Direct Questions Flashcards
Constitutional Monarchy
System of government in which a monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government.
Structure of Australian Parliament
Queen, senate, house of representatives
What does the queen do?
The queen opens and dissolves Parliament and approves Bills before they become law.
What does the Senate do?
It shares the power to make laws with the House of Representatives.
What does the house of representatives do
Central function and the one which takes up most of its time is the consideration and passing of new laws and amendments or changes to existing laws.
What is the Separation of Powers?
- The separation of powers divides the government into separate branches, each of which has separate and independent powers.
- This system helps to ensure that no one branch is more powerful than another.
What is legislative
Power to make and change the law
What is executive
Power to put law into action
What is judicial
Power to make judgements on law
What is federalism
The idea that government and governments powers should be divided between a central government and smaller state governments.
Australia’s Federation
- Before 1901 was not a nation but 6 separate British colonies
- Greater nation, coordination and consistency instead of 6 different ways of doing things e.g the railway lines could be uniformed
- Could economically develop more as a nation
What is the Executive made of
Made up of the Queen, Prime Ministers and ministers
What is the Legislative made of
Parliament is made up of the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives
What is the Judicial made of
Made up of the High Courts of Australia and other federal courts
What is constitutionalism
Doctrine that a government’s authority is determined by a body of laws or constitution.
Changing constitution
Referendum - In which all Australians of voting age vote for the proposed changes. To succeed, a majority of voters nationwide and a majority of States (four out of six) must approve the changes.
What is representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government in which citizens have the same right of participation in political decisions. This is not done in person, but using a representative.
Four frameworks of democracy
Freedom, justice, legitimacy and power
Freedom
Citizens can freely make decisions.
Upheld - Australia has democracy.
Not upheld - The Australian Constitution does not clearly protect freedom of expression
Justice
All citizens are treated equally with dignity and respect
Upheld - Through the rule of law
Not upheld - lack of accessability
Legitimacy
A legitimate government has the appropriate mandate and authority to rule.
Upheld - Federal election every 3 years and State every 4 years
Not upheld -
Power
Checks and balances to limit power. Make sure no group has too much power.
Upheld - Separation of powers
Not upheld - Some roles of the Parliament, Executive and Judiciary overlap
