political action (slides seven) Flashcards
what are the levels of government?
federation;
colonies (now states) agreed to join together to form australia
constitutional monarchy;
King is australia’s head of state and acts in accordance with the aussie constitution. in australia, powers of the King have been delegated to his representative, the governor-general
three levels of government have the power to;
- make decisions according to power granted by the constitution
- have separate responsibilities
- are elected by the people
what is australias government structure?
australia’s constitution outlines powers of federal parliament, and some powers of state parliaments. (states have their own constitutions).
1919, the NSW government passed the local government act, containing all rules that local governments must follow
to change the constitution, a referendum needs to be held
what do federal government responsibilities include?
air travel
currency
defence
foreign affairs
immigration
medicare
pensions
postal services
social Security
taxation
telecommunications and broadcasting
trade and commerce
what do state government responsibilities include?
aboriginal welfare
agriculture and fishing
community services
consumer affairs
education
emergency services
environment protection
health
industrial relations
law and order
public transport
roads and railways
sport and recreation
what do local government responsibilities include?
dog/cat registration
libraries
parks
rubbish collection
sewerage
streets and bridges
swimming pools
town planning
what is preferential voting?
preferential voting is a counting system designed to allow majority of australians to have their say in an election by stating the order in which they prefer candidates
why do laws change?
because laws are a reflection of a country’s moral standards, a change in law shows change in society
when new laws develop, old ones are scrapped due to changes in social values, technology and political circumstances
what’s being done about the rise in cyber crimes?
the federal government developed a new set of laws to fight internet offences; computer hacking, child pornography, terrorism, and copyright infringement
the legislation requires internet service providers (ISPs) to collect + retain emails, messages, and other internet traffic data
that information is then to be made available to police in australia, as well as foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies, like the FBI or CIA
what is active citizenship?
being informed about social, political, and economic issues, and actively being involved in the political process
what is political action?
if unhappy with something, you can write letters/emails to newspapers or to politicians
lobby groups often hold rallies to publicise their causes
you can choose to lobby particular politicians, that is, meet with them and try to influence them.
you can organise + become involved in public protests, meetings, or demonstration
what is the constitution?
outlines legal framework + rules that apply to governance of australia, eg; the judiciary, legislature and executive.
it created the states, the commonwealth, and the federal parliament, and outlined the ‘division of powers’ between the commonwealth and states
how can we, as a society, change the constitution?
constitution can be changed only if majority of the aussie population agrees to do so via a referendum (a vote of all aussies)
a majority of the people in a majority of the states (i.e. 4 out of 6) must also agree to the change.
method for doing this is in s128 of the constitution
