Unit 3 AOS 2 (Part B)

Question 1

How are our rights protected in Australia?

Answer 1

In Australia, our rights are protected by both the structure of our parliamentary system and our express and implied rights.

Question 2

What is meant by structural protection?

Answer 2

Our parliamentary systems structure protects our rights in three ways
-Separation of powers
Separates our government into three branches executive, legislative and judiciary. These
-responsible government
-representative government

Question 3

What are our express rights?

Answer 3

Aka: entrenched right
This refers to rights explicitly outlined in the commonwealth constitution.These rights are heavily protected as they can only be altered by the process of a referndum as outlined in section 128. These include:
-Freedom of religion (S116)
-No discrimination between states (s117)
-Free interstate trade and commerce (S92)
-Acquisition of property on just terms (S51)
-Trial by jury for commonwealth offences (S80)

Question 4

What is meant by an implied right?

Answer 4

Implied rights are rights which are not explicitly expressed in the constitution, but are decided to be implicitly protected by other segments of the constitution through a high court interpretation.
In Australia, we only have one implied right: “The right to freedom of communication on political matters” as discovered in the Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth case of 1992