international pressures

Question 1

What are international pressures?

Answer 1

Demands or forces applied parliaments to persuade them to make (or not make) law to address matters of international concern.
Because Australia is an active participant in the global community, and because it is a signatory to or has ratified international treaties, sometimes our governments are subjected to international pressures, which can impact on the ability of parliament to make law.

Question 2

Where can international pressures come from?

Answer 2

• local activists who organise petitions for change
• international activists who seek to generate change across the globe- eg. Greta Thunberg
• other countries, which may urge Australia to change its laws or which may criticise Australia in relation to its legislative reform eg. on Climate change
• the United Nations (resolutions and treaties place pressure to act in global interest)
• Non-government organisations (NGOs) eg. Amnesty, Greenpeace
• Large transnational corporations (TNCs). eg. Meta, Samsung & Google

Question 3

Examples of international issues:

Answer 3

• climate change
• need to prevent emergence of terrorist groups
• need to protect vulnerable or minority groups (asylum seekers, First Nations People etc.)
• increasing age of criminal responsibility
• addressing global pandemics, natural disasters & wars

Question 4

Climate change:

Answer 4

• In order to lower levels of greenhouse gases, all countries should decrease reliance on fossil fuels + shift to renewable energy sources
• growing pressure at international level to take action to decrease emissions
• Aus has set targets to decrease emissions (criticized for being too low)
• Coal one of largest biggest exports + source of revenue

Question 5

Pressure to act on climate change

Answer 5

• UN: climate change is a global emergency requiring drastic action
• organisations: Greenpeace, 1 million Women, Climate 200
• other countries: criticized for not doing much (by US). By implementing change, they are pressuring Aus to do the same
• individual activists/influential people: Greta Thunberg, independent members of Parliament, influential business leaders/shareholders

Question 6

Pressure not to act on climate change

Answer 6

-industry organizations: coal & mining organizations

• certain political parties/members of Parliament may have diff. policies/views about how to address climate change challenges
• workers in coal communities affected by transition to renewable energy on their jobs

Question 7

Current gov. responses to climate change

Answer 7

Commonwealth Parliament passed Climate Change Act 2022 (Cth). This was a result of consultation with businesses, industry, unions, farmers, community and conservation groups (eg. Greenpeace). These groups urged Parliament on path to net-zero emissions, consistent with UN goals

Question 8

Effects of international pressure

Answer 8

• Whether the pressure impacts on governments and their willingness to act may depend on the issue, where the pressure is coming from, and how supportive people are of the change. For example, the need to address climate change has gained support over the years to the point where it would be difficult for governments to `refuse’ to act.
• On a particular issue, governments may be faced with competing pressures or views. For example, in relation to climate change, the need to address the growing concern of raising temperatures and reducing emissions needs to be considered against Australia’s reliance on coal and energy as a source of revenue.
• Powerful bodies or organisations can have an impact on the way people vote. For example, hashtags such as #raisetheage, or school student climate protests, may influence voters or the way they think about an issue.
• Law reform in areas where there is international pressure must also be balanced against law reform in other, more pressing areas, such as immediately dealing with pandemics or natural disasters. There must also be a consideration of the financial impact of making law reform (i.e. whether the change comes at a cost).

Question 9

Effects of not responding to
international pressure

Answer 9

• if we don’t make change, our international standing is compromised
• global issues can cause people to apply pressure to Parliament domestically (protests, petitions, media)
• links with representative nature of Parliament (if they don’t respond, risk voter backlash)