Roles of the Crown and Parliament in law-making Flashcards
The Senate
The upper house of the Commonwealth Parliament. It is comprised of 76 elected lawmakers from across Australia.
Structure of the Senate
12 Senators from each state; 2 Senators from each mainland territory
Act of Parliament
A law passed by Parliament; a bill that has been approved and passed through both Parliamentary Houses and received Royal Assent.
Cabinet
The policy- making body of government that is in charge of determining government policy. It is made it up of the Prime Minister or Premier and senior ministers.
House of Representatives
Is the lower house of the Commonwealth Parliament. It is comprised of 151 elected members from across Australia.
Parliament
It is the supreme law making power of the Commonwealth and the states. It is made up of 151 electorates
Representative Democracy
The people vote for an elected representative to create laws and policies on behalf of the people
Private member’s bill
A bill introduced into Parliament by a member of parliament who is not a government minister.
Hung parliament
A situation following an election where niether major party won a majority of seats in the lower house.
Legislative Council
The upper house in the Victorian Parliament, made up of 40 elected lawmakers.
structure includes:
- 5 councillors from 8 regions
- all 40 face re-election every 4 years
Legislative Assembly
The lower house in the Victorian Parliament, made up of 88 elected lawmakers.
structure includes:
- each elected for a term of 4 years
- each member represents a division ( a geographical area with 40,000 voters in each area)
Governor
The representative of the crown at state level
Democracy
A system of government in which members of parliament are voted into office by the people, and represent the wishes of people.
Structure of House of Representatives
it comprises of 151 members with each member of the house elected for a term of approx. 3 years. Each of these 151 members represents a division of geographical area with approx. 100,000-120,000 votes residing within the area. It’s how Australia’s population is distributed, some states have many more electoral divisions than other states, meaning the more populous states elect more members of the House.
Executive Council
Are law-making powers granted only to the Commonwealth Parliament. The state parliaments are not permitted to pass legislation on these matters. Relatively few of the Commonwealth’s law-making powers are exclusive powers.
Royal Assent
The approval/signing of a bill done by the Governor General at federal level or the Governor at state level to show the approval of the crown. This can only occur after the bill has been passed through all stages of legislative process (being the two houses). This is the final stage of the legislative process meaning the bill can become law.
The Rule of Law
Everyone is accountable to the same laws including law makers and leaders. No one is above the law.
Secondary legislation
Rules and regulations made by secondary bodies such as local councils or statutory bodies such as VicRoads. This is also known as ‘delegated legislation’.
The High Court
The highest court in Australia. The Justice appointed to the High Court must be under 70 years of age. The High Court can hear any case or matter from any other court.
Referendums
A referendum is the process of a bill that Parliament wants to pass being formally introduced. The proposed bill gets sent out to the people in a referendum, and the community votes on whether they want to introduce the bill.
Bill
A proposed law usually introduced by the government to the house of representatives
coalition
A combination of parties, their purpose being to gain the majority of seats in an election. Using an alliance for a combined action. The coalition taking up 35 seats in The Senate.
minister
A member of parliament who is given the responsibility for a government department
government
the group of people with the authority to govern a country or state. The party who is the majority.
Opposition
The Opposition is the party or group which has the greatest number of non-government Members in the House of Representatives
Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments of America’s constitution which directly states the rights of an individual. Australia does not have a Bill Of Rights.
Governor General
s. 2 of the Constitution establishes and outlines the role of the Governor-General as being the Crown’s (King’s) representative in the Commonwealth.
political party
A political party is an organisation that represents a particular group of people or set of ideas. It aims to have members elected to Parliament so their ideas can affect the way Australia is governed.
Constitution
A document that is supreme law in Australia. It names Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and establishes the parliamentary system and the framework for law making.
Federation of Australia
The process where 6 separate British colonies agreed to unite and form the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia became a nation on 1st of January 1901.
Constitutional Monarchy
A form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions.
Bicameral Parliament
Bicameral: The term bicameral refers to a parliament or legislature that is made up of two separate houses (Chambers). The two chambers are the Legislative Assembly (or Lower House), and the Legislative Council (or Upper House).
Westminster System
Westminster System: The Westminster system (also known as responsible government and parliamentary government) is a system of government in which people do not directly elect their government but leave it to the elected legislature to install, supervise, and remove the government.
