Chapter 13.2

Question 1

Petitions

Answer 1

A petition is a formal, written request to a member of parliament to create a law or amend a outdated or unjust law.

Question 2

requirements of a petition

Answer 2

Although a petition technically only needs to have one signature to be accepted, it will appear more representative of the public if it is signed by many people

Question 3

for a petition to be successful

Answer 3

for a petition to be succesul it needs to be taled (presented) to a parliament by a member of parliament, although this can be any member and does not have to be the petitioners local parliamentary representative

Question 4

Case example of petions

Answer 4

In 2016, Chloe Scott petioned the federal government asking them to provide a financial support to diary farmers. this petition was successful and the federal government implemented a 500 million dollar assistance package to support Australian dairy farmers

Question 5

advantages of petitions

Answer 5

• petions are advantageous because when a petition is tabled in parliament, direct contact is made with the government who are most likely capable of passing a bill in parliament
• individuals can make use of e-petions which gather support for law reform over the internet therefore aiding the process of gathering signatures
• the use of petions to influence law reform is beneficial as a standing committee on petions has been established to ensure that all petionists that are presented to the house of representatives are considered

Question 6

weakness of petions

Answer 6

• petions are not as visual as other methods of law reform (such as demonstrations), meaning that they are less likely to gain media attention and support
• gaining a large amount of signature can be very time consuming and difficult, resulting in petions lacking a substantial number of signatures and therefore being useful in influencing legislative change
• the member of parliament who tabels a petition may have little influence over the actions of the government, and if the government do not support the petition, it is unlikely that a bill on the topic of law reform will pass the lower house

Question 7

effectiveness of petitions

Answer 7

The ability of a petition to influence law reform depends on various factors including
- The number of people who show their support by signing the petitions, a petitions with a large number of signatures will appear more representative of the community and indicate a high level of community support for the requested action.
- A petition with very few signatures may not get the attention necessary for it to generate interest
- The passion and profile of the presenting member of parliament and whether the petition is supported by additional pressure
- Only e-petitions that are created on a parliamentary website can be tabled in parliament. This means, not all e-petitions are presented to parliament which may reduce their effectiveness