Chapter 7 Flashcards
Explain why the exercise of power needs to be underpinned by ‘legitimacy’
Lack of legitimacy causes anger and a sense of injustice, which causes an unwilling population suspect to revolts etc
Define the term ‘mandate’
The authority to use power
How does representative government solve the problem of sovereignty
People delegate representatives who exercise sovereignty on their behalf
What are two ways in which popular soverignty can be withdrawn and redelegated
elections and revolutions
How do elections in Australia delegate sovereignty
Elections are mechanisms by which the people delegate their sovereignty, sovereignty always rests with the people
Define ‘will of majority mandate’ with example
Winning a majority of the seats in the peoples house (HoR) is equal to the majority will of the state
Eg. Turnbull government has will of majority mandate because they won the majority of seats in the lower house
Define ‘Right to oppose’ with example
Opposition winning seats gives it the right to oppose
Eg. Short opposition nearly won power in 2016, giving it a strong right to oppose
Balance of power mandate
In the Senate, the independents and minor/micro parties can hold the balance of power if the opposition opposes a bill, where they effectively decided whether it’s passed, they claim that the people have voted for a hung house where compromises must be made.
Eg. 2016 election meant that the gov. needed 9 crossbenchers need to agree to pass a bill in order to pass any laws, which meant many compromises.
Destinguish between a specific mandate and a general mandate
Specific- essentially an election promise they made Eg. 2013 election, Abbott repealed Carbon and Mining taxes using the ‘will of the majority mandate’
General- to develop policy and legislation based on it’s ideological principles Eg. 2013 Abbott promised not to remove funding for sectors such as education, yet did so anyway in 2014 claiming they are responsible economic managers
How can general mandates give governments flexibility in their approach to governing
Not giving specifics on policy removes chances for promise breaking, and when renegging does occur governments can justify it by saying that the promise does not align with their principles.
Discuss the arguments for ‘balance of power mandate’
- s7 of the constitution- state voters directly elect the Senate giving it a democratic mandate
- ~15% of voters are ‘dual voters’, which means that they wish to hold the government accountable through the Senates ‘house of review’ function.
Discuss the arguments against the ‘balance of power mandate’
- Senate voting systems (equal senators per state regardless of population) means that malapportionment is guaranteed Eg. Taz voters have 12.8 times more voting power than those in NSW for the senate
- For a Taz senator to be in a position to weild the power to refuse legislation is highly undemocratic, Eg. Senator Brian Harradine represented 69,000 voters (0.12% of Aus population) yet had the power to refuse bills 1994-1999
Explain why conflicting mandates are a feature of the Australian political system
They are a result of
- westminster conventions (majority in lower house -> voting systems)
- Co-equally powerful Senate electing using proportional voting causing hung house
What are some examples from the last 10 years where oppositions have respected and rejected government mandates
Opp. -Shorten opposing Abbott gov on cuts to education and the ABC,
-Abbott rejected Guillard gov. mandate because of the minority government
Respected- Nelson opposition did no oppose work choices from Rudd
Turnbull opp. respected ‘mandated’ policy, such as Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme from Rudd
What are the real purpose of mandates in a modern democracy
In modern Westminster systems the elected parliament gains it s authority from the people by winning elections.
