Testing Week: Yr 11 June 12th Flashcards
(31 cards)
What are the stages of a bill through parliament?
ORIGINAL HOUSE:
1. FIRST READING: bill is introduced into the original house
2. SECOND READING: members debate and vote on the main idea of the bill
3. COMMITTEE STAGE: public inquiry into the bill and reporting back to the original house
4. CONSIDERATION IN DETAIL: Members discuss the bill in detail, including any changes to the bill
5. THIRD READING: members vote on the bill in it’s final form
6. BILL IS PASSED: sent to the next house
SECOND HOUSE:
7. Steps 1 - 5 repeated with second house
8. Bill is passed
9. Royal assent from GG: GG signs bill
10. Bill becomes an act of parliament
How are our rights protected in Australia?
h
What is the structure of the Australian Parliamentary system?
Based on the British Westminster system •Australia is a constitutional monarchy, a federation of states and a representative democracy •Bicameral system Structure of the CW parliament: • GG • Senate (upper house) • HoR (lower house)
What is the difference between an Act and a Statuary rule?
F
What are rights?
an interest recognised and protected by law, respect for which is a duty, disregard for which is wrong
Identify an international treaty that protects human rights
The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Right to freedom from discrimination
•Protection from unlawful detention
How binding are international treaties in Australia?
Not very as any international treaties Australia signs do not automatically become part of Australian law
What are statuary rights?
Express rights not entrenched in the constitution
* contained in a bill of rights set out in a statute, which contains rights which can be amended or repealed by govt.
How do statuary rights differ from express rights entrenched in a constitution?
Statuary rights can be changed by parliament where as rights entrenched in the constitution require a referendum (usually) to be changed
What two approached are relevant to Australia?
Express rights (some express rights) and rights protected by legislation and common law
What type(s) of enforcement of rights do you think are used in Australia?
Interpretive approach: courts can declare a law as contradictory to the bill of rights - parliament either has to change the law or justify it’s existence
- complaints based approach: an individual or an organisation has to complain in order for an infringement to be dealt with
How can the principle of separation of powers help to protect the rights of Australians?
Prevents power from being concentrated in one set of hands providing accountability, checks and balances protecting individual liberty and regulating the CW parliament
How is S53 of the constitution relevant to the constitutional principles of responsible govt. ?
Gives legal recognition for the principle of responsible govt.
How does responsible govt. protect rights?
Protects rights by ensuring that the citizens will be governed by a govt. that has the confidence and support of the lower house protecting against the possibility of govts. abusing power
In what ways does the Constitution embody the highest principle of direct representation?
s7: senators from each state shall be directly chosen by the people
s24: members of the HoR shall be directly chosen by the people
S8 and s30 require that each elector shall only vote once
How does representative govt. protect rights?
protects the rights of the people to be governed by representatives of their choosing. Can’t continue to govern without the support of the people therefore the govt doesn’t have too much power over peoples lives
How is the implied right of political communication relevant to representative government?
In order to enact their right to be governed by the people of their choosing they must be aware of their options. Any law restricting their ability to be aware of their options would therefore be going against their right to choose their own representative and therefore would be going against the premise of a representative government.
Evaluate the extent to which every Australian has the right to vote under the constitution
Limited implied right to vote through s7 and s24
• the words “shall be composed of members directly chosen by the people imply the right to vote for all as they would not be fulfilled if people were restricted from voting due to sex/race/monetary status
What constitutional protection does the crown offer?
The GG is able to dismiss a govt. that is defying the constitution. Not expressly listed in the constitution but under reserve powers
To what extent does the constitution provide structural protection of rights?
- provides indirect protection of rights eg: • responsible govt. •separation of powers The structure and text of the constitution provide some rights: limited right to vote
What are the differences between the Canadian approach and the Australian approach?
- Canada’s list of express rights is extensive while Australia only has 5 (plus the right to freedom of political communication which is implied)
- Canada has a clause (s33) which allows legislation to be overridden by parliament (by permitting parliament to respond to a declaration of invalidity by passing the legislation again with a clearly expressed intent that the new legislation override the protected right, the new legislation can only be in force for 5 years until it has to be passed again) In Australia none of the express rights can be overridden by the parliament
- There is a limitation in the Canadian charter which states that parliament can limit protected rights by demonstrating it is justified in a free and democratic society, there is no such limitation in Australia
- In a trial a court can exclude evidence that has been obtained in violation of the charter, Australia does not have the same provision
What is the ACT court hierarchy?
Federal Magistrates Court: Family divorce applications, administrative law, banking, consumer protection, human rights, privacy No criminal jurisdiction
BELOW
ACT court of appeal: No civil jurisdiction
• Criminal jurisdiction, an appeal just has to come from one judge in the supreme court
BELOW
Supreme Court: Civil jurisdiction
• damages claims for unlimited amounts
•single judge
• 1 judge 12 jury for indictable offences
Criminal Jurisdiction:
• an appeal on 1 point of law from the magistrates court
• 1 judge
BELOW
Magistrates court/Coroners Court/Children’s Court
What are committal hearings?
They are held in the magistrates court to determine a. whether prima facie exists (sufficient weight to support a conviction by a jury at trial)
b. clarify the issues prior to attending trial and thereby avoid taking matters to trial when the evidence is flimsy, saving the time and resources of the higher court
List some special jurisdictions
Family Court: established 1975 has jurisdiction over marriage, divorce and custody of children, sits on the same level as the federal court, appeals go directly to the high court
Children’s court: hears cases for under 18
- except murder which the main hearing would be held in the supreme court
Drug Court
Koori Court: the accused is aboriginal, the offence is within the jurisdiction of the magistrates court other than sexual offences, family violence, or breach of an intervention order, etc
Family violence court
