statutory law Flashcards
What is statutory law
Law made by parliaments. Made by elected members of parliament, statute law has democratic legitimacy and is superior to common law. It is written in broad terms. Bills must pass both houses of the Commonwealth parliament and be given royal assent before becoming law.
How many purposes does the statutory law have
5
What is implementing policy(purpose)
During an election, political parties identify the policies that are important to them, and pledge to enact these policies should they get into government. Sometimes they need to change the law to be able to put their policies in action, so that they are behaving lawfully (as per the rule of law).
What is Authorising Expenditure(purpose)?
In order to govern, governments need to spend money to pay the wages of public servants, the defence forces, and to pay for education, health services, infrastructure etc. Before they can spend money, the government (executive) must have approval from the parliament through the passing of legislation, as, under Section 83 of the Constitution,
“No money shall be drawn from the Treasury of the Commonwealth except under the appropriation made by law.”
Example of implementing policy?
Examples include the federal Labor promise in the 2022 election to give all victims of family violence 10 days of additional leave under the 2023 amendment of the Fair Work Act 2009, or the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 which was implemented by the Gillard Labor government to assist and support people with a disability.
What is supply/appropriation/ money bill?
This is a special type of bill, called an appropriation bill / a money bill, or sometimes ‘supply’, which must be passed by both houses, to approve taxes and spending by the executive. According to Section 53, “Proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys, or imposing taxation, shall not originate in the Senate.”
Why must appropriation bills originate in the HOUSE OF REPS?
Appropriation bills must originate in the House of Representatives, and the Senate is not allowed to change any part of the proposed bills. This is because the raising of taxes and spending of government money is considered so important to the functioning of the government that only the HoRs, as the house of government, is considered appropriate for this.
Sources of Authority for Statue Law
Democratic Authority and Constitutional Monarchy
Democratic Authority For Statue Law
A democratic authority, because the people have delegated their authority to the members of parliament via an election, which means they have democratic legitimacy
Constitutional Authority For Statue Law
A constitutional authority, because we are a constitutional monarchy.
All legislation must be approved by the crown, represented by the Governor General.
Australia’s Constitution specifies legislative powers for the Commonwealth Parliament into exclusive (federal parliament only) and concurrent (both federal and state).
