From the study design:
Area of Study 1:Parliament and the Citizen
Key knowledge
This knowledge includes:
• principles of the Australian parliamentary system:
representative government, responsible
government, and the separation of powers
• the structure of the Victorian Parliament and the
Commonwealth Parliament and the roles played
by the Crown and the Houses of Parliament in lawmaking
Vocabulary
• System of checks and balances- accountability, checking on each other
to stop abuse
• Legal principle-rule, theory,
• Bicameral –two houses
• Parliament = (all members of) Crown, Upper House and Lower House
• Government = political party which holds majority of members in lower
house of Parliament.
• Cabinet = PM plus senior government ministers = government’s policy
making body
• Rubber stamp- to pass legislation without scrutinising it adequately; this
occurs when the government has a majority in both houses
• To hold the balance of power- the party which has the majority in the
Senate
Constitutional Monarchy
• Historically Australia was a colony of
Britain.
• When it established its parliament , it
adopted the British parliamentary
system, called the Westminster system.
Westminster is the name of the city
where the British parliament is located.
The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act
1900 (UK) came into operation on the 1st January
1901 to make Australia a federation. This meant:
• The states were no longer separate colonies
• Created a federal constitution
• Created a central parliament;
the Federal Parliament (of which
Julia Gillard is the PM)
• Created the High Court
Since Australia’s parliamentary system is
governed by the terms of the Constitution and the
Queen of Britain (the monarch) is still our Queen,
Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy
The three Legal Principles:
1.Representative government
2. Responsible government
3. Separation of powers
1. Representative government
A representative government is a fundamental component of
Australia’s democratic system of government.
• Individual citizens vote for the people they wish to represent
them in parliament.
• This is achieved through regular elections
• At federal level the lower house represents the interests of
the people by having approximately equal electorates. And
the Upper House represents the interests of the states.
• The government should reflect the majority of community
values, or otherwise risk losing the next election
2. Responsible government
Responsible government is another fundamental aspect of
our democratic system
This means that:
• The crown and its ministers are both answerable and
accountable to the people for its actions- it must act fairly.
• There is ministerial responsibility. This means ministers with
a portfolio (responsibility for a government department eg:
Education) are ultimately responsible for the decisions and
actions of that department.
• Ministers therefore can be questioned by other members of
parliament (MPs) about their activities as well as the
activities of their department.
What can happen when one
person has all the power?
Corruption
Abuse of power
Dishonesty
Exploitation
Separation of powers
The three main powers in our parliamentary
system are kept separate;
• The Legislative power- the power to make
laws
• Executive power- the power to govern and
ensure all necessary laws have been made
• Judicial power- the power to enforce laws
made
Why must these powers be kept
separate?
‘Power tends to corrupt,
and absolute power corrupts
absolutely’
- Baron Acton (1834–1902). The historian and moralist,
The Separation of Powers
The principle of separation of powers refers to the three
separate types of power in our parliamentary system.
The legislative power, which is the power to make laws, is
performed by the parliament.
The executive power (which is the power to administer the
laws and to govern the country) is given to the Queen’s
representative, the Governor General- but in practice the Prime
Minister and the senior ministers - perform this role.
The judicial power, the power to enforce the laws made and
settle disputes is performed by the Courts.
Separate bodies perform these three
functions, to ensure that one body does not
have all the power since “absolute power corrupts
absolutely”.
By separating these three functions then each body
can scrutinise the behaviour of the other and a
system of checks and balances is created to avoid
corruption.
In reality, the powers are not completely separate as
the executive and the legislative powers overlap as
the government is part of the parliament which
performs the legislative role.
3. Separation of powers
Commonwealth constitution
Legislative
power
Make laws
Parliament
The legislative and executive
are not completely separate
as the government sits in
parliament and is part of the
legislative process
Executive
power
To administer the
laws and govern
the country
Governor- General
(In practice PM and
ministers (cabinet)
exercise this power)
Judicial power
Enforce
laws
Courts
From the Study Design:
Key Knowledge:
• The structure of the Victorian Parliament and the
Commonwealth Parliament and the roles played by
the Crown and the houses of Parliament in lawmaking.
Structure of Parliament
Federal Parliament
State Parliament
• Both Parliaments have a queen’s
representative
• Both are bicameral; have two houses an
upper and a lower house
Structure of Federal Parliament
Name
Queens
Representative.
Upper house
Lower house
number Length
of term
Structure of Federal Parliament
Name
Queens
Representative Governor-
number
1
approx.
5 years
76
6
years
3
years
general
Upper house
Senate
Lower house
House of
Representatives
Length
of term
150
Structure of State Parliament
Name
Queens
Representative.
Upper house
Lower house
number
Length of
term
Structure of State Parliament
Name
Queens
Representative Governor
Upper house
Lower house
Legislative
Council
Legislative
Assembly
number
Length
of term
1
approx.
5 years
40
4
years
4
years
88
Role of houses of parliament
The House of Representatives role is to:
● Making laws The main function of the House of
Representatives is to make laws. Any member can introduce a
proposal for a new law. However, most proposals come from
members of the government. To become a law, the proposal
must receive the approval of both houses of parliament.
● Determining government The party, or parties in coalition,
with a majority in the lower house forms government. To
remain in government, the party must maintain the support of
the majority of members in the lower house.
● Represent the people ( representative government)
Members of the House of Representatives are elected to
represent areas of approximately the same number of
electors. The electoral system ensures that the House of
Representatives represents the interests of the majority of
voters. That’s why it’s known as ‘the people’s house’
● scrutinise the actions of government (responsible
government)
Individual members of the House of Representatives have
the opportunity to present the views of their electorate by
presenting petitions or raising issues with ministers during
question time.
● Controlling government spending The government can
only collect taxes or allocate the spending of public money
if a law is passed by parliament.
Role of the Senate
● Act as a ‘State’s House’- the senate represents the interests
of the states at Federal Parliament. Twelve from each state and
two from each territory are voted into the upper house.
● Act as a ‘House of Review’ Since most bills are
initiated in the lower house (the House of Representatives),
the Senate has the task of reviewing the bills already
passed through the lower house. For this reason the Senate
is sometimes referred to as the ‘house of review’. In
addition, the Senate can originate, amend or reject any
proposed law. Since only half the senate is put up for
election every three years, the senators that remain are
likely to have considerable experience in law-making.
● Initiating and Making laws A Bill must be
passed by both the House of Representatives and
the Senate before it can become law. Most laws
are proposed by the government and therefore
start in the House of Representatives, but
proposed new laws can also start in the Senate,
(except money bills-tax bills- which can only be
initiated by the House of Representatives.)
How effectively does the Senate perform its roles
as a ‘House of Review’ and as a ‘States’ House’?
As a ‘House of Review’: The Senate reviews
legislations passed by the lower house, hence it
is called a ‘house of review’.
When government has a majority in the upper house
then it cannot perform its role as a house of review
adequately.
Since government has a majority in both houses
then it tends to be a ‘rubber stamp’, merely passing
the decisions made in the lower house, without
adequately scrutinising them.
Hostile senate:
If the opposition has a majority in the Upper house then we
are said to have a ‘hostile senate’ (controlled by the
opposition). The upper house is likely to review the bills
passed through the lower house more carefully. If the balance
of power in the Senate is held by a minority party or an
independent member of parliament then the government will
endeavour to win the support of that minority party in order to
pass bills through the Senate.
As a ‘States’ House”:
In practice the senators tend to vote according to the dictates
of the party, rather than in the interests of their state, for this
reason it does not fulfil its role as a ‘states’ house’ effectively.
Role of the Crown
ALEX CHERNOV AO QC
Governor of Victoria
Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce
Governor-General of the
Commonwealth of Australia
Role of the Crown
The Governor-General and Governor’s main responsibility is
to ensure that the democratic system operates effectively.
Their powers include:
• To grant royal assent to legislation: One of the main constitutional
roles of the GG is to give royal assent to acts of parliament. Royal
assent is the signing of a proposed law. It is the final stage before a
bill becomes an act. (at Federal level the GG has the power under the
Constitution to withhold royal assent in certain circumstances)
● to appoint the times for the holding of parliament
● to bring to an end a session of parliament without dissolution (to
prorogue the parliament)
● to dissolve the House of Representatives and bring about an election
● to grant pardons or remit fines for offences against
the laws of Australia
● to appoint officers in the diplomatic and consular
services of Australia
● to choose and summon executive councillors and to
appoint ministers of state for
Australia.
Role of the crown
Crown's
Representative
s. 2
Constitution.
Executive
Function
ss. 61-62
Constitution
Royal
Assent
s. 58
CROWN
Reserve
powers s.
58, 60, 64
Constitution
Summon
and dissolve
Parliaments
ss. 5 and 57
Nonlegislative
powers eg appointing
Justices of
High Court,
ceremonial
powers