Democratic Culture in Australia

Question 1

History-Athenian Democracy

Answer 1

Demos = people; Kratia = rule
~6th century BCE
Citizens: Males >20, born in Attica
Participation: Civic duty
Institutions: Ecclesia, Boule, Law Courts
Sortition: Chosen by lot
Limited: ~10-20% participation; Excluded: women, slaves, foreigners

Question 2

History-Roman Republic:

Answer 2

Roman Republic:

Last King: Tarquin the Proud
First Consuls: Collatinus & Brutus
Magistrates: Elected (e.g., Consuls)
Consuls: Plebeians eligible from 367 BCE
Terms: 1 year, dual officeholders
Citizens: Can appeal decisions

Question 3

History-Medieval Europe:

Answer 3

Magna Carta, 1215: Rule of law, fair trial, consultation on taxes
1688 Glorious Revolution: Parliament > Crown, ‘unwritten constitution’

Question 4

History-Enlightenment

Answer 4

Montesquieu, 1748: Separation of powers
Rousseau, 1762: General will as law’s source, questioning status quo

Question 5

Australian Voting History

Answer 5

Colonial Rule:

1788: New South Wales under military law
Colonies formed own governments
1856: First bicameral NSW Parliament
Federation:

Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act: 1 January 1901
Most men (21+) had voting rights
Aboriginal males mostly excluded; women in SA & WA could vote
Universal Aboriginal suffrage granted in 1962
Voting age lowered to 18 in 1973

Question 6

British Electoral Reforms

Answer 6

832 Reform Act:

Extended franchise to middle class
Vote for householders paying £10+ rent
Majority of working men still excluded
Fairer seat distribution; abolished ‘rotten boroughs’
Chartist Movement (1836-1848):

Demanded universal manhood suffrage
Secret ballot & annual elections
Paid MPs
1867 Reform Act:

Reduced property qualifications
Voting population doubled to 2 million
1918 Representation of the People Act:

Abolished most property qualifications for men
Women over 30 granted vote (property requirement)
Electorate tripled to over 21 million

Question 7

Democratic Accountability

Answer 7

Citizen Role: Hold power-holders responsible for decisions.
Parliaments (Legislature):
Monitor laws’ effects
Ensure effective use of public funds
Combat corruption
Uphold human rights and standards
Ensure transparency and access to information
Provide mechanisms for accountability between elections
Independent Media: Crucial for transparency and accountability.
Foreign Influence: Ensure no external powers dictate policies.
Group Power: Prevent parallel power to democratic institutions.

Question 8

Westminster System

Answer 8

Confidence of House: Prime Minister needs support to stay in office (No Confidence Motion).
Accountability: Question time and Ministerial Responsibility.
Government Formation: Formed by majority in lower House.
Ministerial Accountability: Ministers must be Parliament members and are accountable to it.
Independent Institutions: Public service and judiciary uphold rule of law

Question 9

Who is David McBride

Answer 9

-former military lawyer
-Afghanistan

Question 10

What did McBride do?

Answer 10

stole 235 Defence documents-(207 ‘secret’) and shared classified military documents with journalists

Question 11

Why did McBride do what he did?

Answer 11

-believed it was his duty
- prove that some special forces officers in Afghan had been wrongly accused of war crimes

Question 12

What was McBride’s crime?

Answer 12

-theft of commonwealth property
-sharing with the press documents classified as secret

Question 13

What did the AFP find about Oakes?

Answer 13

Police X find any secret documents at ABC- lived with prospect of being charged for more than a year
then- prosecutors finally decided it wasn’t in the ‘public interest’ to charge him

Question 14

What were Boyle’s allegations?

Question 15

What are charges against Boyle