Glossary - T Flashcards
Terra Nullius
The precedent set in the Murrell (1836) that ruled out the recognition of Aboriginal property rights in land. The terra nullius principle stated that at the time of European arrival in 1788 Australia was, for legal purposes, vacant land as there were no occupants who had a system of law or government that’s could create land title. As a result land title could be granted to settlers without the need to acknowledge and pre-existing claims to it.
Test Case
A legal case that creates a principle that will apply to future cases. Test cases are often commenced to test the law and seek the overturning or reversal of an existing precedent.
Tied Grants
A financial payment made to the state by the Commonwealth government that must be spent on an activity or specific purpose determined by the Commonwealth. Section 96 of the Constitution allows the Commonwealth to provide specific purpose grants. They have been used by Commonwealth governments to control spending by the states in policy areas that are part of the residual powers of the states.
Three Cornered Contest
A contest in an individual electorate where two closely aligned parties (eg; the Liberal Party and the National Party) both stand candidates against a political adversary (eg; the ALP). Without preferential voting this would split the anti-Labor vote making it more difficult for either anti-Labor party to win the election. This is a more significant problem with first-past-the-post voting.
Toggle Effect
The tendency for voters to vote against a state or Federal government to avoid having the same party in power at both state and Federal levels.
Tort
An action that causes a civil wrong (a wrong caused by an individual to another) not arising from a Breach of contract. Torts are actions that injure someone in some way, either intentionally or unintentionally. They include trespass, defamation and negligence.
Totalitarianism
A system of government where an elite group has total power and seeks to create absolute social control over all citizens. Totalitarian governments repress opposition, terrorise society through the use of secret police and use their monopoly control of mass communications to create loyalty based on distorted propaganda. Examples of totalitarian systems include Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, Maoist China and Cambodia under Pol Pot.
Trial
The process presided by a judge or magistrate who has the authority to hear a case and examine the facts and law. In a trial both parties present their arguments according to the set process and rule of evidence that apply and a decision or judgement is made by the magistrate, the judge or the judge acting with a jury.
Tribunal
A board or other adjudicating body that can settle legal disputes in a faster, less formal manner than the Courts. In Western Australia a very wide range or disputes are under the authority of the State Administrative Tribunal. A decision of the State Administrative Tribunal is final and not subject to appeal unless there is a point of law in dispute or a claim of denial of natural justice.
Ticket Voting
A written statement, registered with the electoral authority by a candidate or group of candidates, which expresses the order in which preferences are to be further allocated for an elector putting 1 in one of the boxes in an ‘above the line’ (on a Senate ballot in federal elections) or ‘right hand side of the line’ vote (on a Legislative Council ballot in Western Australian elections).
Trustee
(role of parliamentarians) A concept of representation where an elected parliamentarian acts on behalf of his constituents by voting in parliament on the basis of his personal judgement. Under this view voters judge the performance of their representative in the subsequent election. If they believe they have been represented wisely they should continue to support their member. If they think his decisions were unwise they should choose a new representative whose wisdom they prefer. The conservative Edmund Burke made the most famous advocacy of this view in a speech to the electors of Bristol in 1774.
Two Party System
A democracy where political loyalties are divided between two large opposed parties who respectively form the government and the opposition. Two party systems feature adversarial politics. This is a common pattern in many English speaking democracies including The United States (Republicans v Democrats), The United Kingdom (Conservatives v Labor) and in Australia (Liberal Nationals Coalition v Labor) although the rise of minor parties is bringing changes to the pattern.
Two Party Preferred Vote
A calculation of the aggregate support of the two main parties in an election after all preferences have been distributed. After a general election the two party preferred result (2PP) is taken as a guide to the level of support for the major parties and as a basis for the calculation of the ‘swing’ required for a change of government.
