Principles and Practices of Australia's Westminster Parliamentary System of Government

Question 1

what are the three characteristics of a liberal democracy

Answer 1

legitimate authority, separation of powers, constitutionalism (rule of law), human rights, procedural fairness, and pluralism

Question 2

what is legitimate Authority

Answer 2

a right to issue commands and, possibly, to enforce these commands using coercive power.

Question 3

how does someone receive legitimate authority

Answer 3

have been given that power by the people over whom they are exercising power in a popular vote that is free, frequent and fair.

Question 4

what are some potentially bad effects of governments that run by people who have been voted for by the majority

Answer 4

minorities not heard, misinformed voting and politicians acting in order to gain votes

Question 5

explain the concept of short-termism

Answer 5

Australian government runs on a 3-year electoral cycle, therefore government promises short term gains rather than long term goals such as climate action

Question 6

what is populism

Answer 6

a government making decisions based on what voters would like in the short term for example parties giving money to marginal seats to win votes.

Question 7

explain the process of an absolute majority

Answer 7

to get voted into parliament you must get at least half of the votes, if not the person with the lowest number of votes gives votes the voters second preference

Question 8

role of the executive

Answer 8

enact and uphold the laws established by legislators, the elected government, PM, and MPs

Question 9

role of legislators

Answer 9

responsible for debating and voting on new laws to be introduced under the power of section 51 of the constitution. made up of the elected representatives of the people

Question 10

role of judiciary

Answer 10

interprets and enforces the law, the court system

Question 11

constitutionalism or rule of law is the notion that

Answer 11

all people are equal before the law, nobody or the governing body is above the law and the law should not be arbitrary

Question 12

explain what the law should not be arbitrary means

Answer 12

laws should not be made on the whim, they should not be easy to make or unmake. the establishment of law should follow established processes.

Question 13

name the characteristics that underpin the rule of law

Answer 13

fairness, predictability, consistency, impartiality, and rationality

Question 14

for rule of law to be successful

Answer 14

the executive, legislative and judiciary is limited and prescribed to a constitution, which entrenches a separation of powers

Question 15

parliaments role in human rights

Answer 15

the state is responsible for the adherence to and protection of rights

Question 16

what are express rights

Answer 16

certain rights that are protected, laws that infringe those rights have a court declare the law as invalid

Question 17

define entrenched rights

Answer 17

constitutional rights that cannot be changed by the parliament without a referendum

Question 18

define unentrenched rights

Answer 18

can be changed by the proceedings of the parliament

Question 19

state an example of constitutional implied rights

Answer 19

bob brown case, section 7 and 24

Question 20

what are statutory rights

Answer 20

in Australia, there are rights that are expressly (written) protected in acts of parliament

Question 21

what are the three ways that rights can be enforced in Australia?

Answer 21

interpretive, watchdog/ monitoring approach and scrutiny of bills approach

Question 22

explain the interpretive approach of enforcing rights in Australia

Answer 22

when a court interprets laws and actions ensures that rights that are already in the law are not infringed.

Question 23

explain the watchdog/ monitoring approach of enforcing rights

Answer 23

human rights body looks at whether laws are currently adequately protected and make recommendations to parliament to change laws to better protect rights.

Question 24

explain the scrutiny of bills approach of enforcing rights

Answer 24

In Federal Parliament, every piece of legislation has to be scrutinized by a “Joint Committee on Human Rights”. This body then prepares a report about the compatibility of the law with human rights to put to Parliament when it is considering the legislation

Question 25

outline the principle of procedural fairness

Answer 25

individuals are treated equally and fairly in the making of administrative decisions

Question 26

in relation to criminal justice, procedural fairness includes;

Answer 26

presumption of innocence, right to remain silent, right to trial by jury and proof established beyond reasonable dought

Question 27

difference between fair and just

Answer 27

fairness is about the procedure and justice is about getting the correct result.