legal studies - Governance Flashcards
bill –> Act
a bill is first received by the lower house in parliament the House of Representatives, who conduct the 1st reading where the bill is first introduced, a second reading then proceeds where they read the bill again and vote on the main idea of the bill, a third reading is then conducted to vote on the final bill. if the bill is passes it then moves to the upper house in parliament the senate where they follow the same process conducting the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd reading where they vote on the final bill if the bill passes it is then sent to the governor general who then signs the bill giving it royal assent, thereby making it an act in parliment
section 51
parliment are subject to the law. section 51 outlines the 40 areas of law that the commonwealth government has exclusive powers to legislate on for peace, order and good governance of Australia. these include tax, immigration and currency. they are categorised as exclusive powers.
section 109
section 109 deals with any inconsistency’s between state and commonwealth law. when a law is inconstant commonwealth law prevails
section 44
section 44 deals with dual citizens holding positions in parliament - it is not permitted
section 128
altering the constitution, must be done through a referendum which must pass both houses in parliment and receive a double majority of votes across each state and Australia. this is used to represent and adapt to the changing ideals of modern Australia
role of the govner general
the govner general is the monarchs representative at commonwealth level. they are the head of the state. the role of the govner general is to issue writs for elections, give royal assent making bills into acts, swearing in prime minister and ministry and dissmissing them if not operating within the consitution
Mabo case
Mabo case was herd in the high court of Australia who interprets and applies the law of Australia in cases of federal significance. the Mabo vs Queensland case consisted of Mabo - Torres’s strait islander and 4 others from murry island seeking declaration on weather they had native title over murry island. after 10 years court found native title to be legally recognisable thereby dissmissing the terra nullius act.
reserve powers
rarely used powers that allow the govner general to act independently. they are able to dismiss the house of reps, senate or in some cases both, they are also able to dismiss the prime minister
separation of powers
the separation of powers are outlined in the constitution and supports the distribution of power between the judiciary, legislative and executive. legislative - make and ammend laws (ministry and govner general), executive - puts laws into action (prime minister and cabinate) and the judiciary interprets and applies laws in court (high court and any other federal courts). the seperation of powers makes sure adequate checks
division of power
the division of power refers to the distribution of powers between the states, commonwealth, and territory governments. their are three divisions these are exclusive, residue and concurrent. exclusive powers are those held by the commonwealth government as stated in section 51 this include areas such as tax, immigration and currency. any other subjects not outlined in section 51 are given to the state to legislate on these are known as residual powers. concurrent powers refers to matters where both the state and commonwealth can legislate over eg education schools- state university- federal
levels of government
state- have authority to make laws on matters that are not outlined in the constitution eg: hospitals
federal- can make laws relating to issues affecting the whole country eg: tax
local- pass laws and regulations that apply to local areas eg rubbish
unicameral and bicameral
unicameral refers to a system of governance where there is only one house in parliament. the advantages of a unicameral system is that laws are made faster as bills only have to be approved by one house, it represents the voice of Australians as there is not a secound house to override them. disadvantages include there not being adequate checks on work and balances between powers held
bicameral refers to a system of governance where there are two houses in parliment. the advantages of a bicameral system of governance is that there are aqaquate checks on their work and balances between power, a disadvantage is that bills take longer to be pass
difference between upper and lower house
the lower house in parliment is the house of reps they represent the views of Australia whilst the senate is the upper house. the upper and lower house are 2 seperate chambers of bicameral legislature, whilst they both play an important role in the legislative process there are significant differences between their roles. the senate is comprised of 76 members who are elected via vote much like the House of Representatives who are comprised of 151 members and elected via vote however the senate acts as more of a safeguard to states who had ceded some of their powers to the federal parliment so the commonwealth could be formed today the senate reviews proposed legislation passed to them by the House of Representatives it is in this house were bills become laws. were as the house of reps represent the views of Australia discusses matters of national and international importance whilst also making changes and voting on bills.
balance of power
if no party or coalition receives majority voters in the house of representatives, this is called a hung parliemt. in this case minority parties and independents choose which party they stand for which is referred to as a balance of power
constitution
adopted in January 1st 1901, the constitution outlines the framework for Australia’s goverment and sets out the separation of powers between different branches . one key principal of the separation of powers it makes sure checks and balances are in play and that no branch of government has absolute power.
