Foundations of Politics

Question 1

Structure of Federal and Victorian Parliament

Answer 1

Federal:
Governor General (Crown)
House of Representatives 151 Seats (Lower House)
The Senate 76 Seats (Upper House)

Victorian
Governor (Crown)
Legislative Assembly 88 Seats (Lower House)
Legislative Council 40 Seats (Upper House)

Question 2

Areas of Exclusive Federal Law making powers

Answer 2

Defence
Trade
Currency
Immigration
Census
Citizenship
Track progress

Question 3

House of Representatives

Answer 3

Forming Government
Central role in Law making and in forming government.
Members of parliament get voted into the lower house.
Vital when It comes to passing bills.
151 Members
Elected for up to 3 years

Question 4

Areas of Shared law-making powers

Answer 4

Education
Federal Parliament: Universities
State and Territory Parliament: Schools, Teachers, Vocational Education.
Health
Federal Parliament: Medicare, Australia’s Healthcare System
State and Territory Parliament: Hospitals
Marriage and Divorce
Federal Parliament: Choose who can get married
State and Territory Parliament: Decide how marriages are registered.
Taxation
Federal Parliament: Collects Taxes on income and company profits.
State and Territory Parliament: Collects stamp duty, payroll tax and other smaller taxes.

Question 5

Parliamentary

Answer 5

Parliamentary Government means the Government is formed from elected members of Parliament.
Parliament is where the representatives elected by the people can discuss and debate decisions that need to be made to help society run smoothly.

Question 6

Constitutional Monarchy

Answer 6

System of Parliament where the Monarch has power however is limited by the Constitution.

Question 7

Three Levels of Parliament

Answer 7

Australia is a federation. This means that we are a union in which power of these states is divided between central authority, state authority and local authority.
Federal Parliament
Located in Canberra

State/Territory Parliaments
Located in Capital Cities

Local Councils
Located in towns and cities across each state.

Question 8

Bicameral

Answer 8

The Bicameral Government is made up of two houses and the Crown, Many Parliaments in Australia are set up like this model.
Australia has 1 Parliament in each State and Territory with a Commonwealth parliament in Canberra.
The Commonwealth (Federal) and State Parliament have different Law Making powers. This means some Laws only apply to the State and some Laws apply to the whole of Australia,

Question 9

Separation of Powers

Answer 9

Exists to ensure nobody or institution holds total control and absolute control.
Ensures corruption is minimised, and legislation policies thoroughly reviewed.

The Legislative
Legislative arm consists of the House of Reps and the Senate.
Have power to introduce, create and change legislation.

The Executive
Consists of the PM and Cabinet ministers.
Have power to put Laws into action and lead the government.

The Judicial
Consists of the High Court
Have power to interpret and make Judgements on the Law.