Unit 4.1 - People and the Law Makers Flashcards
Victoria - Crown
Governor - King’s Representative
- Grant’s Royal Assent
Victoria Lower House - Legislative Assembly
- represent the people (88 seats)
- determine government (45/88) - most seats is the government
- initiate and make laws
- controls government spending (tax, money bills - only lower house)
- scrutinises government administration
Victoria Upper House - Legislative Council
- represent the regions (40 seats = 8 regions x 5 seats)
- house of reviews
- initiate bills (except money bills) and make laws
- committees - investigate law reforms and need for changes
Commonwealth - Crown
Governor General
- Grants Royal Assent
- Withholding royal assent
- appointing executive council + judges
Commonwealth Lower House - House of Representatives
- represent the people (151 seats) - 151 electorates, each electorate has 1 responsibility, legislation should reflect the views of the people
- determine the government (77/151) - party with the majority amount of seats forms government - minority government formed with the promise of votes from the cross-bench
- initiate and make laws - bills proposed must be passed by both houses to become law
- controls government spending (tax, money, bills)
- scrutinises government administration
- minimum 76 seats to pass a bill (labour has 77 seats)
Commonwealth Upper House - Senate
- represent the states (76 seats = 12/state and 2/territory)
- house of review - most bills initiated in the HOR, senate may pass, reject or amend bills back to the HOR.
- initiate bills and make laws
- scrutinise bills through the committee process - assess bills to determine their effect in rights, freedom, obligations and the rule of law.
senate committee - role
apart from conducting inquiries, committees may be required to perform any of the functions of the senate, including its primary legislative function of considering proposed laws, the scrutiny of the conduct of public administration and the consideration of policy issues
house committee - role
bills are initiated in the HOR because government ministers usually introduced bills that reflect government policy, and most ministers sit in the lower house. the main function of the HOR is to initiate new laws. takes a lot of time as processes of passing and debating bills.
joint committees
a parliamentary committee is a group of members of parliament who have been asked by the senate or HOR to investigate issues and bills - proposed laws - in details. Committees hold meetings called hearings in parliament house.
- group of senators or members - joint committee
house of representatives - strengths
- should reflect the views of the people (majority government - implement their political agenda)
- minority government - necessary to gain the support of the cross bench
house of representatives - weaknesses
- majority gov
- no real debate or discussion of bills as MPs vote along party lines
senate - strengths
- house of review
- hostile senate (upper law house - where the gov does not hold a majority in the senate)
senate - weaknesses
- rubber stamp senate - where government holds a majority in the senate - no debate of bills
royal assent
to make a new law or amend an old law, it must be agreed upon by both houses and the governor general - known as the royal assent. formally signs a bills into law and makes it an act of parliament
executive council
-the governor general formally heads the executive - outlined in the constitution
- acts on advice of ministers and prime minister
reserve powers
- holds some powers that are not listed in the constitution - does not need legislative approval to use them. includes the ability to dismiss a government or end a parliamentary session
structure - commonwealth and victorian government
the representative of the crown appointed on the advice of the prime minister
- largely ceremonial vote
division of constitutional law making powers - exclusive
- constitution: specific powers given to the commonwealth parliament
- can only be exercised by the Cth
- cannot be exercised by the states
- includes defence, currency, customs etc
division of constitutional law making powers - concurrent
- listed in the constitution: specific powers given to the Cth parliament
- can be exercised by both the Cth and state parliaments
- includes taxation, quarantine, marriage, bankruptcy, postal, telegraphic and similar services
division of constitutional law making powers - residual
- not listed in the constitution
- not listed in legislation
- can only be exercised by the states
- can’t be exercised by the Cth
- includes health, education, law and order, transport
definition of section 109
where there is an inconsistency between a state law and a commonwealth law, the commonwealth law will prevail and the state law will be declared invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.
how does s.109 operates as a restriction on the state parliaments’ law making powers?
- define s.109
- applies in relation to concurrent powers
- when passing laws in areas of concurrent powers, state parliament will recognise that their law - making powers are constrained when a commonwealth law already exist
limitations on the impact of s.109
- the state law will remain valid until it is challenged and declared invalid by the high court - someone must take the case to court and have standing for it to be declared invalid
- s.109 does not invalidate the whole of the state act, but only sections that are inconsistent with the cth act
- s.109 has no effect on the state’s residual powers.
bicameral parliament (cth)
both the commonwealth and victoria have a bicameral parliament which means they have 2 houses
bicameral parliament (cth) - strengths
- ensures detailed examination and debate of proposal laws, reducing the risk of poorly considered legislation
- ensuring a broader range of interests and perspectives in the legislative process
bicameral parliament (cth) - weaknesses
- the need for both houses to review and approve legislation can sometimes lead to excessive bureaucracy
international pressures
international pressures are demands or forces applied to parliaments to persuade them to make (or not make) laws to address matters of international concern
- climate change, criminal age, LGBTQ+, cyber issues
internation pressures - strengths
- can lead to the adoption of global practices that are the best and adherence to international standards, enhancing the nations governance and economic competitiveness
international pressures - weaknesses
such pressures can also undermine national sovereignty, leading to policies that may not align with domestic interests or priorities
representative nature of parliament
australia’s parliamentary system is expected to be representative of the people, meaning that both Cth and state levels, parliament and government consists of members who are elected by the people to make laws on their behalf
representative nature of parliament - strengths
- ensures that the views and needs of australia’s diverse population are voiced and considered in the legislative process
- elected representatives are accountable to their constituents, encouraging responses to local issues and concerns
representative number of parliament - weaknesses
- representatives may prioritise parties agenda over needs, leading to decisions that do not fully reflect public opinion: risk of disconnect from constituents, especially in large electorates
