19.1
What is representative democracy?
Representative democracy mean, the people vote at elections for representatives to become members of the parliament. Once in parliament, these members make decisions and laws on behalf of the Australian people.
State the three branches of the Government and explain their duties.
1. Legislature (which has the power to make the law)
2. Executive (which has the power to administer the law)
3. Judiciary (which has the power to apply the law)
Explain the meanings of electorate and bill.
• Electorate is a geographical area represented by members of parliament that has approximately the same number of votes.
• Bill is a proposed law thta has not been passed by both houses of parliament.
Define Constituents and their role in a democracy.
The constituents are people living in an area who have elected someone to act as a political representative.
In a democracy it is the role of the constituents to contact their elected representatives to ensure that they understand the concerns of the people they represent.
What is meant by precendent.
It is a previous case or example that is used as a guide for decsion making when similar circumstances arise.
State 5 powers the Commonwealth Parliament was given to make laws on?
2. Currency
3. Postal Services
4. Trade
5. Immigration
What is the role of the House of Representatives.
The HOS is made up of 150 parliament (MPs), each representing one of Australia's federal electorates.
Most members elected to parliament will belong to a political party.
State 5 fundamental freedoms an give exmaples for each.
1. Freedom of speech
2. Freedom of association
3. Freedom of assembly
4. Freedom of religion
5. Freedom of movement
What are the requirements of a person to be able to stand for election to parliment.
1. Atleat 18 yrs old
2. an Autralian citizen
3. Eligible to vote(being of sound mind,not convicted of certain crimes such as treason)
What is meant by Referendum.
A national Vote where all eligible citizens vote to change the wording of the constituition.
State 5 powers the State Parliament (Colonial Parliament) was given to make laws on?
1. Roads
2. Public Transport
3. Education
4. Water
5. Law Enforcement
Who is the leader of the Opposition and what is their role?
The leader of the party that has the second largest number of seats but has not yet gained a Majority in the HOR is the leader of the opostion. The role of the opposition is to hold the government accountable for thier actions.
What is the bounds of the law? explain and give example.
This means that we cannot break the law to expres our freedoms of speech,assembly,religion or movement.
(It is allowed to assemble and protest but if its not peaceful and becomes violent it is no longer a legal activity)
What is meant by lobby groups.State the two main types of lobby groups and thier purposes with examples.
Lobbying (Interest groups) is making requests to politicians or public groups to try to influence the government to chnage the law.
• Insider lobby groups - works with politicians directly (The Australian christian lobby)
• Outsider lobby groups - harness community support to pressure the government on particular issues. (School strike for climate)
How many federal courts are there and name each court.
How many official courts are there in Victoria and name each court.
There are three federal courts.
1. High Court of Australia
2. The Federal Court of Australia
3. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
There is three official state courts
1. Supreme court
2. Country court
3. Magistrates Court
What is the Australian Constitution?
A document that describes the rules or laws that govern Australia. The Constitution defines the structure of the government in Australia, and also the rights of citizens.
Describe the Governor-General and their role.
•The Governer-General is the monarch's representative in the federal parliament
Roles
• Constituitional duties (Granting Royal assent)
• Ceremonial duties (Hosting dignitaries)
• Community Engagement
• Commander in chief of Australian defence force
What is the alternative term for Direct action and list three way to raise awareness through direct action.
• Non violent resistance
1. Protesting
2. Boycotting
3. Going on Strike
What are the two ways the laws are made in Australia and define each term.
• Statue Law - Is made and passed by Parliament
• Common Law - Is created by Judges and is based on the precedents they set when deciding a case.
What is the Westminster System?
The Westminster parliamentary system: a British parliamentary system upon which Australian parliamentary system is modelled. It includes a head of state, an elected parliament and a government formed by the political party with the majority support in the lower house of Parliament;
Difference between Parliament and Government.
The Government is the party(coalition) that has majority of the seats in the HOR(The lower house).
The parliment is the all the members who are elected to both houses of the parliment as well as the Governer-General
Name the First and Second most powerful types of laws and the least powerful law in Australia with reason.
1. Australian Constituition (becuase it can only be changed by the agreement of the citizens of Autralia through the process of referendum)
2. Statute law (As it can only be created or chnaged after processing through parliament)
3. Common Law (As it can only be changed by the parliament)