Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

LEGAL UNIT 3 AND 4 > AOS-1A THE PEOPLE AND THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION > Flashcards

AOS-1A THE PEOPLE AND THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION Flashcards

DOT POINTS 1-4

1
Q

Define constitution

A

a set of rules that establishes the nature, functions and limits of the government. the role of a constitution is to determine the powers and duties of government

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is the Australian constitution?

A

a set of rules and principles that guide the way Australia is governed. The Australian constitution was passed by the British parliament and its formal title is the Commonwealth of Australia constitution 1900

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What are key features of the Australian Constitution ?

A
  • establishes commonwealth parliament and structures
  • establishes high court of Australia
  • facilitates division of law-making powers
  • sets out means by which the Australian Constitution can be changed
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Define referendum

A

the method used for changing the wording of the Australian constitution. a referendum requires a proposal to be approved by the Australian people in a public by a double majority

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is the commonwealth parliament made up of ?

A
  • the queen (as represented by the governor general)
  • the senate (upper house)
  • The house of representatives (lower house)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Define government

A

the ruling authority with power to govern, formed by the political party that holds the majority in lower house in each parliament. the members of parliament who belong to this political party form the government.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

How many members are in the lower house and what is one term?

A

150 members in the House of Representatives and one term in office is 3 years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Explain the House of Representatives

A

The house of representatives is also known as the lower house and is meant to reflect the current opinion of the people at an election. This is because it determines which party or coalition should form government

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Who is the prime minister?

A

the leader of the political party that is voted by a majority . they appoint other government ministers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Define political party

A

an organisation that represents a group of people with shared ideas, and which aims to have its members elected to parliament . two include labour and liberal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Define coalition

A

is an alliance oft or more political party that join to form a government. a coalition can help a party gain enough members to become parliament

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Define minister

A

minister is a member of parliament who is a member of a party in government that is in charge of a government department

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Define opposition

A

The political party that hold 2ng largest number of seats in the House of Representatives after government. The opposition questions the government about policies matters and are responsible for holding them accountable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the role of the House of Representatives?

A

To make laws.
A bill is a proposed law which must go through specific stages to become a statuate . The bill must pass though the first hour before it goes onto the other house where it goes through the same process before it receives royal assent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Define royal assent

A

The formal signing and approval of a bill by the governor general at commonwealth level or governor at state level. Only after royal assent will a bill become an act of parliament

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is needed for a bill to pass?

A

A double majority

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What are the specific roles of the House of Representatives in law making ?

A
  • initiate and make laws
  • determine the government
  • provide responsible government
  • publicise and scrutinise government administration
  • act as a house of review
  • control government expenditure
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Explain the role of the House of Representatives in initiate and making laws

A

Mane function is to initiate laws. These laws are usually introduced by government, although any member may introduce a proposed law(private members) if not authority of cabinet

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Define hung parliament

A

A situation in which neither political party wins a majority of seats on the lower House of Parliament after election

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Explain the role of the House of Representatives in determining the government

A

After an election the political party (or coalition) that has the most members on the house of representative s forms government, or in the case of a hung parliament has the promise of enough votes to pass an important legislation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Explain the role of the House of Representatives in providing responsible government

A

Ministers are responsible to parliament and therefor to the people. They are examined by opposition members about their ideas for law reforms during question time where deficiencies IBM legislation can tbe exposed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Explain the role of the House of Representatives in publicising and scrutinising government administration

A

It is the role of the House of Representatives to publicise the policies of government, to make sure that legislation is debated and matters of public importance are discussed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Explain the role of the House of Representatives in acting as a house of review

A

The House of Representatives acts as a house of review in the law making process when a bill has been initiated and agreed upon by the senate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Explain the role of The House of Representatives in controlling government expenditure

A

a bill must be passed by both housed of parliament before a government is able to collect taxes or spend money but only the lower house can introduce money bills. expenditure is asp examined by parliamentary committees

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What is a money bill?

A

a bill that imposes taxes and collect revenue. also known as an appropriation bill

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Define committee system

A

system used by federal and state parliaments in Australia that involves the use of seperate working parties to investigate a wide range of legal, social and political issues and report back to the parliament about the need for a law reform

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

How many members make up the senate and who makes up that number?

A

the senate is made up of 76 members. Each state has 12 representatives in the senate and each territory has 2 representatives, regardless of their populations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What is the role of the senate in law making?

A

its law making powers are seen as being equal to those of the House of Representatives in that it can initiate proposed laws. the senate however cannot initiate money bills, but it can request that the House of Representatives make amendments.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What are the specific roles of the senate in law making?

A
  • Act as a house of review
  • Act as a states house
  • Scrutinise bills through the committee process
  • Initiate and pass bills
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Explain the role of The Senate in regards to Acting as a house of review

A

The majority of bills are initiated in the lower house and the senate(upper house) has the task of reviewing the bills already passed through the lower house.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Explain the role of The Senate in regards to acting as a states house

A

at a time of creating the commonwealth parliament, the states ( which were seperate colonies) were afraid of going too much power. to overcome this section 7 of the constitution provides the senate should have equal representation from each state

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Explain the role of The Senate in regards to scrutinising bills through the committee process

A

the committee is made up of various senators whose role its is to assess the legislative proposals to determine what effect the proposals would have on individual rights, freedoms and obligations swell as rule of law

33
Q

Explain the role of The Senate in regards to initiating and passing bills

A

the senate is able to initiate bills, excluding money bills or pass bills that have previously been passed through the House of Representatives. The senate may pass it with amendments or reject it

34
Q

What does the Victorian Parliament consist of ?

A
  • The Queen= governor of Vic
  • The Legislative council (lower house)
  • The Legislative assembly ( upper house)
35
Q

How many members make up the Legislative assembly and how long is a term?

A

88 members and 4 years

36
Q

What are the specific roles of The Legislative Assembly in law making?

A
  • initiate and pass laws
  • form government
  • provide representative government
  • act as a house of review
  • control government expenditure
37
Q

Explain the role of the Legislative Assembly in initiating and passing laws

A

The main function of the legislative assembly is to initiate new laws

38
Q

Explain the role of the Legislative Assembly in forming government

A

the political party that has the most members in the legislative assembly forms government. most bills are initiates in the legislative assembly in the form of government bills

39
Q

Explain the role of the Legislative Assembly in providing representative government

A

members of the legislative assembly. are elected to represent the interests of the people. they actions in the law making should reflect the views and values of the voters.

40
Q

Explain the role of the Legislative Assembly in acting as a house of review

A

the legislative assembly will act as a house of review when a bill has been initiated in and passed by the legislative council.

41
Q

Explain the role of the Legislative Assembly in controlling government expenditure

A

for taxes to be collected or money to be spent, the government must introduced a bill in the legislative assembly. therefor the legislative assembly in law making will control government expenditure as only it can initiate money bills.

42
Q

What are the three main roles of the crown in law making?

A
  1. Granting royal assent
  2. Withholding royal assent
  3. Appointing executive council
43
Q

Describe the role of the crow in granting royal assent

A

The crowns representative in both the commonwealth parliament and the Victorian Parliament is required to approve bills before they can become law. This is known as royal assent. Royal assent is normally given as a matter of course as advised by minister/premier

44
Q

Define royal assent

A

The formal signing and e of a bill by the Governor General or governor after which the bill becomes and act of parliament

45
Q

Describe the role of the crown in withholding royal assent

A

They have uthe power to withhold royal assent. That is to refuse to approve a bill and is to make an act of parliament, however it rarely occurs

46
Q

Describe the role of the crown in appointing executive council

A

The executive council is comprised of the prime minister at federal level, and the premiers at state level and senior ministers. The role of the executive council is to give advise of government matters as well as approve secondary legislation

47
Q

Define secondary legislation

A

Tiles and regulations made by secondary authorities, local councils, government departments and statutory authorities. These powers are given to them by the parliament (deflated legislation

48
Q

What are the three divisions of constitutional law making powers?

A

Residual powers
Concurrent powers
Exclusive powers

49
Q

What are Residual powers?

A

These are law making powers left with the states at the time of federation and not listed in the Australian constitution, the commonwealth has to authority to make laws in these areas. S106/107/108 protect the continuing power of the states. Areas that remain as residual powers of the states include criminal, road,public transport

50
Q

What are exclusive powers ?

A

Law making powers that are held only by the commonwealth parliament and include defence, currency and customs and border protection. Most of the commonwealth parliaments law making powers are set out in s51 and are either exclusive or concurrent s52 small amount

51
Q

What are concurrent powers ?

A

These are law making powers the commonwealth and state parliaments share. Include areas such as trade, taxation, marriage, divorce, postal, telephonic

52
Q

What sections of the constitution protect residual powers?

A

S106/107/108

53
Q

What sections of the constitution protect exclusive powers ?

A

S51/52

54
Q

What is the significance of s109 ?

A

S109 provides a mechanism to resolve conflicts between the commonwealth and state concurrent powers. Section 109 states that ‘when a law of state is inconsistent with the law of commonwealth the latter shall prevail and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid’

55
Q

What is a disadvantage of s109?

A

S109 does not automatically operate, the law must be challenged before it can be declared invalid l. The court will have to decide whether or not the law is inconsistent

56
Q

What section of the constitution states that the Australian parliament must be bicameral ?

A

section 1

57
Q

What is the bicameral system?

A

Is a parliamentary system which is made up of two housed that are designed to act as a check on parliament

58
Q

How does the upper house and lower house act as a check on parliament in law making?

A

The senate has equal representation of all states, and acts as a house of review, which means senators should votes in the interests of their state not just their political party. This is in an attempt to prevent the misuse of power

59
Q

Strengths of the bicameral system

A
  • existence of two houses allow for review of legislation by the second house. scrutiny provides for checks and balance against abuse of power. also a=identifies errors in bills
  • if government holds a slim majority or there is a hung parliament, then considerable debate can occur in the lower house
  • if sent his hostile (upper house not controlled by government of day) or there is a significant number of minor parties and independents, than the upper house is likely to review bills passed more carefully
60
Q

Weaknesses of the bicameral system

A
  • if the government holds a majority in the lower house than debate and negotiations in lower house are unlikely to occur
  • where the government controls the upper house it tends to be a rubber stamp conforming the decisions made in the lower house. this can dilute the checks done by upper house
61
Q

What is the purpose of separating the powers in the commonwealth parliament?

A

the constitution requires all three powers to operate independently of each other with the purpose of ensuring no one body has absolute power or control over the function of legal systems. this upholds the rule of law and ensures the protection of individual rights by providing checks and balances on the power of the commonwealth parliament

62
Q

How is the parliament of Australia separated?

A
  • executive and legislative which work together to pass laws and judicial which works independently to ensure laws created upheld constitution and basic human rights
63
Q

Explain executive powers

A

executive powers is the power vested in the queen under section 51 of the Australian constitution to administer laws and manage the business of government. The executive power is carried out by the governor general, prime minister, senior minister and government departments

64
Q

Explain Legislative power

A

legislative power resides with parliament under section 1 of the constitution to administer laws. At federal level the executive and legislative powers are combines as the power to administer laws and carry out the business of government is placed at the hands of the cabinet.

65
Q

Explain judicial power

A

judicial power is the power given to the courts and tribunals under section 71 of the australis constitution to enforce the law and settle disputes. powers are seperate ensuring that the courts are independent of political influence and citizens are safeguards from the issues of political power

66
Q

What Is the High courts role in acting as a guardian of The Australian Constitution?

A

by explaining what the constitution means and how it should be interpreted, the high courts have the ability to influence the application of the constitution. This ensures it remains relevant to the Australian people.

67
Q

What is the role of the High Court in acting as a check on any abuse of power?

A

The high court acts as a check on any abuse of power by the states/territories or commonwealth. the high court may be asked to make a ruling, by any party who has standing as to whether a law is constitutional. It may declare a law invalid if it is beyond power(ultra vires) of the state/territory or commonwealth. the parliament may be asked t amend the legislation or remove unconstitutional provisions.

68
Q

What is the role of the High Court in giving meaning to words in the constitution?

A

by applying words to a case. the high court must consider the facts of a case and decide whether the statute is unconstitutional. previously the high county has interpreted the constitution to determine if the parliament has acted within its law making power.

69
Q

What are the express protection of rights?

A
  • section 51 = the acquisition of property on just terms
  • section 80 =the rights to a jury trial for indictable offences
  • section 92= interstate trade and commerce
  • section 116= freedom of religion
  • section 117= discrimination on basis of state residence section 117
70
Q

What is section 116 freedom of religion?

A

4 parts

  1. the commonwealth shall not make a law establishing any religion as the official religion, this was decided by the high court. Although the commonwealth may assist the practice of religions by providing funding to religious schools
  2. the commonwealth should make no law imposing religious observance, however it is not absolute.may be changed for national security
  3. the commonwealth cannot make any law prohibiting the free exercise of religion
  4. the commonwealth cannot make a law that requires a person to have a particular religious beliefs
71
Q

What is section 92 trade within the commonwealth?

A

provides that the imposition of uniform duties of customs, trade, commerce and intercourse among the states, whether by means of internal carriage or ocean negotiations shall be absolutely free.

72
Q

What is section acquisition of property on just terms?

A

This section provides tat the commonwealth parliament may make laws to acquire property from individuals on just terms. although this section may appear to recognise the right of individuals to own property

73
Q

What are the high court interpretations of section 51 ?

A

the commonwealth parliament may acquire property for which it has the power to make laws.
the commonwealth must be able to show just terms

74
Q

What is section 80 jury trial?

A

states that trial on indictment for any offences against the commonwealth shall be heard by a jury. the constitutional right to trial by a jury does not extend in theory to offences against the state

75
Q

What are the high court interpretations for section 80?

A
  • an accused person can elect to have a trial by a judge alone for a commonwealth offence
  • a majority verdict cannot be used for commonwealth offences
76
Q

What is section 117 discrimination basis of state residence ?

A

residents of any state shall not be subject in any other state to any disability or discrimination which would not be equally applicable to him if he were subject of the queen resident in such other state.
this makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person based on the fact that they live in another state

77
Q

What are the strengths of the 5 express rights?

A
  • the 5 express rights are entrenched in the constitution. they can only be removed by referendum
  • express rights are fully enforceable by the high court. if an act of parliament infringes any express right the high court can declare legislation invalid
78
Q

What are the weaknesses of the 5 express rights?

A
  • there are only 5 rights therefore limited protection
  • can only be changed by referendum, therefore limited rights= limited scope
  • not absolute as restrictions may have limitations

LEGAL UNIT 3 AND 4 (9 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions