politics and law Flashcards
(11 cards)
Liberal democracy
a system of government that aims to protect individual rights and freedoms and place limits on the level of government control interference
Representative democracy
a system of government which the people vote to elect the parliaments and governments that make and implement the law.
LIBERAL DEMOCTRATIVE VALUES
Freedom of election~
-can run as a candidate in an election
-can vote in elections (once 18)
Freedom of religion~
-can follow religious beliefs
Freedom of assembly~
-Can meet up with a group of friends
Freedom of speech~
-Can openly criticize the government
AUSTRALIAS PARLIAMENT
-Parliament is the legislative branch of government, its job is to create the law.
-Made up of 2 houses- House of representatives (HOR) and the senate.
ELECTORATE
A designed geographical area that is represented by an elected member of parliament
HOR MAIN FUNCTIONS
-Making legislation (laws)- Most laws are introduced by the government and have to pass both houses to become Australia law.
-Represent the people- Many members of parliament present petitions or concerns from people in their electorate to the nations representatives.
-Monitors government expenditure- A ruling party can not simply spend money whenever they want, it must be approved by the HOR.
SENATE
-Upper house of the commonwealth parliament
-76 seats, 12 for each state, 2 for each territory.
POLITICAL PARTIES
A political party is an organization that represents a particular group of people or set of ideas. It aims to have members elected to parliament so their ideas can affect the way Australia is governed.
POLITICAL PARTIES PURPOSES
The central function of a political party is to achieve maximum representation in parliament and expert influence through government, although other facilities include:
1- Allow for the peaceful expression of social conflict+ political division
2- Allow for political participation, and encourage citizens to be active
3- Can implement legislative programs, or provide security if in opposition
4- Express different sets of values+ turn those into policies to present to the people
MAJOR PARTIES- (LABOUR AND LIBERAL)
-Any party which has a realistic chance of gaining a majority of seats in in HOR
-To achieve this on a federal level, a majority party needs:
1- A very strong support base amongst the population
2- Enough people to contest the election in most, if not all electorates
3- Beliefs and policies that appeal to the values of many Australians
MINOR PARTIES
-Parties that aim to achieve some representation in parliament to influence the legislative agenda (bills being put forward).
-Minor parties can achieve influence on legislation in 3 ways:
1- Seeking a coalition with a major party to gain seats in government
2-Winning seats in the senate
3- Preference seats during election time
