Chapter 3 – Class Test
Suggested Answers
Question 1: Describe the role of the Victorian Law Reform Commission (2 marks)
The Victorian Law Reform Commission plays an important role in law reform by examining, reporting
and making recommendations to the Attorney-General either at its own initiative (if it involves a
minor legal issue) or in response to a reference from the Attorney-General. It can also make
suggestions to the Attorney-General for a proposal or matter relating to law reform. Moreover, the
VLRC serves an educative function by providing educational programs to the community and
information to Parliament and its committees. Its main function is to conduct research and make
recommendations; it does not have power to make or alter the law.
Question 2: Discuss a strength and a weakness of the Victorian Law Reform Commission in
assessing the need for a change in the law (4 marks)
In assessing the need for a change in the law, the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) conducts
extensive research and consultation in order to prepare detailed and accurate reports to the
Attorney-General, which are then tabled in Parliament. This is a significant strength of the VLRC as it
involves as broad a cross-section of the community as possible and gives the public an opportunity
to participate in the process. This promotes the principle of representative government by ensuring
that proposed changes to the law reflect the needs and interests of the community. The VLRC does
this by preparing and disseminating issues and discussion papers to inform the community and
facilitate debate. It encourages contributions from the public, including community organisations,
academics, lawyers, government and private sector organisations, by inviting submissions and
holding interviews and consultations. This process allows the VLRC to adequately review existing
laws, find out how it is operating in practice and discovering any problems or omissions. However,
even though this process is designed to be comprehensive, it may not include a representative
portion of the community as many members of the public may not know about it and powerful
groups may therefore have a disproportionate influence.
One of the weaknesses of the VLRC in assessing the need for a change in the law is that it has limited
power and time to investigate and report on law reform issues. Generally, the VLRC receives a
reference from the Attorney General to examine and make recommendations on a specified area of
law. The VLRC can only initiate this process where it relates to a minor legal issue. Given the VLRC’s
workload and the extensive process of examining law reform issues, it can only investigate one or
two major legal issues a year. Moreover, once the VLRC makes its recommendations via a report to
the Attorney-General, it has no power to implement the recommendations. The final decision to
change the law or create a new law lies with Parliament, making the VLRC relatively powerless. This
is a significant weakness of the VLRC. However, it is not a democratically elected body (unlike
Parliament which is democratically elected) and therefore the final decision as to whether a law
should change or not, should be Parliament’s responsibility.
Question 3: Explain two reasons why laws may need to change. Give an example for each reason.
(4 marks)
One reason for why the law may need to change is to keep up with society’s views and attitudes.
Laws need to reflect society’s social, moral, economic and political values. Hence, when there is a
change in these values, laws need to be changed so that they continue to be accepted and relevant
to our society. For example, in 2008, parliament passed “The Relationships Act 2008 (Vic)” which
recognises same-sex relationships, and this was due to society’s changing view and growing support
of same-sex couples and some of their rights.
Another reason for why laws may need to change is to regulate the implications of technology. The
growing use of the internet in today’s society has led to identity theft being one of the fastest
growing crimes today. This prompted the Victorian parliament to pass “The Crimes Amendment
(Identity Crime) Act 2009 (Vic)” which criminalises identify theft and assists victims in remedying the
effects of the crime.
Question 4
a. Using one example, explain how individuals or groups may use the media to influence legislative
change. (2 marks)
Individuals or groups may use the media to bring an issue out in the public domain and have
members of the community discussing the issue and putting pressure on their parliamentarians to
make a change in the law. For example, the pressure group GetUp! uses a range of media such as
advertisements, websites, twitter and Facebook to raise awareness of issues, encourage community
members to sign petitions and communicate with parliamentarians.
b. Evaluate two weaknesses of parliament as a law-maker. (6 marks)
One weakness of parliament as a law-maker is that the process of debate and the passage of a bill
through parliament is a lengthy process. This means that instant changes or developments to
legislation do not occur, and causes delays to legislation that is often needed in society. However,
this ensures that the legislation is thorough, effective and the views and perspectives of parliament
are provided so that any necessary amendments can be made to the bill. Therefore, whilst the
process is long, it ensures that statutes are not hastily made and are considered thoughtfully and by
all members of Parliament.
Another weakness of parliament is that it is able to delegate much of its law-making powers to
bodies that are not elected by members of the community. These bodies, such as local councils and
statutory authorities, are not responsible and not necessarily accountable to the community given
they are not elected. However, many of these bodies are experts in their area and therefore are
more likely to make laws that are relevant and necessary for the community as opposed to
parliament, which may not necessarily have expertise in a particular area (such as local traffic) to
create the required laws. Also, given parliament has limited time already to make laws, it ensures
that those bodies can make laws quickly without the need to go through the abovementioned
passage of a bill.
Question 5: Distinguish between formal pressures and informal pressures for a change in the law.
(2 marks)
Formal pressures for a change in the law come from bodies that are established by parliament or
government such as the Victorian Law Reform Commission. Informal pressures on the other hand
come from individuals and groups who are outside of the formal structures of parliament and
government. Examples of the informal pressures include using the media, petitions and
demonstrations.