bicameral structure Flashcards
(10 cards)
the bicameral structure
a parliament with 2 houses:
federal - senate and the house of reps
state: legislative council and legislative assembly
- the requirement for the commonwealth to be bicameral is contained in the constitution
- the requirement for the vic parliament to be bicameral is contained in the constitution act 1975
- this structure means that a bill needs to be passed in identical form by a majority of members in both houses for it to become a law
requirement - quality control
- th esecond house double-checks the bill and may suggest amendments
- the second house reviews proposed law to ensure there is no misuse of law-making power by the other house
this requirement can both enable and limit the ability of parliament to make law
house composition
the political party (or coalition) with the majority of seats in the lower house forms government
most bills are introduced in the lower house as most government ministers are members of the lower house
this increases the importance of the second house which is usually the upper house
composition of the upper house
the composition of the upper house is an important factor when it comes to law-making
- it can impact the parliaments law-making ability
in particular:
- no government majority in the upper house = easier to amend or reject bills by those who have the balance of power
- government majority = pass bills easily, although the review process may be limited (‘rubber stamping’ bills)
no government majority
it does not always have the majority in the upper house
- its more common that a governing party holds some seats in the upper house, the opposition holds other seats, and the remaining seats are held by some combination of minority party members and independents
- members who are independents and are from minority parties are known as the cross-benchers
what happens when no majority
- the balance of power is likely held by members of the cross-bench
- the government will then need the support of the opposition or some or all of the cross-benches to get bills passed through the upper house
a situation where the government does not hold the majority in the upper house is sometimes called a hostile upper house
hostile upper house
- if the government does not hold a majority in the upper house, it can have difficulties in implementing its legislative policy agenda
- the cross-bench can force it to amend its bills or can reject them outright
at the commonwealth level, the government often does not have majority in the senate - this can mean more throughout debate and scrutiny of bills
- it can also obstruct the ability of government to implement law reform
ON THE OTHER HAND
when the government does not have a majority, it can allow for a small group if independent members or members of minority parties to hold disproportionately high levels of power compared to the size of the voter base - also need to consider whether minor parties and independents who hold the balance of power represent the views of the majority in the community
rubber stamp upper house
- possible to hold a majority in both houses
- in this case, the upper house can become a rubber stamp
- this means it merely confirms the decisions made by the government in the lower house
- because both members of the government usually vote along party lives - according to the directives of their party
it allows for efficient implementation of government policy and legislation - they can do whatever they like so long as they act in harmony with public pressure in order to ensure re-election
- however, this limits the upper houses’ ability to act as a house of review
law-making process
a bill needs to be passed by both houses
- it is then sent to the kings representative for royal assent
typical process is that the bill is introduced into one house then repeats the same stages in the second house
- several stages in this process which means it can take a long time
in addition, the sitting days of parliament (90) means that the law-making process does not often happen
sitting days
parliament is often criticised for being slow to pass laws which is often because of the complexity of the processes and the number of opportunities for debate
- how long it takes depends on the bill itself and the composition of parliament
- most controversial bills will take longer and may result in lengthy debates
- however, it can act swiftly when needed (through pandemic)
PARLIAMENT DOES NTO SIT EVERY DAY OR WEEK
this is because members of parliament need to also spend time in the community so that they remain aware of the needs of the people that they represent
