentary system.
 Explain what is meant by the term ‘representative
government’ (include appropriate sections of the
Commonwealth Constitution).
 Explain how the bicameral system contributes to a
more representative government.
Answers
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The three principles that underpin the Australian parliamentary system are:
Representative government
Responsible government
Separation of powers
• Representative government refers to a government that represents
the views, values and needs of the majority of the population.
Section 7 and 24 of the Commonwealth Constitution states that
members of the Senate and the House of Representatives are to be
chosen directly by the people. This ensures that the government
represents the will of the majority of the people.
• A bicameral system contributes towards a more representative
government because the lower house reflects the will of the
people. The upper house represents equal representation for
each state or region. This allows for the election of more
representatives acting on behalf of minority groups. One house
can also act as a review of the operations of the other house.
Responsible government
 Explain what is meant by the term ‘responsible
government’.
Answer
 Responsible government refers to a government
that is answerable and accountable to parliament
and therefore the people. This happens though
ministers being responsible to parliament for the
actions/policies formulated by their department,
the members of government are responsible to the
parliament and therefore the people that elect
them (if citizens are not happy with the
performance of the government they may not vote
for them at the next election).
Separation of Powers
 Explain the principle of the separation of powers.
Answer
 This principle refers to the separate types of powers in our
parliamentary system, and that these powers should be held
by separate bodies to so that no one body has total control
over the functions of the legal system. The three powers are:
 The executive power – the power to administer the laws and
manage the business of government (this power rests with the
Governor General as the Queen’s representative, although is
carried out by the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
 The legislative power – the power to make laws (which rests
with the parliament).
 The judicial power – the power given to the courts and
tribunals to enforce the law and settle disputes (rested with
the High Court and other federal courts).
Are they truly separate?
 The judicial power is separate from the legislative
and judicial powers. Why?
Answer
 The legislative power and the judicial power must be kept
separate. Only a court has the power to decide if a law
(made by parliament) has been breached. This prevents
one body abusing their power to make, enforce or
administer the law. The legislative power and the
executive power are closely linked in that the laws passed
by parliament must receive royal assent from the
Governor-General in order to become law. These roles,
although in some ways linked, are seen as separate or
independent and protect against the possible abuse of
power in that no one body or group has absolute power
or control over the functions of the legal system.
Separation of Powers and Responsible
Government
 How does the separation of powers reflect the
principle of responsible government?
Answer
 The Governor-General, as the Queen’s representative
is part of the executive power as well as being part of
the structure of parliament. Likewise the prime
minister is part of the governing body (who hold the
executive power) and are also part of parliament (the
legislative power). This reflects the principle of
responsible government under which government
ministers must be members of parliament and must
be accountable and answerable to parliament and
therefore, the people who have the power to directly
elect their representatives in parliament.
Reasons for separation of powers
 Why do we have the separation of powers?
Answer
 The separation of powers is based on the idea of
checks and balances. Each power is separate and
independent and acts as a check on the power of the
other body or group. In this way, the separation of
power provides independence between the bodies
that make the law – the legislature (parliament) and
the bodies that enforce the law – the judiciary (the
courts). It also provides a check on the power of
parliament to ensure that it does not go outside it’s
area of power.
Difference between parliament and government
 Distinguish between the terms ‘parliament’ and
‘government’.
Answer
 Parliament consists of all elected members in both the
upper and lower house. It is made up of members of
different political parties and independent politicians.
The party or parties (Coalition) with the majority of seats
in the lower house (The House of Representatives at a
federal level and the Legislative Assembly in Victoria)
form government. Therefore, government is part of
parliament.
 NB: Is a question mentions a specific parliament then
specific terminology must be used eg: Commonwealth
Parliament comprises the Queen’s representative or
Governor-General, the upper house (Senate) and the
lower house (House of Representatives).
KEY POINTS
 Define key terms accurately, using appropriate legal
terminology.
 Know the meaning of the ‘task work’ (eg: the
difference between distinguish and explain).
 You should spend approximately 1 ½ minutes per
mark and you will be given approximately 3 lines per
mark.
DP 2: THE STRUCTURE OF THE
COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENT
 Explain the structure of the Commonwealth
Parliament.
 How many members sit in the House of
Representatives?
 How many members sit in the Senate?
Answer
 The Commonwealth Parliament consists of the
Queen (represented by the governor-general), the
Senate (the upper house) and the House of
Representatives (the lower house). There are 150
seats in the lower house and there are 76 seats in the
upper house.
House of Representatives
 Explain the role of the House of Representatives.
Answers
 The House of Representatives’ major role is to initiate and make
laws. New laws are introduced to the House by the government, bills
must be passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate for
a law to be made.
 The House of Representative’s also determine the government.
After an election, the political party with the most members in the
House of Representatives forms government.
 The House of Representative’s also provides for responsible
government. Ministers are responsible to parliament and therefore
the people who have the power to appoint or dismiss government
based on the majority of seats in the lower house.
 The House of Representatives also represent the people. Members
of the House are given the authority to act on behalf of the people
and so the proposed laws introduced in the House of
Representatives should reflect the views, values and needs of the
majority of the community.
The effectiveness of the House of Representatives
 The House of Representatives is not very effective.
Discuss.
One possible answer
• Currently, the Australian Labor Party holds a very slim
majority of seats in the House of Representatives. The
independent candidates hold the balance of power in the
House. As such, whilst parliament has successfully initiated
and made laws there has been considerable debate of
proposed laws in the House, which has meant that the
principle of responsible government (in which the
government and Ministers must ensure that proposed laws
reflect the views, values and needs of the community that have
the power not appoint or dismiss government based on the
majority of seats in the lower house) has renewed importance.
• However, the hung parliament has also meant that there has
been some ambiguity about the government’s mandate to
govern, which has meant that the Labor parties reform agenda
has been difficult to push through parliament.
The Senate
 76 Senators, 12 from each state and two from each
territory. Serve a period of 6 years.
 Explain the role of the Senate.
The role of the Senate
 The Senate’s role is to act as a state’s house – Section 7 of the
Commonwealth Constitution provides that the Senate should
have equal representation from each state, which ensures that
the needs, views and values of each state are given equal
representation in parliament. This upholds the principle of
representative government.
 The Senate also acts as a house of review. The Senate has the
task of reviewing the bills passed in the lower house. The
Senate therefore scrutinises the House of Representative and
ensures that the government is accountable for its actions.
This upholds the principle of responsible government.
 The Senate also initiates and makes laws – the Senate can
initiate bills (other than monetary bills) or pass laws that have
been passed through the House of Representatives.
Effectiveness of the Senate
 The Senate is very effective. Discuss.
Answer
 In practice, Senators tend to vote according to their
party. This means that the upper house does not
fulfil its role as a house of review. If the government
of the day also has the majority of seats in the upper
house then the Senate tends to be a ‘rubber stamp’
that just confirms the decisions made in the lower
house without adequate debate and scrutiny.
However, if the Senate is controlled by the
opposition party, the upper house is likely to review
the bills passed through the lower house more
carefully and thus, the Senate are able to fulfil their
role as the house of review.
The Structure of the Victorian Parliament
 Explain the structure of the Victorian Parliament.
 The Victorian parliament consists of the Queen
(represented by the governor), the Legislative
Council (the upper house) and the Legislative
Assembly (the lower house).
The Legislative Assembly
 There are 88 members in the Legislative Assembly.
They serve 4 year terms.
 Explain the role of the Legislative Assembly.
Answer
 The Legislative Assembly has two main roles. The
first is to make laws. Most bills are introduced in the
Legislative Assembly. The second role is to form
government – the party with the majority of seats in
the lower house forms government. Members of the
Legislative Assembly are elected to represent the
views, values and interests of the people
(representative government).
Legislative Council
 40 members.
 4 year term.
 Explain the role of the Legislative Council.
Answer
 The main role of the Legislative Council is to act as a
house of review for legislation that has been passed
in the Legislative Assembly. It does this by
scrutinising, debating and amending or rejecting
legislation that has been initiated in the lower house.
It act as a check and balance on the lower house and
this upholds the principle of responsible
government.
The role of the Crown
 Explain the main role of the Crown.
Role of the Crown
 The role of the governor-general of Australia
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includes:
Acting as as head of state;
Performing duties of the executive council, including
giving royal assent to bills before they become law;
Appointing judges to the courts
Exercising reserve powers – the power to appoint a
prime minister if an election has resulted in a ‘hung
parliament’ and the power to dismiss a prime
minister who has lost the confidence of the
parliament.
The functions of parliament
 Explain the main functions of parliament.
Answer
 The main functions of parliament are to:
- Make laws on behalf of the people;
- Provide for the formation of government;
- Provide a forum for popular representation and
debate;
- Scrutinise the actions of government;
- Delegate some of its law making powers to
subordinate authorities and check any delegated
legislation.
People in parliament
 Define the following terms:
 Government
 Opposition
 Prime Minister, Ministers and Premiers
 Cabinet
Answers
 The government consists of all members of parliament who are
members of the political party that hold the majority of seats in the
lower house.
 The opposition is the political party holding the second largest
number of seats in the lower house, its role is to examine policies of
the government, check decisions made by the government and
scrutinise all bills that are presented to parliament.
 The Prime Minister is the leader of the government at a federal
level. The Premier is the leader of the government at a state level.
The Prime Minister and Premiers appoint ministers to be
responsible for various departments, such as the Education
Department.
 Cabinet consists of the prime minister and the senior ministers. The
cabinet’s main role is to decide on general government policy and to
formulate proposed laws to be introduced to parliament.
Can you…
 Explain the principles and structures of the
Australian parliamentary system?
 Define key words such as government, parliament,
Cabinet, Constitution…
 Draw flow charts to explain the structure of the
Commonwealth Parliament and the Victorian
Parliament.