Lesson 6 - The Commonwealth Parliament Flashcards
(9 cards)
Bicameral structure of parliament
Bicameral (parliament) refers to having two chambers or houses (upper and lower)
- The elected representatives of either house are often referred to as ‘Members of Parliament’ (MPs)
- Each chamber has its own representatives, however the sum of both chambers and the Governor-General are known as ‘Parliament’.
- All components of Parliament ( Lower house, Upper house and Governor-General) are needed to pass legislation.
House of Representatives - Who they represent
The Hose of Representatives represents the Australian people as whole. Importantly, each state and territory in Australia is broken in to electorates - 150 of them
- Each has a seat in Parliament
- All electorates have a similar population
House of Representatives - Length of term
Federal elections occur every 3 years. Representatives hold office for three-year terms.
House of Representatives - Roles
- Forms government from the political party or coalition with the most seats to represent the interests of the majority of Australians (over 76 seats).
- Next largest party becomes opposition, who scrutinise (critique) bills.
- Represent the values of the people who elected them - this means those of their electorates who represent Australia as a whole when taken as a sum.
- Introduce bills whereby a member will introduce a bill, the House will debate it and scrutinise the bill, and if the House votes in favour by majority, the bill is passed up to the upper house (The Senate) for debate and consideration.
- Review, scrutinise and debate of any bills from the Senate (rare). Bills can originate in the Senate.
Senate - Who they represent
The Senate is known as the ‘States’ ‘House’ because the aim is to ensure that each state/territory has equal representation, regardless of population
- There are 76 Senators - 12 from each of the six states and 2 for each of the two territories.
Senate - Length of term
- Not all Senate seats are up for election at every federal election (3 years).
- Approximately half are elected at each election.
- Each Senator hold office for six years.
Senate - Roles
- Review bills passed from the House of Representatives, in doing so acting as a ‘house of review’ by scrutinising bills and debating their merit/ value to the Australian people.
- Representing the views and priorities of the states and (to some extent) territories.
- As each state gets the same number of senators, the Senate theoretically guarantees equal share of say for each state.
- This is limited for territories, as each has only two seats.
- Introduce bills. While this is not typical it is possible for Senators to introduce bills which can be debated, and if passed, are sent down to the House of Representatives.
- The Senate may introduce any type of bill within the legislative power of the Commonwealth Parliament with the exception of those raising money (known as appropriations bills).
Governor-General - Who
The Governor- General is the representative of The Crown (King Charles) to the Australian Commonwealth Parliament
- The Governor-General is appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister of the day, and works from the suggestions of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (all senior ministers).
Governor General - Roles
- 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 error and suggest amendments (rare), in which case the bill is then sent back down to both houses of parliament. It must by passed in the same form by both houses before returning to the Governor-General to her for royal assent
- The Governor-General can theoretically withhold royal assent, but his does not happen in practice.
