the role of the crown and the house of parliament in law-making Flashcards
what are the houses of parliament?
they handle national affairs. Australia has a commonwealth parliament and state parliaments, they are bicameral parliaments meaning they have an upper house (senate), lower house (house of representative) and a King’s representative.
What are the 2 houses of parliament? (+ kings representative)
upper house: the Senate
lower house: the House of Representatives
kings representative: governor-general
what is the house of representatives?
it is called “the people’s house” because it reflects the current opinion of the people at an election. the party who holds the majority of seats in this house form the Australian Government and the leader becomes prime minister.
what role do the house of representatives play in law-making?
- to make and intiate laws: they see and vote on a bill, if there is an area of law to be addressed a member will ut foward a private member’s bill
**- determine the government: **the party with the most seats become the natinal government
**- act as a house of review: when a bill passes through senate the house of representatives will review it and vote before it goes to the royal assent.
- control government expenditures:bill must pass through both houses before government is able to collect taxes or spend money lower house an introduce money bills
-represent the people:** they should advocate for bills and introduce ideas that reflect the views of the people.
- scrutinise government administration: ministers are expected to be held accountable for their decisions and actions.
what is the senate?
there are 76 members, each states elects 12 representatives and territories elect 2 representatives, Senates cannot initiate money bills.
what is the senates role in law-making?
- act as a house of review: the Senate reviews and votes on the bill after the House of Representatives, can also insist on changes to the proposed law before they accept it
- allow for equal representation of the states: allowed an equal amount of representatives from each state whcih was important for smaller states who were worried they wouldn’t be heard
- **initiate and pass bills: ** like the House of Representatives, the Senate can produce, pass and reject bills.
- scrutinise bills and government administration number of committees made up of Senators whose job is to comb through the proposed bill to ensure all mistakes are corrected before it becomes a law
which houses in Victoria is the upper and lower house and who is the kings representative?
upper house: legislative council
lower house: legislative assembly
kings representative: governor
what is the legislative assembly?
made up of 88 members who represent the 88 electoral districts of victoria, they are the party who hold the most seats and their leader becomes the Premier
what is the legislative assembly’s role in law-making?
- to initiate and pass bills: main function of legislative assembly is to initiate new laws…
- form the government: the party with the majority of seats after elections become the state government, the bills that get initiated often come from the Premier and their ministers
- scrutinise government administration: ministers of Parliament are expected to be held accountable for their decisions and actions, if they don’t they risk being voted out of office
- represent the people: represents the electorate that they were elected for, so they need to consider their needs in parliament
- act as a house of review: legislates assembly will review and vote on the bill passed through the legislative council before royal assent.
- control government expenditure: a bill must be passed through both houses of parliament before a government is able to collect tax or spend money. only the lower house can introduce money bills
what is the legislative council?
made up of 40 elected members where the 8 districts of Victoria elect 5 members each, they are elected for 4 years
what is the legislative council’s role in law-making?
- act as a house of review: like the Senate their main function is to review the bills passed from the legislative assembly
- scrutinise government administration: ministers of the upper house can be questioned by the opposition about policies and proposed legislation
- initiate and pass bills: the legislative council can produce, pass and reject bills, however it is more likely the bill will begin in the legislative assembly
what is The Crown?
it is the British monarch and is apart of the system in government in Australia. King Charles cannot be present in Australia each time a bill is proposed so there are representatives appointed.
The Crown is represented by 6 governors at the state level and one governor-general at the commonwealth level
what is the role of the Crown?
- granting royal assent: after a bill has been debated and voted through both houses of parliament, the governor-general (or governor) will give approval
- withholding royal assent: the governor-general (or governor) has the authority torefuse royal assent , however this is rare.
- appointing the executive council: the executive council consists of the Prime Minister (or Premier), senior ministers, assistant ministers. their role is to give advice to the crown’s representative on matters such as whther to approve regulations
