4.1 And 4.2 Test Flashcards
Doctorine of Division of powers
-The doctrine of the division of powers is outlined in the constitution
-it outlines the division of legislative power between the federal and state government
Inconsistency rule
- Section 109 or the inconsistency rule of the constitution states that where the federal and state law clash the federal shall prevail
- An example of this is in the Marriage act 1961, in which untill then the Commonwealth passed no laws on Marriage, however once this act was released because of certain inconsistencies between the two from state marriage laws, those areas in the states law were rendered invalid
The one exception to parliament prevailing over the other two branches
- As parliament is the primary source of law they prevail over judge made and delegate legislation
-one exception to this is the high courts interpretation of the constitution
Factors of legislative initiation
-Parliamentary committees
-Political party policies
-Pressure Groups
-Executive committees
-Electoral Mandate
-Court decisions
-Parliamentary committees
- investigate areas of government performance, areas of policy, laws and proposed laws.
-They investigate by hearing from stakeholders and compel people to testify and allow for public consultation
-They Report to Parliament with their results for parliament to make an informed decision
Political Party Policies
-Each party has a set of beliefs
-These dictate the type of policies and ideas they wish to implement into law
Pressure/common interest groups
-Individuals can form common interest groups which can campaign for legal changes
E.g. - Workers unions, (AWU) environmental organisations (Green peace)
Electoral Mandate
-Before an election, during their campaign, each of the main parties will make promises about the types of laws they wish to bring or change
-When elections are won it is viewed as a mandate that the changes are fulfilled as promised
Executive committees
- created by government to investigate a specific issue
-Report directly to the government which determines to make the report public or not
-Example of this is a royal commission
Court decisions - (Remedial - Complimentary - legislation)
- a significant workload of Parliament comes from responding to the courts
Remedial Legislation with example
- laws made to change court decisions that are viewed as undesirable
- e.g. Sentencing (miscellaneous) act 2018
Shorty after passing the 2017 sentencing act, too many judges were sentencing serious offenders to home detention rather than jail, the amendment Act was passed so less serious offenders were punished this way
Complimentary legislation with example
-Laws made to encourage court decisions that were viewed as favourable
- e.g. Native title act 1993 complimented the court decision that terra nullius was a legal fiction and Native title still exists
Distinguish between public and private member bills
-Public bills - bills introduced to Parliament by the government usually through a minister, supported by the government
-Private member bills - are introduced by members of government or parliament who are not a minister or a minister acting in their role
Types of common bills
Original - propose new laws
Amending - change and existing law
Repealing - remove or replace and existing law
Consolidating - join many different pieces of legislation into one act
Constitution - changed to the wording of the constitution
Money/supply bills - authorise government spending and tax
Decentralized lawmaking
-Legislative power is delegated to local councils, to help meet local needs
-councils are in a better place to consult, supervise and enforce
-Locally made laws are more respected by the local community
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