Unit 3

Question 1

what is the meaning of democracy

Answer 1

the voice of the people, everyone has a say in the outcome of a vote/election.

Question 2

what is a representative government

Answer 2

a government that you choose to represent you by voting

Question 3

what is the rule of law, and three aspects of it

Answer 3

system used by the Australian government

aspects include
- the law is accessible and known
- presumption of innocence
- independent and impartial jury
- laws are made open and transparent
- fair and prompt trials
- the separation of powers (legislature, judiciary and executive)
- people can only be punished in accordance with the law
- the law is open to criticism

Question 4

what is a responsible government

Answer 4

a government that does the right tine and doesn’t offer empty promises for more votes.

Question 5

how is a responsible government different to a Populus goverment

Answer 5

Populus government do what people want, whereas responsible governments do what is right over what people want

Question 6

describe the Australian Constitution

Answer 6

its creation allowed Australia to become a political and legal entity on the 1st January 1901. It is the founding and most important law in Australia.

Question 7

what does S51 if the constitution say

Answer 7

refers to the exclusive powers (those held by the federal government)

Question 8

what is the definition of residual powers

Answer 8

the powers that are not mentioned under S51 of the constitution, those possessed by the state rather than federal government.

Question 9

what are some examples of residual powers

Answer 9

• education
• health
• roads

Question 10

what does S109 of the constitution mean

Answer 10

it answers for when there is an argument between the federal and state governments regarding a legal issue, and how the federal government wins over the state governments.

Question 11

what is S128

Answer 11

section of the constitution that manages changes to the constitution. stipulates that there must be a double majority, a majority of votes from the people and majority of votes from the states of Australia.

Question 12

what is the separation of powers

Answer 12

the separation of the powers of the legislature, executive and judiciary

Question 13

what do the legislature do

Answer 13

the form laws

Question 14

that do the executive do

Answer 14

they carry out laws, and are the cabinet ministers

Question 15

what do the judiciary do

Answer 15

they interpret and make judgements on laws

Question 16

what are concurrent powers

Answer 16

powers that are held by both the state and federal governments, e.g. health

Question 17

what is a double dissolution

Answer 17

when both houses are dissolved by the governor general, which happened to the government led by Whitlam in 1975.

Question 18

what is a joint sitting

Answer 18

a meeting between bot houses of parliament to resolve an issue or talk on an issue.

Question 19

what is a unicameral system.

Answer 19

means one house

positives include:
- more representative
- not complicated or expensive

negatives
- no house of review
- prone to corruption

Question 20

what is a bicameral system

Answer 20

means two houses

positives
- has a house of review (way of making sure people don’t stuff up - senate
- it works

negatives
- more complicated
- not truly democratic (12 senators per state, no matter how small or large it is)
- complicated and expensive

Question 21

what are bureaucratic procedures

Answer 21

people do what they should when employed by the government of government agencies.

Question 22

what is the high court

Answer 22

primarily adjudicate constitutional matters. also deals with appeals. very occasionally deals with criminal matters.

Question 23

local government

Answer 23

one of the three levels of government. not mentioned in the constitution. local government act describes this power

Question 24

what are the three arms of government

Answer 24

same as the separation of powers, legislature, executive and judiciary

Question 25

what are the three levels of government

Answer 25

three levels are federal state and local governments

Question 27

what is the division of powers

Answer 27

exclusive, concurrent and residual powers.

Question 28

what is a single majority and some aspects of it

Answer 28

when a house only controls the majority of seats in the house of reps, but not the senate. positives - the parties have to negotiate with each other more - promotes responsibility because of this negatives - laws get passed slower or not at all because the houses don't always agree.

Question 29

what is a double majority, and pros and cons of this

Answer 29

a double majority is when both houses are controlled by one political party. pros - laws get passed almost immediately cons - no negotiation - bills always get passed no matter what

Question 30

what is a minority government

Answer 30

when a party doesn't have the number of seats outright, but they win government by having rotes from the cross benches. cross benches are incredibly important in this instance, and negotiations are promoted because of this.

Question 31

what is a bill

Answer 31

a formulation of idea for a law when it it first introduced into the lower house of parliament

Question 32

what is an act

Answer 32

a law after the bill for that law has been passed in both houses

Question 33

what is a division

Answer 33

the votes that take place during the passage of a bill

Question 34

what is a royal asscent

Answer 34

when the governor general sings off on the bill on behalf of the king, turning it into an act

Question 35

what are the 2 types of precedent, describe

Answer 35

1. binding precedent, exactly the same a provides a outline for what the outcome will be 2. persuasive, has aspects that are similar aspects, but is not exactly the same as the current case.

Question 36

describe the governor general

Answer 36

- kings representative in Australia. - can get involved in bills

Question 37

pros and cons of government as a law making body

Answer 37

pros - promotes debate - everyone's views are expressed - representative - negotiation/feedback (responsible) - opposition holds government accountable cons - government always wins, opposition always looses - inefficient (time and money consuming) - senate not democratically representative

Question 38

why is the senate not democratically representative

Answer 38

because there are 12 senators per state, no matter the size, so smaller states like TAS have more sway compared to larger states like WA

Question 39

outline Mabo V Queensland (No. 2)

Answer 39

- recognized native title rites - inserted native title into Australian law, and the fact that Indigenous people have been present is Australia for thousands of years before colonization - created a way for Indigenous people to claim traditional, land, and compensation rights - challenged the British's concept of land ownership, and that the sovereign abolished pre-existing rights

Question 40

Wik Peoples v Queensland

Answer 40

- statutory leases not extinguishing native title rights - follows Mabo - was first voted in favour of Queensland, but was appealed, and was decided in favour of the Wik people. - granting a lease does not extinguish any native title rights

Question 41

New South Wales v. Commonwealth (2006)

Answer 41

- WorkChoices legislation was a valid exercise of federal legislative power under the constitution - plaintiffs argued that the legislation was constitutionally invalid, as not supported by the heads of power - ruled in favour of the commonwealth, commonwealth was valid and did not interfere with the state powers - sought to change the employer-employee relationship

Question 42

Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd

Answer 42

- case against copyright theft - claimed that iiNet was authorizing copyright infringements by not preventing piracy - plaintiffs argued that it was failing to enforce its used agreements - case was found in favour of iiNet - iiNet was not responsible for dealing with people pirating. iiNet was not the means on infringement, an did not have the relevant power to prevent unlawful downloads.

Question 43

R v. Bayliss & Cullen (1986)

Answer 43

- Set a precedent for abortion - Cullen and Bayliss were charged with unlawfully using force to a woman with the intent to procure her miscarriage - They were found not guilty Interpretation of section 282 of the criminal code - performing an abortion was not a criminal offence if not doing so threatened the mother's physical or mental health

Question 44

Al Masri v. Minister for Immigration & Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (2002)

Answer 44

- Examined the legality of continued or indefinite detention of an asylum seeker

Question 45

Deitric v queen

Answer 45

- Had 70 grams of heroin and got busted - Not guilty unless you are found guilty under a court of law - He was not given the appropriate legal representation, and as such, he did not get his right to a fair trial which means that you aren't guilty. He walked free

Question 46

Fitzgerald Inquiry

Answer 46

- Investigation conducted in Queensland from 1987-1988 - Primarily focused on widespread corruption withing the Queensland police force and government officials - Prompted by media reports and allegations into police corruption and involvement in illegal activities, including prostitution and gambling. - Led to significant reforms in Queensland, exposed high profile officials - Resulted in a new emphasis on accountability, transparency and anti-corruption measures within Queensland.

Question 47

Kevin and Jennifer v Attorney-General for the commonwealth (2001)

Answer 47

- Addressed the legal recognition of gender identity in marriage - Kevin was a transgender man who wanted to marry Jennifer, and sought confirmation that his marriage was valid under Australian law. - The Family Court ruled in favour of Kevin, that gender should be determined at the time of marriage based on a persons lived gender, not their gender at birth - Landmark case for transgender rights Set a precedent for legally recognising gender transition in marital law.