lesson 6 Commonwealth Parliament Flashcards
(13 cards)
What does bicameral mean?
(Of a parliament) having two chambers or houses (an upper house and a lower house)
Who do the House of Representatives represent?
The Australian people as a whole. Each state and territory in Australia is broken into electorates-150 of them. Each has a seat in parliament and all electorates have a similar population.
How long is a term in the House of Representatives?
Federal elections occur each year. Representatives hold office for three-year terms.
What is a government
The political party or coalition with the majority of seats (50% + 1) in the lower house of parliament
What is a political party?
organisations of people holding a shared set of ideas and values with the aim of getting their members elected in parliament
What is a coalition?
An agreement made between two or more political parties to join numbers in a chamber of parliament
What is a bill?
A proposed law introduced in either house of parliament, but not yet enacted as legislation
What are the roles of the House of representatives?
Forms governments from the political party or coalition with the most seats to represent the interests of the majority of Australians (over 76 seats)
Represent the values of the people who elected them
Introduce, debate, scrutinize and vote on bills before passing them on to the Senate for further debate and consideration
Review, scrutinize and debate any bills from the senate (rare)
Who does the Senate represent?
The aim is to ensure that each state and territory has equal. representation, regardless of population. There are 76 senators, 12 for each of the states and 2 for each of the two territories.
How long is a term in the Senate?
Not all senate seats are up for election at every federal election every three years. Approximately half are elected at each election. Each senator holds office for six years.
What are the roles of the Senate?
Review bills passed by the House of Representatives
Represent the views and values of the states and (to some extent) the territories
Introduce bills (rare) with the exception of those raising money (known as appropriation bills)
Who is the Governor-General?
The Governor-General is the representative of The Crown (King Charles) to the Australian Commonwealth Parliament. The current Governor-General is Sam Mostyn.
What are the roles of the Governer-General?
Administer legislation by giving royal assent to laws made by the houses of parliament, thereby lending them the legitimacy under the constitutional monarchy
Review bills for errors and suggest amendments to the bill (rare)
