gov and legal test revision Flashcards
3 levels of government
federal, state and local
federal responsibilities
all of Australia, defence, currency, trade, social services, post, telecommunications, immigrations
state responsibilities
state and territory, education, transport, hospitals, road laws, public works, local government
local responsibilities
council. health centers, health regulations, rubbish collection+disposal, parks and gardens
what is an electorate
a geographical area consisting of approx 100 000 voters who one person represents.
how many electorates are there?
150 electorates
what do electorates represent?
house of representatives in the lower house
why is lower house sometimes not equal or fair?
because take VIC and NT, VIC has 37 house of representatives and NT has only 3. just because NT is more spread out but only 3 people represent their state compared to VIC who are 37 people to represent not just 3.
define democracy
a system of government by the people in which representatives are elected
where was the concept of democracy from?
origins from ancient Greece
what age is it where you have to compulsory vote?
every citizen over 18 yrs old.
what is a compulsory voting system?
a compulsory voting system that eligible citizens have to participate in to elect a representative.
2 pros and cons of compulsory voting?
pros: voting is a civic duty compared to a normal duty, makes the election more equal or fair if everyone has to vote.
cons: it’s undemocratic to force anyone to vote, it may increase the number of informal votes.
preferential voting system?
Preferential voting is required in Australia and it is a system that allows citizens to individually number and rank all candidates for both houses of parliament according to their own preferences.
parliament structure
(federal) senate, the house of representatives
(state) legislative council, legislative assembly
