The Australian Parliamentary System (U3O1)

Question 1

What is the structure of the Commonwealth Parliament?

Answer 1

Queens Rep (Governor General)
The Senate (UH, 76 members)
The House of Representatives (LH, 150 members)

Question 2

Why is the HoR’s often referred to as the ‘People’s House’?

Answer 2

Because members are voted in by the people and therefore the members always reflect the views of the majority of society. The voting determines which party/coalition forms government.

Question 3

Who is government formed by?

Answer 3

The political party or coalition of parties that had the largest amount of members elected into the HoR’s. The party with the second highest number of elected ministers forms opposition. The opposition leader appoints shadow ministers.

Question 4

How long is the term of office in the HoR’s?

Answer 4

3 years

Question 5

What does the role of the HoR’s include?

Answer 5

• Initiating and making laws: the main role of the HoR’s is rto initiate and make laws. It is usually the government who introduces new laws to the house. Bills must be passed by both houses and given royal assent for it to become a law. It is also within the lower house’s role to pass bills, as the Senate can also initiate them.
• Represent the people: The HoR’s pays a big role in forming a representative government. The people of Australia elect the members who they believe can best represent them. The house must reflect the view of the majority of people. The house should propose and pass laws that best reflect the views of the majority of people.
• Control government expenditure: Before the government can collect taxes or spend money a bill must be passed through both houses of parliament.

Question 6

What is the composition of the Senate?

Answer 6

76 members, 12 members elected from each state and 2 from each territory. Each senator elected for 6 years, half of the senators are elected every three years.

Question 7

What is the role of the Senate?

Answer 7

Main role is to make laws. Law making powers equal to that of the house of reps. It can initiate and pass bills, however it cannot initiate nor can it amend money bills.

• Initiate & pass bills: can initiate (except money bills) and pass bills that have already been passed in the house of reps
• Act as a states house: As the states have equal rep, this ensures that the interests of all states are fairly represented and considered despite size or population.
• Act as a house of review: As the majority of bills are introduced in the Senate, the Senate has the job of reviewing bills already passes. The senate reviews, scrutinises, debates and when necessary make amendments to or rejects bills passed by the house of reps.

Question 8

Is the Senate effective?

Answer 8

The members of the senate don’t tend to vote in accordance with what is best for their state, but rather they tend to vote on party lines. Therefore the upper house doesn’t really fulfil it’s role as either a states house or a house of review. If the government has a majority in the upper house, the Senate tends to be a ‘rubber stamp’, simply confirming the decisions that have been made in the lower house. If the opposition has the majority in the Senate, the Senate is far more likely to review the bills passed in the lower house with more scrutiny.

Question 9

The Structure of Vic Parliament?

Answer 9

• The Queen’s Rep: (The Governor) (Alex Chernov)
• the Legislative Council (Upper house, 40 members)
• the Legislative Assembly (Lower house, 88 members)

Question 10

What is the term of office for members of the Legislative Assembly?

Answer 10

Members of this house are elected for four years.

Question 11

The role of the Legislative Assembly?

Answer 11

House of government. The party with the majority of members in the LA forms the government. The main role of this house is to make laws. Most bills are initiated in the LA.
Members are elected to represent the interests of the people (representative government). Their actions must reflect the views and values of the voters.

Question 12

Basics of Legislative Council?

Answer 12

Role similar to that of the senate. The LC in Victoria is divided into eight regions and five members are elected for each region, meaning 40 members are elected in total. Members are elected to serve a fixed four year term.

Question 13

What is the role of the Legislative Council?

Answer 13

Similar to that of the Senate. Acts as a house of review for legislation passed in the lower house. Does this by scrutinising, debating and on occasion, amending or rejecting legislation that has been initiated by the government.
The LC also has a number of committees that debate the proposed laws in detail.
If the party that has formed government holds a majority in both houses it is far easier for the government to pass their legislation. But on the flip side this could lead to less scrutiny and debate in parliament.

Question 14

What is the role of the Crown?

Answer 14

In Australia the Crown is represented by the Queen’s representatives: the governor general at Federal level and the Governor of the six states. The executive power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Queen but in practice it is exercised by the governor-general. The g-g has the responsibility of appointing a federal executive council, made up of senior ministers, to give advice about the Federal government, to establish departments of the government, and to create and/or give effect to delegated legislation. The Queen appoints a governor-general after getting advice from the prime minister.

The governor-general is also required to sign bills giving royal assent to them before they can become law. By giving Royal Assent, they give approval to the bill. The main responsibility of the governor-general is to ensure that the democratic system operates effectively. They ensure that the electoral system, parliament, government and courts work effectively.

Question 15

Who is the Executive Council?

Answer 15

The queen’s representative at the relevant level is responsible for making and approving delegated legislation, while acting in council with relevant ministers in the executive council.

Question 16

What is royal assent?

Answer 16

Royal assent is the signing of a proposed law by the Queen’s rep, giving approval to the bill. It is necessary before an act of parliament can become law. The governor-general can withhold royal assent, although this is exceptionally rare (it has never happened) but the governor at state level cannot.

Question 17

Main functions of parliament

Answer 17

• make laws on behalf of the people, laws which should reflect the views and values of the majority of the community.
• provide for the formation of government
• provide a forum for popular representation and debate
• scrutinise the actions of government
• delegate some of it’s law making power to subordinate bodies and check any delegated legislation
• balance the books - by deciding what revenue is required and how it is to be spent.

Question 18

What are Committees?

Answer 18

Parliament can set up committees to investigate the needs of the community and the activities of the government instrumentalities. An example is the Family and Human Development committee.

Question 19

What does the Government consist of?

Answer 19

The Government consists of all members of parliament that are a part of the political party that has won the majority of seats in the lower house.

Question 20

What is the opposition?

Answer 20

The opposition is the political party with the second largest number of sears in the lower house. It is an alternative government and if it wins the next election it will form a new government. Oppositions role to examine policies of the government, check decisions made by the government and scrutinise all bills presented to parliament. An effective opposition will hold the government accountable for its actions.

Question 21

What is the cabinet?

Answer 21

• Consists of the pm and senior ministers
• Main role is to decide on general government policies and to formulate bills to introduce to parliament
• G-g acts on the advice of the cabinet
• Members of cabinet come from the government
• They have the support of the members of the party with the majority in the lower house
• If members of cabinet lose the suppose of the party, they will resign from cabinet

Question 22

What are the three principles of the Australian Parliamentary System?

Answer 22

Representative Government
Responsible Government
Separation of Powers

Question 23

What is the principle of Responsible Government?

Answer 23

Refers to a government which represents the views of the majority of the people. Without a representative government we do not have a democracy. In order to achieve representative government, there must be regular elections so the people can vote for the politicians which they wish to represent them in parliament. If the government is not a representative one, it is likely to be voted out of office at the next election. As members are voted in by the people to represent them, they need to do so if they wish to keep their seat.
A representative government must be answerable to the people.
The government stays representative by fair, regular elections to ensure that the majority of voter’s views and values are represented in parliament and through the bicameral system.
The bicameral system leads to a more representative government because the lower house represents the views of the people. And each state is in theory represented equally in the upper house.

Question 24

What is the principle of Responsible Government?

Answer 24

Refers to the government’s responsibility to the voters.
A democratically elected government must be answerable and accountable to the people for its actions. Ministers are drawn from within the government and they must maintain the confidence of the government.
Ministers are responsible to the parliament: for the actions of their government departments or portfolios. Ministers are expected to answer questions asked during question time and in doing so are expected to justify, explain and clarify their actions.
Parliament can establish committees: to scrutinise government actions and expenditure. In most cases these committees meetings are open to the public and also recorded.

Question 25

What is the principle of Separation of Powers?

Answer 25

This principle refers to the three types of separate powers in our parliamentary system, and that these powers should be held by separate bodies so that no one has absolute power or control over the functions of the political and legal system.

• executive power: the power to administer the laws and manage the business of government, which is vested in the governor-general but in practice it is carried out by the prime minister and senior ministers (cabinet.)
• legislative power: simply put, the power to make laws, which resides with the parliament
• judicial power: the power given to courts and tribunals to enforce the law and settle disputes. this power is separate from the legislative and executive powers.

Question 26

What does bicameral mean?

Answer 26

means two houses of parliament. all parliaments in aus except queensland and the territories are bicameral.

Question 27

What is cabinet?

Answer 27

cabinet consists of the pm and senior government ministers who have been placed in charge of a government department. it is a policy making body, meaning that it decides which laws should be introduced into parliament.

Question 28

Define crown

Answer 28

the authority of the queen is represented in australia by the governor-general and the governor in each state.

Question 29

Define government

Answer 29

government is formed by the political party that wins the majority of seats in the lower house at election time. all members of parliament who belong to this political party form the government. government doesn’t make laws this is the role of parliament, government decides which laws should be introduce into parliament.

Question 30

Define legislation

Answer 30

laws made by parliament, known as acts of parliament or statutes

Question 31

Define minister

Answer 31

a government minister is a member of parliament who is also a member of the political party that has formed government, and has some particular responsibility such as being in charge of a government department.

Question 32

Define parliament

Answer 32

parliament is the supreme law-making body consisting of all elected members of both houses from all political parties and the Queen’s representatives. Parliaments main role is to make laws.

Question 33

Define prime minister

Answer 33

the member of parliament who leads the political party that has formed government.

Question 34

Define representative government

Answer 34

representative government refers to a government that represents the view of the majority of the people.

Question 35

Define responsible government

Answer 35

the executive government (pm, senior ministers and government departments) is accountable to parliament and can only continue to govern as long as it has the support of the lower house of parliament. if the government loses the support of the lower house then it must resign.

Question 36

Define separation of powers

Answer 36

the principle of separation of powers refers to the fact that there are three separate types of powers in our parliamentary system. there are legislative power, executive power, judicial power. judicial power is separate from legislative power and executive power.

Question 37

Define statute

Answer 37

also known as an act of parliament, this is another term for legislation.

Question 38

Define supremacy of parliament

Answer 38

also referred to as sovereignty of parliament. this refers to the concept that the final-law making power rests with parliament. parliament can repeal and amend its own previous legislation and can pass legislation to override common law.

Question 39

What are Westminster Principles?

Answer 39

the set of principles that underpin out parliamentary system, inherited from the uk, known as the westminster system. these are the principles of responsible government, representative government, the separation of powers, the structure of state and federal parliaments and the roles played by the crown and the houses of parliament.