C & C Flashcards

1
Q

What is a parliament

A

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

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2
Q

4 roles of government

A
  • 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
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3
Q

why is Aus’s government referred to as federal?

A

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.

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4
Q

what are the three levels of government in australia

A

commonwealth (federal), state, local

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5
Q

law making powers of the commonwealth (federal) government

A

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

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6
Q

law making powers of the state government

A

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

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7
Q

What is a liberal democracy

A

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

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8
Q

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

A

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

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9
Q

how does Australia achieve representative government

A

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

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10
Q

why can’t judges be elected as members of parliament

A

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

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11
Q

what is the separation of powers

A

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.

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12
Q

The structure of the commonwealth parliament

A
  • 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
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13
Q

main roles of the house of representatives

A
  • 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
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14
Q

main roles of the senate

A
  • 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.
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15
Q

what is meant by the Westminster parliamentary system

A

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

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16
Q

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

A
  • different railways systems
  • each colony had its own independent military or ‘militia’
  • laws didn’t apply for the whole country
  • different taxes, or tariffs
17
Q

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

A
  • defence
  • currency
  • postal services
18
Q

what are the law making powers of the Australian constitution

A

specific powers include

  • marriage and divorce
  • currency
  • taxation
  • social welfare benefits
  • trade and commerce
19
Q

what is the referendum process

A

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.

20
Q

difference between specific and residual powers

A

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

21
Q

5 examples of specific powers

A
  • marriage and divorce
  • currency
  • social welfare benefits
  • trade and commerce
  • defence
22
Q

5 examples of residual powers

A
  • adoption
  • childcare and education
  • public transport
  • water supply
  • electricity supply
23
Q

what is an exclusive power

A

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

24
Q

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

A

because

25
Q

two strengths of the referendum process

A
  • 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
26
Q

two weaknesses of the referendum process

A
  • 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
27
Q

what does the high court do

A

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

28
Q

examples of disputes resolved by the high court

A

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.

29
Q

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

A

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.

30
Q

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

A

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.

31
Q

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.

A
  • communication devices

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

32
Q

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

A

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.

33
Q

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

A
  • 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
34
Q

1967 referendum

A

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.’

35
Q

Emmett till

A

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.

36
Q

Rosa Parks

A

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.

37
Q

what is a boycott

A

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