The Functions Of Parliament Flashcards
Parliament
Parliament is the law-making body. It consists of all members of both houses, from all political parties, plus the Crown’s representative. The Commonwealth Parliament is made up of the governor-general, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
6 main functions of Parliament
• make laws on behalf of the people for the good government of our society – the laws 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 its law-making power to subordinate bodies and check any delegated legislation
• balance the books – that is, decide what revenue is required and how it is to be spent.
Committees
Parliament is able to set up committees for the purpose of investigating the needs of the community and the activities of government instrumentalities. These committees can be joint committees (consisting of members from both houses), select committees (set up to investigate one particular issue) or standing committees (long-term committees that do not change with a change of government).
Government
The government is formed by the political party that holds a majority in the lower house of parliament. All members of parliament who belong to this political party form the government. The other major party that did not win the election forms the opposition and is not part of the government.
Opposition
The opposition is the political party holding the second largest number of seats in the lower house. It is an alternative government and if the party wins the next election it will form a new government. It is the role of the opposition to examine policies of the government, check decisions made by the government and scrutinise all Bills that are presented to parliament. An effective opposition will hold the government accountable for its actions. It can do this by asking questions at question time.
Prime ministers and premier role
The prime minister is the leader of the government at a federal level. The leader of the government in each of the states is called the premier. The prime minister and premiers appoint ministers to be responsible for various departments, such as the Education Department. Ministers are responsible for running their departments and are responsible to parliament for the activities of their departments. A minister’s area of responsibility is often referred to as a portfolio.
Cabinet
Cabinet consists of the prime minister and senior ministers. The cabinet’s main role is to decide on general government policy and to formulate proposed laws (known as Bills) to be introduced to parliament.
4 Cabinet Rules
• The governor-general acts on the advice of the cabinet.
• Members of cabinet (the ministers) come from the party that holds the majority in the lower house.
• Members of cabinet have the support of the members of the party with the majority in the lower,house.
• If members of cabinet lose the support of the party, they will resign from cabinet.
Explain the difference between the government and the parliament
Parliament is the law-making body. It consists of all members of both houses, from all political parties, plus the Crown’s representative whereas the government consists of all members of parliament who are members of the political party that holds the majority of seats in the lower house, whether they are members of the upper or lower house.
