A.O.S 2 - The Constitution And The Protection Of Rights Flashcards
Define concurrent owners.
Those powers in the Constitution that may be exercised concurrently (at the same time) by the Commonwealth Parliament and one or more state parliaments.
Define Bill of Rights.
It is a document that sets out individual democratic and human rights.
Define constitution.
It is the Commonwealth of Australia’s Constitution Act 1900 (UK), which came into force on 1 January 1901; a set of rules or principles guiding the way the nation is governed. States have their own separate constitutions.
Define decision of powers.
The way in which law-making powers are divided between the Commonwealth and the states.
Define double majority.
The requirement in the process of changing the Constitution through a referendum—to achieve a yes vote by a majority of voters in the whole of Australia as well as a yes vote by a majority of voters in a majority of states (this means a majority in four out of the six states).
Define exclusive powers.
Those powers in the Constitution that belong solely to the Commonwealth.
Define federation.
A union of sovereign states which relinquish some powers to a central authority to form one nation. Australia is a federation of six independent states with a federal body known as the Commonwealth Parliament; each state and Commonwealth parliament has its own powers. Some powers are shared between the Commonwealth Parliament and the states.
Define representitive government.
Representative government refers to a government that represents the view of the majority of the people.
Define referendum.
A vote of the people in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a change to the Constitution. The process of changing the wording of the Constitution by referendum is set out in S128 of the Constitution.
Define residual powers.
Those law-making powers that belong to the states; these powers were not given to the Commonwealth at federation but were left with the states.
Define separation of powers
The principle of separation of powers 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. Each type of power is exercised by a separate institution.
Define specific powers.
Those powers are referred to in the Constitution specifically and are given to the Commonwealth Parliament; these mainly appear in S51 and are numbered, hence they are also referred to as enumerated powers. Specific powers are either concurrent powers or exclusive powers.
Define entrenched rights.
Rights that are protected by a constitution and can only be changed through the methods set out in the constitution.
Define statutory rights.
Statutory rights are contained in a bill of rights set out in a statute
(or act of parliament), which contains rights that can be amended by parliament. These are express rights but are not entrenched in a constitution. Parliament is a supreme law-making body; that is, a law-making body that prevails over all other sources of law, and therefore the bill of rights cannot be overridden by a court or regulation but can be amended by parliament.
New Zealand and Victoria both use statutory rights.
Define express rights.
Rights that are expressly referred to in a constitution, bill of rights or similar document. Some express rights are entrenched in a constitution. This means they cannot be easily changed by an act of parliament. Express rights are also referred to as explicit rights.
America, Canada, South Africa and Australia all have Express Rights.
