Chapter 10: Government and You Flashcards
Define aspects of State Government.
There is a governor also a cabinet/ministry which consists of a premier along with other ministers the state government has two houses the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly.
Define aspects of Federal government
The Federal government has a governor-general also federal public service and a cabinet which consists of the prime minister and other ministers they also have two houses including the senate and the House of Representatives.
Define aspects of Local Government.
Has either a mayor or shire chairperson and also has committees along with permanent staff and chief executive officer, the local government consists of all elected members of council.
Define democracy.
A system of government by the people in which representatives are elected (democracy comes from the ancient Greeks and is derived from the words “demos” meaning ‘the people’ and the word “kratia” meaning ‘to rule’) democracy pretty much means a system of government in which the people/citizens have a direct say in what laws are passed and what decisions are made by the government.
Define constitution.
Is the fundamental law which governs a nation or state it is a written statement outlining the basic structure of laws and government. It provides a framework for the operation of the government (The Australian Constitution is the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act which was passed in 1900 and came into force in Australia in 1901 and to be more specific January 1st when Australia federated and is when the separate colonies joined together to make one nation called the commonwealth of Australia).
What are the levels of responsibility/functions of the Government?
Executive function: Administering the rules developed for the benefit of the whole community this includes developing new laws to present the body of responsibility and law making.
Legislative function: making the rules
Judicial function: judging of the rules have been broken and what should happen to those who break the rules.
What are the responsibilities of the Federal Government?
Responsibilities include defence, currency, trade, social services, postal system, telecommunications and immigration
What are the responsibilities of the State Government?
Responsibilities include education, transportation, hospitals, road laws, public works and local government.
What are the responsibilities of the Local Government?
Responsibilities include health centres, health regulations, rubbish collection, rubbish disposal and also parks and gardens.
What is a political party?
Is a group of individuals representing a political view. The aim of a political party is to have members of its group elected to parliament in order to represent the party’s views. Examples of political parties include the Australian Labor Party, Liberal Party, The Nationals and The Australian Greens.
Who can vote?
Anyone over 18 and over who is an Australian citizen, and by law all Australian citizens who are 18 and over must enrol to vote.
Define federation.
Federation is the jointing of Australia’s separate colonies into one nation this occurred in 1901 on January 1st when the constitution was passed and came into force.
What are the parliament houses for both federal and state?
parliament consists of 2 houses over federal and state they both have two houses each consisting of the senate and and the house representatives for the federal government and the legislative council and legislative assembly for the State government.
What is the role of the Governor-General?
Queen Elizabeth II is Australia’s head of state, and her authority is known as the crown. The governor-general is the representative of the crown in Australia because the queen can only be at one place at any given time. the governor-general powers include: appointing session times in parliament, act as the commander-in-chief of the defence forces, grant pardons or remit fines for offences against the laws of the commonwealth and represent the queen just to name a few.
describe the voting system.
Well firstly the Australian voting system has a rule which states that it is a requirement for everyone who is an Australian citizen and the age of 18 or over to attend a polling booth on the day of an election. On the day of the election you are given a ballot paper and you number your desired candidates in order of preference and these candidates are running for positions in the House of Representatives.
Define referendum and how it works.
A referendum is referring to the electorate proposed changes to the Australian Constitution for approval or rejection. Under the Australian Constitution, for a referendum to succeed there must be a ‘yes’ vote by the majority of voters in a majority of States. (since 1909, only 8 out of 44 referenda have succeeded).
What is a majority rule?
The power to rule of govern by agreement of the great proportion if voters (example: there is a total of 30 votes and 5 people running for class president Emily gets 10, Daniel gets 7, Owen gets 5, Sara gets 4 and Will gets 4. Emily seems to have the most votes but there is in fact more against her then for her she has 10 people who voted for her but 20 others who didn’t want her as class president so that is where majority rule comes in unless a party or in this case a student gets 50% +1 of the votes no one wins).
Describe the Senate.
The Senate is the upper house of Federal Parliamen which is red and has 76 seats
Describe the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives is the lower house of federal Parliament which is green and has 150 seats
Describe the Legislative Council.
The Legislative Council is the upper house of the State Parliament which is red and has 40 seats.
Describe the Legislative Assembly.
The Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the State Parliament which is green and has 88 seats.
What is an electorate?
An Electorate is a geographic area consisting of approximately 80,000 voters who vote for one representative. there are currently 150 electorates all around Australia, voters choose one person to represent that electorate in the House of Representatives. (Different states and territories elect different numbers of representatives to the federal lower house, this occurs because electorates are decided according to population not geographic size).
Who are important people that run the country?
a important people that run the country include the Governor-general, Executive government (the branch of government that carries the law into force), the prime minister (leader if the commonwealth government), and ministers (other members of the political party with a moja rot in the House of Representatives will be appointed as ministers).
Describe elections.
Federal elections must be held at least once every three years. this means that every three years, voters in each electorate are given the opportunity to elect people to represent that electorate in the House of Representatives. You can vote from the age of 18.
