C & C

Question 1

What is a parliament

Answer 1

A group or assembly of representatives who have been elected by the people to make laws on their behalf.

Question 2

4 roles of government

Answer 2

• making new laws and altering existing ones (reflecting the views of people to benefit society)
• discussing and debating matters that affect the voters
• examining problems that exist within society
• reviewing perceived injustices in the law

Question 3

why is Aus’s government referred to as federal?

Answer 3

because there is one central or federal parliament which has the power to make laws for the entire country.. the commonwealth parliament located in Canberra.

Question 4

what are the three levels of government in australia

Answer 4

commonwealth (federal), state, local

Question 5

law making powers of the commonwealth (federal) government

Answer 5

currency, defence, marriage, customs and border protection, Australia citizenship

Question 6

law making powers of the state government

Answer 6

primary and secondary education, health services, water, electricity, public transport

Question 7

What is a liberal democracy

Answer 7

it is a system that aims to protect the individual rights and freedoms, and place limits on the level of government control or interference.

Question 8

explain two other principles upon which the Australian system of government is based

Answer 8

1) governments must make laws that reflect the views and values of people
2) governments must be accountable to the people
3) there must be a separation of powers

Question 9

how does Australia achieve representative government

Answer 9

Australia achieves this by holding regular free and fair elections where the people can vote for individuals to represent them in parliament

Question 10

why can’t judges be elected as members of parliament

Answer 10

so they are free from political bias.. and they are impartial when applying the law

Question 11

what is the separation of powers

Answer 11

to ensure that no single group or body within our parliamentary system (the government, the parliament or the courts) has power over both the political and legal systems.

Question 12

The structure of the commonwealth parliament

Answer 12

• consists of two houses and the Crown - that is the Queen, who is represented by the governor-general.
• the lower house of Commonwealth Parliament is called the House of Representatives and the upper house called the senate

Question 13

main roles of the house of representatives

Answer 13

• to determine the government of the day - in simple terms, the government is the political party that has a majority of members in the lower house
• discuss, debate and scrutinise proposals for creating and changing Commonwealth laws, in fact most of the proposals for introducing new or changing existing laws commence in the lower house

Question 14

main roles of the senate

Answer 14

• to represent the interest of the states, given the senate consists of an equal number of senators from each state. in theory, equally representing the interests of each state - can stop laws that discriminate against other states
• initiate, discuss and review new laws. like the house of reps, most proposals for creating new Commonwealth law can be initiated and discussed in the senate. though as more commence in the lower house, the senate is usually a ‘house of review’ as such.

Question 15

what is meant by the Westminster parliamentary system

Answer 15

a system that consists of the upper house, the lower house and a reigning monarch or the ‘crown’.

Question 16

explain the main reason why the Commonwealth parliament was established in 1901

Answer 16

• different railways systems
• each colony had its own independent military or ‘militia’
• laws didn’t apply for the whole country
• different taxes, or tariffs

Question 17

three areas in which the central parliament, in the 1880s, was given law-making powers

Answer 17

• defence
• currency
• postal services

Question 18

what are the law making powers of the Australian constitution

Answer 18

specific powers include

• marriage and divorce
• currency
• taxation
• social welfare benefits
• trade and commerce

Question 19

what is the referendum process

Answer 19

it is a proposed change to the wording of the constitution.
the change must be approved by a majority of the members in both houses of the Commonwealth Parliament, it must also be approved by a double majority of voters in a public vote.

Question 20

difference between specific and residual powers

Answer 20

specific are areas where the commonwealth parliament recognises ownership of the area and the laws can be changed by them
residual powers are areas not stated in the constitution and belong therefore to the state parliaments

Question 21

5 examples of specific powers

Answer 21

• marriage and divorce
• currency
• social welfare benefits
• trade and commerce
• defence

Question 22

5 examples of residual powers

Answer 22

• adoption
• childcare and education
• public transport
• water supply
• electricity supply

Question 23

what is an exclusive power

Answer 23

the specific areas of law-making power that only the Commonwealth Parliament can make law in.
example - only the commonwealth is able to make laws in the areas of currency and defence

Question 24

explain one reason why some of the specific areas of law making power might have been designated as exclusive areas of law making powers under the commonwealth parliament

Answer 24

because

Question 25

two strengths of the referendum process

Answer 25

- the referendum requires the support of the Australia public, preventing the federal government changing the constitution to benefit its own agenda - a compulsory public vote means the constitution is only changed if it has great support from the entire community rather than just a small number of people who choose to vote

Question 26

two weaknesses of the referendum process

Answer 26

- voters may vote against a proposal to change the constitution if they do not understand the proposal or are disinterested - proposals for change are unlikely to succeed if both major political parties do not support the change, as many vote in accordance with the views of their chosen political party

Question 27

what does the high court do

Answer 27

the high court is the highest in Australia's court hierarchy. It is needed and is the only court that can interpret the constitution.

Question 28

examples of disputes resolved by the high court

Answer 28

the tobacco plain packaging act in 2012, freedom of speech, the Malaysian solution and the bikie gangs in Queensland. ultimately protecting the freedom of speech and the basic human rights of individuals.

Question 29

why might the high court be needed to interpret the Australian constitution

Answer 29

it keeps the constitution relevant. Upon the first writing of the constitution, some terms were kept fairly basic and this has resulted in some problems with people understanding the law making powers of the commonwealth. for example, the constitution gives the commonwealth parliament the broad power to make laws with respect to 'postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and other like services'. can also make sure it is up to date.

Question 30

explain what is meant by 'the high court can keep the constitution relevant in modern society'

Answer 30

the high court has a job to interpret the constitution, broad terms used by the early writers has resulted in some disputes - so it can interpret and apply it to a modern society of today.

Question 31

Suggest two areas that have recently been created through the development of new technologies that would not have been envisaged in 1901 when the Australian Constitution was being drafted.

Answer 31

- communication devices | - electronic advertising and placing political advertisements on the radio or television

Question 32

explain the importance of the Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth [1992] 177 CLR 106 high court case

Answer 32

the High Court had to determine whether a Commonwealth law banning political parties from making political broadcasts and placing advertising on radio and television during election campaigns was unfair and made in breach of the Constitution. it determined that Australians have a freedom of speech, therefore a freedom of political communication.

Question 33

explain the importance of the British American Tobacco Australasia Limited v Commonwealth [2012] HCA 43 high court case

Answer 33

- had to pass a law that banned tobacco companies from advertising their brands and putting promotional messages on the tobacco products - it was to help turn people away from tobacco products - the high court ruled in favour of the government - this is why most cigarette boxes we see today have a confronting image on them - with an intent to turn people away from them

Question 34

1967 referendum

Answer 34

The proposed law (Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967) sought to give the Commonwealth Parliament power to make laws with respect to Aboriginal people wherever they lived in Australia. It also sought to make it possible to include Aboriginal people in national censuses. most successful referendum, over 90% agreed that the constitution should be changed to allow the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws for all Australians including 'Aboriginal People.'

Question 35

Emmett till

Answer 35

1955, 14 year old Emmett Till was beat and shot to death in Mississippi after being accused of flirting with a white woman. His body was dumped in a river. The men that murdered him were found not guilty in front of an all white jury in Mississippi. The two men later admitted to the crime in a magazine knowing that they could not be tried twice for the same crime. The case of Emmett Till became a major turning point for the 1957 Civil rights act.

Question 36

Rosa Parks

Answer 36

She was arrested in Alabama, 1955 after refusing to give up her seat at the front of a bus for a white passenger. This arrest resulted in the boycott of the Montgomery bus service by African-American passengers. The boycott ended a year later when the city of Montgomery was ordered by the US Supreme Court to stop segregating black and white passengers on its bus services. This victory resulted in further efforts to end segregation in America.

Question 37

what is a boycott

Answer 37

A boycott is an act of voluntary and intentional abstention from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons