The Washminster's Three Arms Of Government

579 Words3 Pages
Australia consists of six states 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 in government to prevent anyone from abusing their powers. The three arms are recognized for their different roles in government. The judiciary which comprises of the High Court and other federal courts has the power to make judgments on law based on precedent, or whether a specific law is applicable to a certain case. The Executive Government which comprises of the Queen, Prime minister and ministers has the power to enforce the law which is written by the legislature and deciphered by the Judiciary. The Parliament which is made up of the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives possesses the power to make…show more content…
An example of this is: the Prime Minister and ministers are part of the Executive and the Parliament. The Governor-General who can act on behalf of the Queen but not the government as is stated in Section 61 of the Constitution has the power to assign High Court Judges, the Prime Minister and ministers into Government who are all part of the Parliament and the Executive. The discrepancies between the Australian Governmental system and the American Federal Government is clear because in the US no member of any branch of government whether it’s the legislative, executive or judicial are able to simultaneously be a representative of one of the other

    More about The Washminster's Three Arms Of Government

      Open Document