Chapter 10.2

Question 1

What does the parliament of Australia consist of

Answer 1

• the king (represented by the governor general of Australia)
• the senate (the upper house
• The house of representatives (the lower house

Question 2

Two key role of the commonwealth parliament

Answer 2

Two key roles of the Commonwealth Parliament are to make laws, and to represent the people of
Australia.

Question 3

Idea of two ‘houses’

Answer 3

The idea of having two ‘houses’ is that there are effectively two ‘groups’ of people who form
parliament. It ensures that the power to make law is not held by one single ‘group’ of people. Instead,
the two houses or ‘groups’ can consider and decide whether a law should be made

Question 4

The house of representatives

Answer 4

The lower house is the house of representatives. The house of representatives is often refered to as the people house.
- federal elections are held every 3 years
- the political paty with the majority in lower house becomes government
- leader of party is prime minister
- next majority is opposition and will apoint shadow ministers

Question 5

What do electorates do

Answer 5

The voters in each electorate vote in a federal election to say who they want their
representative to be in the lower house. The elected member is expected to represent the views and
interests of the people in their electorate.

Question 6

Political party

Answer 6

an organisation that represents a group of people with shared values and ideas, an which aims to have its members elected to parliament

Question 7

coalition

Answer 7

an alliance or joining together of two or more political parties, usually to form government

Question 8

minister

Answer 8

a member of parliament who is a member of a party in government and is in charge of
a particular area of government (such
as education)

Question 9

opposition

Answer 9

the political party
that holds the secondlargest number of seats
(after the government)
in the lower house. The
opposition questions
the government about
policy matters and is
responsible for holding
the government to
account

Question 10

The role of shadow ministers

Answer 10

The role of shadow ministers is to keep
a check on the activities and responsibilities of the corresponding government minister, and to act
as the opposition spokesperson for their particular portfolio.

Question 11

The role of the house of representatives in law-making

Answer 11

one of the main role of the house of representative is to make law. A bill is proposed and must go through both houses before it becomes a law this allows the bill to be critised and scrutinised, it will then have to recieve royal assent before it becomes a statute law. If a bill is introduced without the authority of the government these will become private member bills.
the main roles include
Main roles in law making are
- initiate and make laws
- determine the government
- act as a house of review
- control government expenditure
- represent the people
- scrutinise government administration

Question 12

Initiate and make laws

Answer 12

the main function of the House of Representatives is to initiate new
laws, and as noted above, most bills are introduced in this house. This is the role that takes up
much of its time, as the process of passing and debating bills (including bills that amend or change
existing laws) is a long and considered process, and there are often many new laws and changes to
laws required to ensure a functioning society. As part of this process, bills are debated, and a bill
may be scrutinised and considered by a parliamentary committee.

Question 13

determine the government

Answer 13

after an election, the political party (or coalition of parties)
that has the most members in the House of Representatives forms government; or, in the case
of a hung parliament, has the support of independents and/or another party so that they can
form government. As most legislation is initiated in the lower house by government ministers,
government policy and mandates are reflected in the legislation introduced

Question 14

act as a house of review

Answer 14

– if a bill has been initiated and passed through the Senate, the House
of Representatives will be the ‘second house’ to consider whether the bill should become law, and
it will therefore act as a house of review. If the House of Representatives passes the bill, it is sent to
the Governor-General and made into law on a nominated date.

Question 15

control government expenditure

Answer 15

a bill must be passed through both houses of parliament
before a government can collect taxes or spend money, but only the House of Representatives can
introduce money bills.

Question 16

represent the people

Answer 16

the House of Representatives plays a role in upholding representative
government. Members are elected to represent the people and are given authority to act on
behalf of the people. The proposed laws should therefore reflect the views and values of the
majority of the electorate that the member represents.

Question 17

scrutinise government administration

Answer 17

Scrutinise government is a role of the house of representatives in which members can question ministers about their policies and legislative mandate during question time . Government decisions and policies can also be investigated and scrutinised through committees.

Question 18

bill

Answer 18

a proposed law that
has been presented to
parliament to become
law. A bill becomes an
Act of Parliament once
it has passed through
all the formal stages of
law-making (including
royal assent)

Question 19

cabinet

Answer 19

the group of senior ministers in a government who are in charge of a range of portfolios. Cabinet decides which
bills or legislation should be introduced
into parliament

Question 20

private members bill

Answer 20

a bill introduced
into parliament
by a member of
parliament who is not a
government minister

Question 21

hung parliament

Answer 21

a situation in which
neither major political
party wins a majority
of seats in the lower
house of parliament
after an election

Question 22

money bill

Answer 22

a proposed law (bill)
that imposes taxes
and collects revenue;
also known as an
appropriation bill

Question 23

representative government

Answer 23

a political system in
which the people elect
members of parliament
to represent them
in government

Question 24

responsible government

Answer 24

Responsible government is a system where elected officials are accountable to the people and must answer for their actions. This means the government operates with transparency, answers to the public, and ensures that its decisions and actions align with the people’s interests and laws.

Question 25

The senate

Answer 25

The upper house of parliament

Question 26

role of senator

Answer 26

Each senator represents the interests of their state or territory; therefore, the Senate is often referred
to as the states’ house.

Question 27

the role of the senate in law-making

Answer 27

The senates main role is to make laws. its law-making powers are equal to those of the house of representatives in that it can initiate proposed laws (bills). the senate however cannot initiate money bill and it can also not amend money bill, but it can request the house of represenatvies to make amendments.
the senate debates the proposed laws and has a large and active committee system that enables
senators to inquire into policy issues in depth and to scrutinise bills before they become law. (Parliamentary committee)
the main roles include
- Act as a house of review
- allow for equal representation of the states
- initiate bills
- scrutinise bill and government administration

Question 28

Act as a house of review (Senate)

Answer 28

most bills are initiated in the lower house, so the Senate (the upper
house) reviews the bills already passed through the lower house. The Senate may pass a bill without amendment, pass it with amendments (or, in the case of a money bill, request amendments
before passing it) or reject it. The Senate can also insist on changes to proposed laws before they
are passed into law. The Senate can, therefore, act as an important check on government in lawmaking, particularly if the government does not have a majority in the Senate.

Question 29

allow for equal representation of the states

Answer 29

at the time of the creation of the
Commonwealth Parliament, the states were
afraid to give up too much power.
section 7 of the Constitution provides that the Senate should have equal representation from each state, regardless of its size or population, to protect the interests of the
states – particularly the smaller ones.

Question 30

initiate bills (senate)

Answer 30

– similar to the House of Representatives, the Senate can initiate bills (other than
money bills). Although most bills are initiated in the House of Representatives, a bill may be
introduced in the Senate when, for example, a minister is a senator and is in charge of a bill

Question 31

scrutinise bill and government adminisatrion - senate

Answer 31

The senate plays a crucial role in scruinizing bill and government administarion. To scrutinise bills they review and debate the proposed law meaning they will give a detailed examination and debate to ensure the proposed law is proporly evaluated. whilst reviewing and debating the bill the senate can also make amendments, the senate has the power to suggest and vote on changes to bills.

The senate also scrutinises government administration by holding question time, this holds minister acountable as senators can question minister about their portfolios, policies and adminstration before passing their proposed bill. a senate committee is also used to srutinise government as it allows for investigations and inquires of government administarion.

these functions are vital to maintaing traspareency, accountability and the integrirty of the legislative process

Question 32

election

Answer 32

the process used where
eligible people vote to
choose a person to hold
a position in a body
or organisation (for
example, a member of a
house of parliament)

Question 33

commitee system

Answer 33

a system used by
federal, state and
territory parliaments in
Australia that involves
use of separate working
parties (i.e. committees)
to investigate a wide
range of legal, social
and political issues
and report back to the
parliament about the
need for law reform

Question 34

parliamentary commitee

Answer 34

a small group of
members of parliament
who consider and
report on a single
subject in one or both
houses. Committee
members can come
from any party

Question 35

rule of law

Answer 35

the principle that
everyone in society is
bound by law and must
obey the law, and that
laws should be fair
and clear, so people
are willing and able to
obey them

Question 36

independents

Answer 36

individuals who
stand as candidates
in an election or are
elected to parliament
but do not belong to a
political party

Question 37

balance of power

Answer 37

(between political
parties) a situation
where no single party
has a majority of seats
in one or both houses
of parliament, meaning
the power to reject or
approve bills is held
by a small number of
people (e.g. members
of minor parties and
independent members)

Question 38

cross benchers

Answer 38

members of Parliament
who are not members
of either government
or opposition such as independent members They are
named after the set
of seats provided in
parliament for them,
called the ‘crossbench