Civics Test Flashcards
What are the 4 principles that a democracy depends on?
The belief that everyone is moral and rational
A belief in reason and progress
A belief in a society that is consensual
A belief in shared power
What is a democracy?
A system of government in which the people are involved in decision making
What’s first past the post voting?
People only vote for one candidate and the one with the most votes wins
Where is first past the post voting used?
Britain
How does preferencial voting work?
Voters number all candidates from most preferred to least, the number 1 votes are counted. If there’s an absolute majority, that person wins. If not, lowest person eliminated and ballots given to second preferences, recount and repeat.
What is an absolute majority?
50% + 1 vote
What voting system is used to elect people for the senate?
Proportional representation, the amount of seats is proportionate to their percentage of votes. People can either just number 1 or all candidates from most to least preferred
What’s representative democracy?
People elect a representative to make laws on their behalf
How often is a general election held and who is voted for?
Every 3 years to elect 150 people for the house of reps and 40 senators for Australia
Advantages of compulsory voting
Everybody has a say in the leader and there is a fair representation of everyone’s opinions
Disadvantages of compulsory voting
Some people lack knowledge or don’t care so they number boxes randomly
What is precedent/common law?
Made by courts and judges based on decisions made previously and recorded in law reports
What’s civil law?
Involves disputes between individuals rather than the community as a whole
3 types of civil law
Contract, tort and family law
What’s contract law?
Protects people who make agreements or when a signed contract is broken
What is family law?
It involves marriage, divorce, wills, deaths, births, and care of children
What’s tort law?
Negligence, when not enough care is taken and somebody gets hurt
What’s criminal law?
Situations where a person has done something seen as a threat to the whole community
Examples of criminal cases
Murder, assault and theft
What’s customary law?
The laws that indigenous Australians already had before European settlers came. They involve punishments if group rules are broken as well as customs and practices
What is citizenship?
Legally belonging to a country
What’s a secular society?
Encourage the support of different faiths and keep legal government business away from religious practices
What does it mean to be an Australian citizen?
Signed a statement of Australian values, lived in the country for 3 years
What’s a pluralist society?
Values people regardless of gender, race, religion and sexuality
What are the 3 defining values of Australian democracy?
- freedom of election and being elected
- Precede of political participation
- Freedom of speech, religion, expression and other basic human rights
What’s a bill?
A proposed idea for a law
What’s a by election?
An election called to replace a member of parliament if they die
What’s a statute law?
A law that is written and enforced by the two houses
What’s an electorate?
An area that is run by one member of parliament. (there are 150 in Australia)
What’s dual citizenship?
Keeping your citizenship of your original country but also becoming a citizen of a new country
What’s a prime minister?
The representative elected to represent the whole country
How many representatives are in the house of reps?
150
How many senators are there in Australia?
- 12 from each state and 2 from each territory
What are lobby groups?
Groups of people that try to influence the government to have a certain belief or opinion over something
What does secular mean?
A society that encourages and supports different faiths and legal government business is separate from religious practices
Which systems of law/government affected Australia’s?
England, Ancient Rome
How many senators per state?
12
What are the 4 main types of criminal law?
Laws which protect people
Laws which protect society
Laws which protect the nation and legal system
Laws which protect property
