unit 4 sac 4

Question 1

what is a petition

Answer 1

can relate to issues reflecting the whole community or a narrow part of the community, petitions presented to the Victorian Parliament must:

• be addressed to one of the houses of parliament
• relate to a matter within the law-making power of parliament
• state reasons for petition and the request of parliament to act
• be tabled in parliament by the member who received it

Question 2

strengths of petitions

Answer 2

• simple and inexpensive
• many signatures are more likely to be effective as they show greater community support
• gathering signatures can increase awareness of the issue and attract media attention

Question 3

weaknesses of petitions

Answer 3

• some people are reluctant to sign petitions
• smaller petitions do not succeed
• parliament is not obliged to act upon any of them
• most petitions do not gain public or media attention

Question 4

what are demonstrations

Answer 4

involves a group of people gathering to express support for a particular issue. The issue can often be supporting a change in a particular law.
- raise awareness of issues and can attract support and media coverage when well attendant

Question 5

strengths of demonstrations

Answer 5

• demonstrations that attract positive media attention can increase pressure to act on parliament
• raises awareness of an issue
• attraction of a lot of people increases pressure on parliament to act on it

Question 6

weaknesses of demonstrations

Answer 6

• if they are violent the negative media attention can lead to a lack of support
• hard to organise and hard to attract a lot of people
• little demonstrations are often ignored

Question 7

strengths of law reform on courts

Answer 7

• challenging an existing law can enable an unclear law to be clarified
• judges are independent and not subject to political pressure
• judges have the power to rule legislation as ultra vires
• if a court challenge is unsuccessful it may gain significant media coverage to increase awareness

Question 8

weaknesses of law reform on courts

Answer 8

• courts have to wait for a case to come before them and can only rule on the issues of that case
• judges decisions may not reflect community values
• parliament can abrogate common law

Question 9

individuals influencing law reform through the courts

Answer 9

individuals can take a matter to court if it covers tricky legal issues, such that the outcome of the dispute is unclear.

Question 10

traditional media

Answer 10

can be biased and can influence the public by printing certain articles, letters and images. it involves newspapers, television, radio.
it is not always unbiased as they can allocate their time presenting views consistent with those of the owners of the relevant media organisation.

Question 11

social media

Answer 11

through platforms such as facebook, twitter, sites such as Pinterest and blogs enabling people and groups to communicate quickly with a very large audience. views can be easily shared on law reform

Question 12

Victorian law reform commission

Answer 12

• important law reform body in Victoria established in 2001. it’s specific roles are:
  Inquiry - examines matters referred to it by Attorney General and makes recommendations for law reform
  Investigation - investigate minor areas of law reform without a referral from the AG and make recommendations on suggested law reform
  Monitoring - monitors and coordinates law reform activity in Victoria
  Education - runs educational programs to help inform the community about its work and about law reform

Question 13

medicinal cannabis example VLRC

Answer 13

• the VLRC investigated whether medicinal cannabis should be legalised for use in special circumstances. the VLRC held 9 community consultations and received 99 submissions before making 42 recommendations, 40 of which were accepted by the victorian parliament. an act to allow the use of medicinal cannabis in Victoria was passed in 2016

Question 14

strengths of VLRC

Answer 14

• VLRC recommendations more likely to be acted on
• independent of government and can get input direct from the community so it reflects community
• can investigate minor law reform without referral

Question 15

weaknesses of VLRC

Answer 15

• ability to investigate minor law reform is limited by its resources
• VLRC can only investigate major areas of law reform after receiving a referral from the AG

Question 16

royal commission and its ability to influence law reform

Answer 16

• RC are major public enquiries established by the government to investigate a topic of importance and can be established by the Queen’s representatives.