Structure of the political system in Australia

Question 1

System of government

Answer 1

Political and legal systems exist to allow a nation-state to be governed. It is composed of processes, institutions, and organisations. For example, Australia is a representative democracy with a constitutional monarchy organised as a federation with a responsible parliamentary government, and also has an independent judiciary.

Question 2

Representative democracy

Answer 2

A form of government in which people are sovereign, but are represented in government by elected members of a legislative assembly acting as their representatives, either as partisans, delegates and trustees

Question 3

Constitutional monarchy

Answer 3

Form of government in which the head of state is an inherited position with powers limited by a written constitution or unwritten conventions.

Question 4

Constitutionalism

Answer 4

Is the belief that the power of government should be limited and is subject to the rule of law. It requires the powers of the government to be set out in a written or unwritten constitution.

Question 5

Individual ministerial responsibility (IMR)

Answer 5

Westminster convention of responsible parliamentary government by which a minister may be held accountable by the House of Reps.

Question 6

Collective ministerial responsibility

Answer 6

Westminster convention of responsible parliamentary government by which an entire executive government may be held accountable by the House of Reps

Question 7

Federation/federalism

Answer 7

System of government in which sovereignty is geographically divided between one central and one or two regional governments.

There are different types that indicate power distribution between levels; coercive, cooperative, confederation

Question 8

Cabinet

Answer 8

A committee in the executive branch is composed of ministers, led by a prime minister, that is drawn from and is accountable to the elected legislature. It is governed by Westminster conventions.

Question 9

Responsible Parliamentary Government

Answer 9

A system of government derived from Westminster principles in which the executive must be formed from parliament, and is supported by the majority of the lower house.

Parliament, which is answerable to the citizens, holds the executive accountable, and the executive is responsible to them.

Question 9

Federal executive council (EXCO)

Answer 9

A body consisting of the Queen’s representative, the Governor-General, and Governor ministers. The executive council advises the GG and formally approves decisions made previously by parliament or the cabinet.

Question 10

Head of state

Answer 10

A person whose role symbolises legal authority in a political system, with formal and ceremonial powers such as giving formal assent to laws, opening parliament, and meet representatives from other nations.

Ex: Australia’s head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented by the Governor General

Question 11

Bicameralism

Answer 11

A system of government where the legislature is divided into two chambers; an upper and a lower. In Westminster parliaments, the upper house is the house of review, and the lower house is the house of government.

Question 12

Real/Political executive

Answer 12

• consists of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
• drawn from and is responsible to Parliament
• below politics
• wields real and genuine political power through conventions of responsible government.

Question 13

Formal executive

Answer 13

• consists of the Queen, GG, and Federal Executive Council
• wields formal and ceremonial powers
• should be above politics but below the law, but does not exercise
  any real power (due to conventions)

Question 14

Making government

Answer 14

The government is formed in the lower house of parliament. Parties who receive the majority of seats in the House of Reps will form the government. The leader of the successful party then becomes the Prime Minister.

Consistent majority support of the government means they are said to ‘have the confidence of the House’.

Question 15

Breaking government

Answer 15

If government should lose the confidence of the house, it is expected to resign. If the majority of MPs are in support of a motion of no confidence, then the government will be dismissed by the parliament

Question 16

Cabinet Secrecy

Answer 16

Westminster convention

Cabinet secrecy separates ministers as ‘committee of the executive’ from ordinary members of the legislature. The Cabinet holds regular meetings in which the matters of discussion are strictly confidential.

This is because ministers need to know that they can speak freely about any issue, issues of national importance may be discussed, and it preserves the unity of the government.

Question 17

Cabinet Solidarity

Answer 17

Westminster convention

Once Cabinet reaches a decision, Cabinet solidarity requires that every member of the Cabinet, including those who argued against the decision during the secret meetings, must publicly support it.

• further requires that if a minister cannot publicly support a Cabinet decision, they must resign from Cabinet and return to parliament as an ‘ordinary’ member

Question 18

Types of Federalism

Answer 18

• coercive (more national govt power)
• cooperative (shared power)
• confederation (more state govt power)

Question 19

National Federal Reform Council (NFRC)

Answer 19

29 May 2020, the National Cabinet agreed to the formation of the National Federation Reform Council (NFRC) which replaced the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).
- provides an opportunity for leaders across the Commonwealth to focus on priority national federation issues.

Question 20

Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC)

Answer 20

An institution that links federal and state govt.

By virtue of S96 of the Constitution, the CGC deals with vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI) by making grants of money to state govts so they could administer education, health, and other state powers.

Question 21

Vertical Fiscal Imbalance (VFI)

Answer 21

There is an imbalance in the revenue that each level of government has. Because federalism is a vertical division of powers between national and regional governments, this imbalance is called a vertical fiscal imbalance.

Question 22

Types of division of powers

Answer 22

• exclusive (powers only exercised by national gov, eg. defence, post and telecommunications)
• concurrent (powers shared by both levels of gov, eg. taxation)
• residual (Section 107 states that any unwritten or unspecified powers automatically fall to the state gov)

Question 23

The High Court’s role in the Australian federation

Answer 23

The High Court is an institution that links federal and state govt.

It resolves legal-constitutional disputes between states and the Commonwealth.