Unit 4 AOS 1 Flashcards
(14 cards)
Commonwealth parliament
House of Representatives: Commonly referred to as the Lower House
151 members, each elected from equally populated electorates
Elections held approximately every three years
House of Government, where the Prime Minister sits
Senate: Commonly referred to as the Upper House
12 representatives from each State, and two from each territory
Each Senator is elected for six years (half elected every three years)
Governor-General:
The representative of the Crown
Appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister
Largely ceremonial role
Vic parliament
Legislative Assembly: Commonly referred to as the Lower House
88 members, each elected from equally populated electorates
Elections held every four years
House of Government, where the Premier sits
Legislative Council: Commonly referred to as the Upper House
40 representatives from eight ‘regions’
Each Member is elected for four years
Governor: The representative of the Crown
Appointed on the advice of the Premier
Largely ceremonial role
House of Representatives roles
Determine the government
The political party with the most seats in the HoR becomes the Government of Australia
Leader becomes Prime Minister
Initiate and make laws
To make a new law, or amend an old law, it must be agreed upon by both houses and the Governor-General
Most bills commence in the HoR – supply bills must commence there
Provide responsible government
Ministers are accountable to parliament for their actions and decisions
Prime Minister and ministers have to answer questions about this during question time
Senate Roles
House of Review
Most bills are initiated in the HoR, hence the Senate becomes the review house
Government rarely has a majority in the Senate, therefore more scrutiny on legislation
Initiate and make laws
Same law-making power as the HoR, bills must be approved by both houses
Some bills are initiated in the Senate
Supply bills must be initiated in the HoR
States’ house
Historical role, as each state is equally represented regardless of population
Initially to protect smaller states from being taken advantage of
Roles of Governor-General
Royal Assent
To make a new law, or amend an old law, it must be agreed upon by both houses and the Governor-General - this is known as Royal Assent
Formally signs a bill into law and makes it an Act of Parliament
Executive Council
The GG formally heads the executive – outlined in the Constitution
Acts on advice of ministers and Prime Minister
Reserve Powers
Holds some powers that are not listed in the Constitution – does not need legislative approval to use them
Includes the ability to dismiss a government or end parliamentary sessions
TYPES OF LAW-MAKING POWER
key term-Division of Powers: the splitting up of law-making responsibility between the Commonwealth parliament and state parliaments
Residual Powers
Not listed in the Constitution
Some deliberately left to the states, others have developed as areas of law over time
Commonwealth cannot legislate in these areas
S 107: Every power of the State shall continue unless exclusively given to the Commonwealth or withdrawn from the State
Exclusive Powers
Listed in the Constitution
States cannot legislate in these areas
Exclusive by their nature, due to another section of the Constitution, or listed in s52
Concurrent Powers
Listed in the Constitution
Both C’wealth and states can legislate in these areas
All specific powers that are not made exclusive are concurrent, so everything else in s51
Section 51
The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to s51 and 52 of the constitution.
What happens if a State and the Commonwealth parliament have contradictory laws?
When a law of a State is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid
s109 of the constitution
Tasmanian Dams Case
In 1974 the Commonwealth Government signed the Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage
In 1982 the Tasmanian Government passed legislation to construct a dam on the Franklin River
Shortly after this the area was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO
In 1983 the Commonwealth Government passed the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983 which placed restrictions on what could be done on heritage sites – this prohibited the building of the dam
The Tasmanian Government argued that the Commonwealth Government did not have specific powers in the Constitution over the environment or electricity production; therefore they could not restrict the building of the dam
The Commonwealth argued that the external affairs power (s51(xxix)) gave them the power to make laws that cover matters covered by the treaty, regardless of whether they are in the Constitution or not.
Found in favour of the Commonwealth, The High Court established a broad interpretation of external affairs; gives the Commonwealth the power to legislate over anything of legitimate international concern.
High court
The High Court is independent of parliament and government which has the power to rule on all matters involving the interpretation of the Constitution. There can sometimes be debate over meaning of words in the Constitution, which can lead to debate over who has law-making authority. If a case is brought, The High Court rules on these debates, and can decide if parliaments are acting within their powers, or beyond them (ultra vires). If a parliament is acting ultra vires, the High Court can declare that legislation invalid
Factors affecting the parliaments ability to make law.
Parliament is the supreme law-making body. Provided an area is within its law-making powers, parliament has the ability to pass any law they want. However, there are some factors that affect their will to do so.
Bicameral Structure
BICAMAREL STRUCTURE: Bicameral means a parliament with two houses – an Upper and a Lower, each house has a different voting method.
* A political party rarely achieves a majority in both houses, therefore legislation must be negotiated and may not be easily passed
* The lower house is expected to provide representative government – therefore they can’t pass laws the public don’t agree with
* if a political party achieves a majority in both houses than they can pass law reform easily
* If both major political parties agree, then legislative change can be enacted quite quickly and easily
Representative nature of Parliament
REPRESENTATIVE NATURE OF PARLIAMENT
* The lower house is expected to provide representative government – therefore they can’t pass laws the public don’t agree with or they will be voted out at an election
* Often there are conflicting views about when change is necessary such that parliament may be reluctant to change
* The public is likely to elect a parliament whose policies they agree with, thus the parliament won’t be restricted from legislating in these areas
International Pressures
INTERNATIONAL PRESSURES
* Parliament is likely to respond to pressures from the international community – don’t want to risk our international reputation
* No ability for international bodies or other countries to force parliament to change the law – parliament much more likely to respond to domestic pressures as they can lead to voter backlash
* If parliament believes acting on a global issue will lead to voter backlash, they will avoid legislating in this area
