Federal parliament Introduction The federal parliament is the parliament responsible for making and altering laws, representing the Australian people, scrutinises the work of the government and it provides a place where the government is formed. The federal parliament consists of the Governor General (representing the queen), the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 156 representatives in the House of Representative; each representing the 150 electorates. There are 76 senators, 12 from
that abide by their own parliaments, constitutions and laws. These six colonies formed the Commonwealth. The Australian constitution which correlated both the American notion of federalism and the British notion of responsible government (informally phrased as “Washminster”) created the federal Government by separating the Executive Government, Parliament and the Judiciary (otherwise known as ‘the three arms of government’.) The three arms were created to balance the power between individuals or branches
The Australian Constitution is a ‘higher law’ in which it is documented and detailed what powers are possessed by the arms of government, that is the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. However, the Australian Constitution also acts to limit the overall power of government so as to protect the interests of people governed by Australian law. The most express approach that power is distributed by the Constitution is dictated within the document’s Sections. The powers of the legislature (or
Australian and United States Constitution. 1. Introduction: This report focuses on the differences and similarities of constitution of Australian and United State, the history of both the United States and Australian constitution and the processes that took place to come up with a final document. A constitution is the legal document of how Australia is governed and can only be changed by a referendum, a national vote to change. 2. Australian Constitution: The Constitution of Australia was first
Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians: Avenues Toward Unity A. Introduction Indigenous culture is central to Australia’s national identity, and is fundamental in more than forty thousand years of Australian history. But even today Indigeous Australians are not formally recognised within the Constitution, Australia’s most important legal document, outside of discriminatory references. The two main sections of contention within the Constitution are the race power (s 51(xxvi)) and the provision
In this essay, I will discuss my understanding of Liberal Democracy and how the Australian political system fits in to this particular type system. I will also give some examples on Australia liberal democracy attempts to enhance people’s well-being. Liberal democracy is a political system with liberal conceptions about the rights of individuals and the market-based mechanisms for economic production and distribution in which democratically based institution of governance. (Parkin, 2002, p297) Democracy
Introduction The Constitution is the fundamental law of a country and stipulates the basic tasks and fundamental system of a country, which can be defined as the social system, principles of the state system, the organisation of the state power and the basic rights and obligations of the citizens. The constitution is the general constitution of a large, coercive political organisation. In modern society, the constitution is regarded as the basic norms that all government agencies and members of
The power to make and manage federal law in Australia is divided between three largely separate groups, based on the principle of the separation of powers doctrine. Although the constitution appears to adhere to the doctrine of separation of powers by separating the legislative, the executive and the judiciary, in reality the legislative and executive overlap in many areas, meaning only the judiciary is truly separate. This is in accordance with the notion of responsible government, where checks
1902, the year that all Australians know as the year our lives changed for ever! In 1902, Australia joined many countries including, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland and Newfoundland in the Commonwealth Franchise Act. This act was significant to shaping Australian life today because it shaped the Australia that we know and love today. The migrated British convicts were sent to Australia as punishment, this became instrumental to the new land of Australia as they brought different
The Australian federal system is a modern and democratic one in that power is shared among a number of govts. The nation is divided into states which have their own parliaments. These parliaments are responsible for certain areas such as transport, power, water, and education. One of the principles the constitution was written on was that the states would retain their existing power, and ability to govern their own people, the federal Government was meant to play a smaller role than it does today