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2A Politics Flashcards

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0
Q

What are the requirements of a good government (4)

A
  • it should be representing the people
  • it should reflect the people’s interests
  • people should be involved in the decision making
  • government should be accountable for their actions
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1
Q

What is a government (good)

A

A government is a body within society that has the authority to make laws and to provide public programs.

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2
Q

What is the private sphere of activity?

A

It is to do with the ordinary lives of individuals e.g getting food as shelter

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3
Q

What is the public sphere of activity?

+why do people need it

A

Where individuals need to cooperate. People must cooperate together to ensure that one persons actions don’t interfere with another’s

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4
Q

What are some examples of public sphere why is it necessary-> why do we pay taxes

A

There are some things that can be provided by the government for everyone e.g schools, defence -> we pay taxes individually and the government uses this money to spend on collective wants

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5
Q

What is politics?

A

Politics of the activity of making shared decisions

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6
Q

What is government?

A

Government is a general term it must include

  • making of laws
  • applying of the laws
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7
Q

What are some roles of government (3)

A

There are three Areas of government activity

  • to provide goods that are not private e.g. hospitals
  • economic management e.g. keeping interest low unemployment low
  • redistribute income from rich to poor (income tax)
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8
Q

What are the three arms/ functions of government

A

Legislative function
executive function
judicial function

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9
Q

What does the legislative function do

A

It is the parliament making laws
a) task of passing and modifying laws. Know as statute or political term is legislation
B) parliament has the ultimate authority to make laws

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10
Q

What is the executive function

A

A) it is the carried out by the cabinet who administer the law and make sure the law is carried out
B) cabinet provides the authority for the government departments to carry out decisions and implement the laws

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11
Q

What is the judicial function

A
  • it is carried out by the judges in the courts resolving disputes
  • courts make decisions by applying the law to the case in front of them
  • done by using precedence
  • if a person is found guilty in a criminal case the judge will give out a sanction in a civil case the judge will give that a remedy
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12
Q

What features of a Democratic government

A

Modern democracies are liberal governments, representative, have fair elections, open participation and no restrictions, everyone can be involved, just legal system

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13
Q

What is democracy

A

Political and legal system which is based on the will of the people but is expressed as majority rule

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14
Q

What is a direct democracy

A

People are directly involved in the decision and lawmaking process only works in small numbers

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15
Q

What is a representative democracy

A

Where people can choose someone to act on their behalf to make decisions for a limited time

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16
Q

What is an absolute monarchy

A

Where all political and legal powers is in the hand of an unelected monarch they have power based on hereditary (born into the role)

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17
Q

What is an aristocracy

A

Power is held by single elite group in society

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18
Q

What is an oligarchy

A

Held by small number of elite groups sharing the power

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19
Q

What is an autocracy

A

Where political power is held by one person who decides all the laws in the society (person known as an autocrat or a dictator) often have total power and force people to be obedient

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20
Q

What is a meritocracy

A

Political power is given to those who are thought to deserve it e.g. wealthy people, those from education

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21
Q

What are three ideas of principles of a good government

A

Limiting the government- power needs to be within set limits
checking government- needs to methods to make government accountable to the people
voice of the people- having a democratic form of voting can provide people with representation therefore they have a voice

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22
Q

What is the separation of powers

A

It is where the functions of government must be separate and independent of each other

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23
Q

Who thought of this idea and what was his thoughts

A

Montesquieu thought the parliaments should make the law then the monarchs and ministers should just apply the law and the courts should decide the legal disputes about the law

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24
Q

How has the US applied the separation of powers

A

The legislative function is given to the Congress, the executive power is given to the president, judicial power is given to the Supreme Court’s. President cannot be part of congress so completely separate

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25
Q

How has Australia applied the separation of powers

A

separation of powers is not correct the parliament has the legislative power prime minister and cabinet have the executive function they are not separate because the parliament contains the Prime Minister and Cabinet judicial function is the high court and they are separate but not independent because they are hired by the governor general on guidance for the Prime Minister

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26
Q

What does sovereignty mean

A

Means who has the supreme/highest authority to govern a country (in theory it is the Queen, in practice is the parliament that has sovereignty.)

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27
Q

What is the Constitution

A

The Constitution is documents that define the powers of government destruction of the political system, the structure of the process and procedures of the government. Not laws

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28
Q

What is a constitutional monarch

A

Is where the monarch is also almost completely restricted to acting on the advice of the Prime Minister and has no real power

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29
Q

What is constitutionalism

A

Where the government only have the power to exercise authority set out in the Constitution. If someone feels the government has gone outside the Constitution they can challenge the legality in the courts.

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30
Q

What is citizenship

A

Citizenship is where people have the right to live in a free society with limited government power and the rule of law

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31
Q

What is the rule of law

A

Is where action is allowed on allowed because of the Law not because of government power

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32
Q

What are the features of the rule of law

A
  • The Law applies to the actions of all citizens no one is above the Law
  • there must be an effective way to make the government accountable for their actions
  • citizens must be a equal before the law
  • the law must be clear and understandable
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33
Q

What are some of the responsibilities of the rule of law

A

– There should be illegal process allows people to get a fair hearing

  • the citizens are willing to be bound by the law
  • the law should protect all citizens
  • people have the right to try and change the law
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34
Q

What is an example of accountability

A

The government spends the taxes they raise from the people, therefore they should be accountable for how they actually spend the money

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35
Q

What is the Westminister model

A

Is where ministers and the government are responsible to the parliament for their actions. The ministers are also elected members of parliament and if the government loses its majority the parliament has to resign. Members of the parliament are accountable to the people and each election and this is how governments change

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36
Q

What is the presidential model of the United States

A

Citizens late for the president every four years. If the president loses an election secretaries all lose their jobs as well. If Congress passed the bill to become a lot the president must endorse that law and if the president put forward a bill for it become a law it must pass through Congress (this keeps legislative and executive independent well keeping check on each other) the supreme court can cancel any law if you seem to be unconstitutional

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37
Q

What are some examples of political rights

A

Freedom of speech, religion, assembly, association, right to vote

38
Q

What are some examples of legal rights

A

Unbiased judges, fair trial, equality before the law

39
Q

What was the Watergate scandal

A

In 1972 president Nixon won the presidential election easily defeating his Democrat opponent. In 1973 some Republican party officials were charged with breaking and entering into the Democrat campaign headquarters the Watergate hotel. it was alleged that Nixon himself and authorise the break-in and tried to cover up criminal activity. During investigation Nixon refused to handover evidence considered central to the case. Congresses on the verge of in preachment (making Nixon stand trail before Congress) when Nixon resigned

40
Q

What is impeachment

A

Having to stand trial with Congress

41
Q

What happened with W.A. Inc

A

Brian Burke labour party leader of W.A. won office in 1983. Labour government sought for the government to become an entrepreneur and facilitator of major business development and projects within the state. Government became directly involved in the financing and underwriting of a number of activities of large corporations. concerns were raise regards to taxpayers money and what is being used for as money is being used facilitate important investment decisions and economy as a result weekend in late 80s. The government try to avoid scrutiny by not going through Parliament and using business activities to raise money and make decisions about important policies. There was a royal commission inquiry into the activities of W.A. Inc

42
Q

Was ancients Rome the Roman Republic a democratic government

A

No in theory in ancient Rome the government represented all citizens (too be a citizen you couldn’t be a woman or a slave) and they had basic rights. The power was held by the senate and represented the wealthy

43
Q

What was the representative body in the UK Dring the 1600s

A

In the UK 1690s the house of lords (upper house) was made up of the wealthy nobility House of Commons represented the knights and very wealthy townspeople. in the England Civil War in 1640s resulted in the parliament armies defeating the knights which ended the absolute monarchy, for the first time the parliament became more powerful than the king (constitutional monarchy)

44
Q

What is a democratic society based on

A

A democratic society is not only the right to vote and the concept majority rules but also should be based on individual freedom and equality among citizens

45
Q

What should voting systems achieve/do

A

voting system should be give citizens equal voting power and the government should reflect majority parliament should also include representatives from minority groups.
Citizens must not be intimidated when voting.

46
Q

Why should there be regular elections

A

For people to be able to dismiss unpopular governments

47
Q

What should the Court System do

A

The courts should be unbiased where citizens know what they charge with and people are considered innocent until proven guilty and citizens should have relatively equal access to and treatment by the legal system

48
Q

What is the Federation

A

It is governments joining together to create a new level of government and have regional governments as well
in the example of Australia six colonies joined to create Australia by making a new level of government and colonies becoming states

49
Q

What is a federal system of government

A

Is where government divides the powers of government between a single central government that makes laws that whole nation and a number of regional government to make laws for their own regions

50
Q

What are the pros of Federalism

A

– Regional governments are closer to the people therefore more responsible – the power of the government are limited because it is divided between two levels
-competition between governments should improve government services

51
Q

What are some of the cons of Federalism

A

– Over government too many politicians per person

  • exaggerates the conflict between states
  • dividing Power reduces the Fedral government’s power to make nationwide decisions and policies quickly because the state’s control some sectors
52
Q

What are 3 types of federalism

A

– Cohesive

  • coordinate
  • cooperative
53
Q

What is coercive federalism

A

Is where the central government dominates the weaker regional governments (this is Australia)

54
Q

What is coordinate federalism

A

Is where the central government and regional government have relatively equal power and operate independently

55
Q

What is cooperative federalism

A

Where central and regional governments work together to solve their joint problems (this is the ideal one)

56
Q

What is Confederation

A

Is where different independent countries accept common policies amongst them e.g. defence, European Union on the euro

57
Q

What was traditional aboriginal society and law (what they did and how did there law system work)

A

A) traditionally aboriginals are hunters and gatherers
They exploit the land and don’t use the land- they are nomadic
B) in aboriginal law negotiation is the way disputes get settled and there is usually punishment

58
Q

What was the impact of European settlement +

what legal principle did they use

A
  • Early settlers believed they could take the land as the aboriginals were not using it, using the British legal principle Terra Nullius
  • the colonial governments follow British law and therefore aboriginals are dispossessed
59
Q

Explain convict law
who it was heard by
avenues of appeal
lawyers

A

All cases were heard by Military offices
The only avenue of appeal was the governor
The only lawyer were convicts that had some legal education

60
Q

What was the early governments of convict settlements

+ Who had the lawmaking capability

A

It was a military government
all lawmaking is in the hands of the government
(Landed 26th Jan 1780)

61
Q

When was the first Supreme Court established

A

1894- the judges followed British law

62
Q

When, Where and what was the political change in Australia- early

A

a. In 1823 the legislative council of NSW was established who members get appointed by the governor
b. There were only 7 members and they were all wealthy land owners
c. The council could make any laws it could only give advice to the governor

63
Q

1843 &1850s- how was the legistalitve council reformed

A

a. 1843 the legislative council was reformed, number increased to 36 and two thirds (24) were elected by wealthy men so was an election mut you had to be wealthy and male but the governor could still override their decisions. Not a democracy
b. In the 1850s there was a rapid increase in the population because of the discovery of gold (gold rush) The new settlers wanted to be engaged in the government and have a say in how they were being governed.

64
Q

When did the colonies get Self Government + who was pushing for self government

A

a. In the 1850s England granted self-government to all the colonies except WA
b. Two groups were pushing for self-government
- First was the land owning settlers wanted to reinforce their power
- Ordinary people wanted some form of democracy

65
Q

What did the british governemnt still retain power over after self government

A

The British government still retained power over the colonies statute law
British law making processes and precedence’s were used in the colonial legal system

66
Q

What are the main features of the Westminster system (8)

A

It is a constitutional monarchy with a hereditary head of state who acts on the advice on the prime minster so doesn’t have any real power
The ultimate law making authority is the parliament
The bicameral parliament (there must be two houses of parliament upper and lower)
The lower house is an elected house and the upper house is unelected and acts of a house of review
The majority party in the Lower House forms the government
The leader of the government is known as the Prime Minister
The prime Minister and the minister (cabinet) must be members of parliament
Our ministers are accountable to the lower house *not in Australia

67
Q

What was the Westminster system in the WA colony

A

In 1890 WA was granted self-government
The head of state was the British monarch (queen Victoria) and is represented by the governor
There is a bicameral parliament
The legislative assembly is the lower house where the government is the party with majority of seats
The legislative council is the upper house and is a house of review
The head of government is a premier and the ministers must be members of either house
An independent court system is established

68
Q

What was the legal system of the colonies

A

The supreme court in each of the colonies was the first court established
The colonial law validation act- this gave the colonial government gave the right in their law making to override British common and statute law
British precedence was still binding on colonial courts and the right to appeal was to the privy council in England.

69
Q

What is a federal system of govenment

A

The federal system is where the government the power of the government is divided among 2 or more sectors, central and regional governments. Central government making laws for whole nation

70
Q

What is a unitary system of governemnt

A

A unitary system is where there is one central government that makes the all the laws for the whole nation .

71
Q

What were barriers to federation

A

Each colony had a different historical background. Free settler or convict.
The very large distance between capitals made communication very difficult.
There was a great rivalry between NSW and Victoria -> both wanted to lead
Each colonial government had their own laws and they didn’t want to give them up.

72
Q

What were factors contributing to federation

A

The colonies needed to have a united army force against any aggressive countries.
The colonies would benefit from having a free trade system as a single nation.
Having a united Australia would enable consistent immigration policy to stop nonwhite people from coming to Australia
There was a sense of nationalism -> everyone felt they were “Australian”

73
Q

Why was a federal system of government chosen

A

we could have unity but each of the new states would still be able to retain lots of their own laws.

74
Q

How did the USAs federal model influence Australia

A

united states
The constitution specifies the powers of the central government and anything not written down belongs to the states
The house of representatives and the senate
The senate was to be a house of review- it is to review legislation from the other house
The number of politicians for the house of representatives was to be determined by population. In proportion to populations
Representation in the senate was to be equal between the states (12) -> each state has the same number.
A court was established to hear disputes about the constitution (Australia High court)

75
Q

How did the Canada’s federal model influence Australia

A

• It was already an example of a combined Westminster and federal system. This is known as the WASHMINSTER MUTATION .

76
Q

How did the Switzeland’s federal model influence Australia

A

• The way we alter our Constitution- for any change to the constitution is by a referendum (vote) to be successful it has to have a double majority (it is the majority of all voter Australia why, it is the majority of the voters in the majority of the states)

77
Q

What were the federal debates of the 1890s

A

Key Features
-The major contributes to writing our constitution were the colonial politicians (the politicians of the colonies)
-NSW had the play the leading role (biggest state) in order for the constitution to progress
-Public had to be involved so they would accept this new country
-The smaller states had to have their reluctance to join overcome
1889- sir henry parks gave the Tenterfield oration (speech) and he was the first politician to call for the uniting of the colonies
1891- the first constitution convention was run in Sydney and they drafted a new constitution
This draft of the constitution was ignored because of the economic crisis due to the depression
1897- A second constitution was held in Adelaide then Melbourne and they drafted a new constitution
1899- this constitution had been passed with referendums was passed by 5 of the 6 colonies and one colony refused to vote
Western Australia had a very high proportion of the population against joining. We got concessions from the other colonies to encourage join (e.g they agreed to build a railway to join them to the eastern cities, for 5 years WA could continue with tariffs. Therefore in 1900 WA voted yes)
1 January 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia was formed

78
Q

What is the constitution and what was its main prupose

A

Main purpose of the Australian constitution main purpose was to provide a division of power between the central commonwealth government parliament and the state parliament.
The constitution gave the commonwealth government a set of defined responsibilities and any responsibility not mentioned in the constitution belonged to the states.

79
Q

Summery of the Australian constitution

A

The constitution is made up of a preamble (introduction) and 128 sections.
The house of representative was created as the peoples house (they’re voted in on the basis of population e.g more in NSW than Tasmania)
The Senate was intended as a States House (equal number of Senators from each state) and a house of review. Doesn’t work because the senators represent their parties first not their states.
The two houses have equal powers exempt the Senate cannot introduce or amend (change) money bills (the Budget)
There is a process of double dissolution to resolve the disputes between two houses.
The executive power is given to the Queen who is represented by the governor general (IN THEORY- it is theoretically ignored)
The govevonor has expressed powers which are used on behalf of the parliament (commander and chief of the armed forces- these are all done on the advice of the prime minister) and also has reserve powers which are used in a political crisis (has only been used 1975)
The high court is established to interpret the constitution and is the highest house of appeal.
The constitution can only be changed by a referendum and must be approved by the majority of voters and the majority of voters in the majority of states.

80
Q

What are some constitutional conventions

A

Constitutional conventions are processes that are not included in the constitution
The prime minister must be part of the lower house
Ministers must be part of parliament
The government must have the majority in the lower house
The governor general must act on the advice of the prime minister

81
Q

What are exclusive commonwealth powers

A

a. Exclusive- those areas in which only the commonwealth government can make laws e.g currency, armed forces, customs and excise (import taxes)

82
Q

What are concurrent commonwealth powers

A

b. Concurrent- both the commonwealth and state governments can act e.g taxation, social security ( If there are conflicting laws than the commonwealth overrules the state) * both exclusive and concurrent powers are limited in the Constitution

83
Q

What are residual commonwealth powers

A

c. Residual- any areas not written in the constitution and therefore, the areas that only the states can act.

84
Q

What is referral of powers (3)

A

Any state can handed over its power to the Commonwealth e.g 1999 Victoria handed over it industrial relations power to the Commonwealth (employer and employee relations)
The states can choose to challenge any commonwealth actions in one of their residual areas (in high court) e.g the establishing Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research organization CSIRO
The states make the same legislation and the commonwealth to make a law uniform over all of Australia e.g 1997- gun control laws

85
Q

What are the commonwealth financial powers

A

Constitution gave the commonwealth exclusive (only given to the commonwealth government) for customs and excise (import taxes or tariffs)
The commonwealth took over all individual and company import tax (biggest tax we have) which has made the states dependent on the commonwealth for money (all of the states used to take all of their own income tax- in world war 2 the commonwealth said they needed it temporarily and never gave it back

86
Q

What are specific purpose grants

A

The constitution allows the commonwealth to grant money to the states on its own terms, even if it interferes in residual powers. You must spend it on what they say.

87
Q

What is the Vertical fiscal imbalance

A

where the allocation of revenue between the commonwealth and the states doesn’t match their expenditure responsibilities e.g commonwealth collects up to 75% of all revenue that exists but the states have a responsibility for over 40% of all expenditure

88
Q

Stages of Judicial interpretation by the high court

A

a. Phase 1- (1903- 1920): Court took till 1903 to establish. High courts favored the states in their decisions.
b. Phase 2- (1920-1943): The high court favored the commonwealth government by giving them wide authority for exclusive and concurrent powers.
c. Phase 3- (1943-1970): didn’t really favor any side they interpretations were very literal
d. Phase 4- (1970-1996): High court went back to giving a very broad interpretation in the favor of the commonwealth powers.
e. Phase 5-(1996- onward): The high court are not really favoring either- very balance, the court is being very precautious -they are following precedence.

89
Q

What are sources of continuing state power

A

States are still cover the important welfare areas with their residual powers
Realistically the commonwealth cannot reduce the money given to the states (because of elections) and general purpose grants do not give the commonwealth any control, states can spend it however they choose
The majority of Australians like federalism and are very suspicious of centralizing the power.

90
Q

What is the main area of revenue & expenditure for the commonwealth

A

The main area of revenue of the commonwealth is from personal and company income tax
The main expenditure is on health and social security.

91
Q

What is the main area of revenue & expenditure for the states + how do they rely on the commonwealth

A

The main areas of state revenue come from stamp duty and payroll tax.
The main expenditure is mainly on hospital and education (schools)
The states only raise through revenue 40% of what they need for their expenditure  massive shortfall –they don’t have enough money
Therefore states rely on the commonwealth in the form of grants
Commonwealth revenue is growing much faster than state revenue  therefore the situation known as the vertical fiscal imbalance is getting worse
Since 2000 has received money from the GST being returned to them, except 1 state who doesn’t get it all returned to them (WA)

92
Q

What is the main area of revenue & expenditure for the local governments

A

Earn revenue from rates and fees
Expenditure on libraries, rubbish collection, recreation centers, footpaths, street lights, parks
Local governments are not independents and are responsible to the state governments and their decisions can be overturned by any state government. In extreme circumstances they can sack all local members
Grants to the local governments 80% come from commonwealth and only 20% come from states

Politics & Law 2A/2B (2 decks)

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