A.O.S 1 - Parliment And The Citizen Flashcards
What is common law?
It is judge made law (made by the courts), also known as court made law.
Why do we need laws?
- To protect the rights of individuals.
- To set the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.
- To reflect the current values/views of society.
What is criminal law?
It protects society as a whole. There is a prosecution and a defence. Standard of proof, must be beyond a doubt. The prosecution holds the burdend of proof.
What is civil law?
It protects the rights of individuals. There is a plaintiff and a defendant. Aims to provide remedies to those who have had their rights breached.
Talk about the House of Representatives.
The house of reps has 150 seats and is also the green house, or the lower house. Currently there are 74 Liberal, 55 labour and 21 independents.
The role of the government In the house of reps is to consider proposed legislation and make laws.
The role of the house of reps is to initiate and make laws, determine the government after an election as been held, provide responsible government, represent the people and publicise and scrutinise government administration.
The
Talk about the senate.
There are 76 seats in the senate. It is known as the green house. Elections are held for 50% every three years and the other 50% every 6 years. The role of the Senate is to initiate and make laws, act as a states house and act as a house of review.
Define legislation.
Laws made by parliament, known as acts of parliament or statutes.
Define representative government.
Representative government refers to a government that represents the view of the majority of the people. This is why a democracy works in Australia, we (the people) vote in the people we want to represent our views and then as a collective (the government) they vote for new laws that they think will represent the views of the majority of voters (australians).
Define royal assent.
this is the signing of a proposed law by the crowns representative (the Governor General) before it becomes a law.
Define separation of powers.
This refers to the fact that there are three separate types of powers in our parliamentary system. These are legislative power, executive power and judicial power. Judicial power is completely separate from the other 2 as the judges aren’t controlled by the government they are chosen by a separate body.
Define bicameral.
Bicameral means ‘two houses of parliament’. All parliaments in Australia (except Queensland and the territories).
What are the 2 houses of parliament in Australia?
The lower house (green house) is known as the House of Representatives and the upper house (red house) is knows as the Senate.
What are the 2 houses of parliament in Victoria?
The lower house (green house) is known as the Legislative Assembly and the upper house (red house) is known as the Legislative Council.
