Politics Flashcards
chapter 21 in Humanities textbook (35 cards)
Identify 2 Law-making bodies in Australia
- Statutory Authorities
- The Federal Parliment
What is an election?
Processes whereby the people choose their representatives and members of parliament.
What are Candidates?
Members of political parties who are nominated to run for office in an election.
Define parliment
An organisation that makes the laws in a country, often with a lower house to draft laws and the upper house to review laws; In Australia, The monarch’s representative ( the governor general) is also a part of parliament and officially creates the laws.
What is a Liberal Democracy?
A form of government in which sovereignty is vested in the citizens.
What is a representative democracy?
A political system based on citizens voting to elect representatives.
What is a Constitutional monarchy?
A political system in which a monarch is the head of state and a parliament makes laws under the terms of a constitution.
What are Bills?
Proposed laws that have not yet been passed by both houses of parliament
Define what the Australian Constitution is
A document that describes the rules, or laws that govern Australia; the constitution defines the structure of government in Australia, and also the rights of citizens
What year did the Australian Constitution come into operation?
1st January 1901.
what is a royal assent? What does it do?
A royal assent is a formal signing and approval by the governor general (at the commonwealth level) or governor (at the state level) for a bill to become a law
Define Federal Parliamentary system
A political system where the responsibility to make or change laws is shared by one national (or federal) parliament and six state parliament.
In Australia, the federal parliament consists of…?
- The Queen - Who is the head of parliament (or head of state) and is represented by the governor-general
- Two Houses - A lower and an upper house; each consists of elected representatives called members of parliament or parliamentarians
the lower house is called..?
The House of Representatives
The upper house is called…?
The Senate
Define members of parliament
Individuals who have been elected by the people to represent their views and values in parliament.
what is a coalition
2 or more political parties that join together in an attempt to win an election and form government.
what are electorial divisions?
geological areas containing specified number of people who can vote in an election
Who are senators?
Individuals elected to the upper house of the parliament (the Senate)
What is a political Party?
Political parties are made up of groups of people who share similar ideas about how their country or state should be governed.
what are Independent candidates?
members of parliament who is not associated with a political party.
What are the 3 main political parties?
-Labor
-Liberal
-The Nationals
What are Labor’s key principles?
- Believes that the government should play a strong national role
- Strives for a fairer Australia for all workers
- Tries to close the gap between the rich and the poor so that wealth is more evenly distributed.
What are Liberal’s key principles?
- Believes in the power of the individual and business to make their own choices and prosper.
- Strives for less government control
- The liberals and the Nationals join forces at the federal level so they have enough members to form government