Law, Governance and Social Progress

• The legislative arm (Parliament) creates laws, called acts, from draft bills.
• The executive (Government) enforces laws.
• The judiciary (Courts and judges) resolves disputes.
• Parliament is the main forum for law-making and changing, reflecting social needs and protecting rights.
• Parliament represents people, debates laws, ensures fair decisions, and can change old laws.

Social Progress

• Social progress involves improving basic human needs, enhancing quality of life, and fostering good health and education.
• Anti-discrimination laws and equal access to education can help achieve social cohesion.
• Vaping, cyber safety, and environmental laws contribute to social progress.
• Laws achieve social progress by reducing societal conflict, protecting individual rights, ensuring fairness and equality, and promoting safety by preventing crime.
• Examples of laws facilitating social progress relate to health, education, and the environment, like the Education Act, SACE Board Act, and Plain Packaging Act.

What are Laws?

• Laws are legal rules applied to everyone within a community.
• Laws reflect economic, political, moral, and social values.
• Examples of values reflected in laws include those concerning stealing, voting/protesting, religion, and assault.
• Laws reflect community values (e.g., caring for the environment), political values (e.g., the right to vote), economic values (e.g., preventing stealing), and moral values (e.g., freedom of religion).
• Laws establish acceptable standards of behavior (e.g., stopping in case of an accident) and resolve disputes through police and courts.
• Laws provide for change, such as those regulating discrimination, same-sex marriage, AI usage, and privacy.
• The separation of powers involves the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Main Functions of Legislation

• Democratic Function: Party with the majority forms government.
• Legislative Function: Passing bills which become acts.
• Supply: Passing supply bills to finance government budget.
• Scrutinize: Ministers are held accountable through question time and debate.
• Ministers have parliamentary privilege but the speaker can control proceedings.
• The Senate cannot initiate money bills.

Executive Government Power

• The executive government controls decision-making, manages budgets, and controls the police force and government departments.
• The Senate's bias and weaknesses, judicial checks, public opinion, and influence on media can limit the executive's power.

Rule of Law

• The independence of the judiciary was inherited from the British Westminster system.
• Convention is unwritten rules and processes for running the government.
• The Rule of Law includes constitutional supremacy, equality before the law, natural justice, independence of the judiciary, and fair trials.
• The Dietrich case (1992) established the right to legal representation.
• Australian parliaments facilitate the rule of law by making laws consistent with constitutional powers, assisting the democratic process, and protecting fundamental human rights.
• Courts facilitate the rule of law through the High Court, resolving constitutional disputes.

Government Institutions and Their Roles

• Elections are held where citizens vote for members of parliament ensuring equality before the law ("1 vote, 1 value").

Constitutional Rules

• Constitutional rules and conventions dictate how a government is formed in the Commonwealth.
• The 'chain of accountability' ensures executive actions align with the rule of law, where each government department head is responsible to their minister.

Representative vs. Responsible Government

• A representative government involves elected members making decisions and passing laws, while a responsible government involves the executive deciding policies and enforcing laws through parliamentary processes.

Constitutional Government

• Constitutional government involves defense, immigration, transport, industrial relations, and a common national culture.

1901 Key Date

• Australia became part of the Commonwealth in 1901.

Models for the Australian Constitution

• The models include England's systems of responsible and representative government, separation of powers, constitutional monarchy, and parliamentary sovereignty.
• The models also include the USA's federalism and parliamentary houses.
• Structure of the constitution.

Federation Movement

• Political cartoons indicate that protecting Australia from perceived threats motivated the movement towards federation.
• Disagreements existed on handling immigration laws, and each state having its own laws made uniting difficult.
• Larger colonies, like NSW, wanted more power and control.
• Cartoons are limited as they may be biased and not fully represent the opinions on Federation during that time.

Structure of the Constitution

• The constitution has 8 chapters, with chapters 1-3 covering the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
• Four key sections: Section 51 (division of powers), Section 64 (reserve powers of the Governor-General), Section 109 (inconsistency rule), and Section 128 (right to referendum).

Functions of the Constitution

• Established Australia as a constitutional monarchy, created a nation, and provided human rights.
• Established High Court, provides for alteration of constitution via referendum.
• Colonies became states, division of powers between commonwealth and states.
• Regarding the transfer of power, referendums protect state powers, and Section 51 allows referral of power.

State Powers

• The Australian constitution preserves state powers through sections 106, 107, and 108, ensuring states are self-governing within their own areas.
• Section 119 obligates the Commonwealth to protect states from invasion and domestic violence.
• Section 99 specifies that the federal government cannot favor states.

Explicit vs. Implicit Rights

• Explicit rights are written in the constitution (e.g., human rights, religion).
• Implied rights are created by the high court when interpreting the constitution (e.g., the Dietrich case—right to legal representation).

Section 128

• Describes the method of changing the constitution via referendum.
• A referendum requires a majority of votes and a majority of states to succeed (double majority).
• The process includes public consultation, debate, and approval by both houses of parliament.
• Lack of success results from difficulty achieving a double majority, conservation of the public, lack of bipartisan support, and fear of intrusion into state powers.

Treaty Making Process

• Treaty making involves signing (agreeing to the proposal), ratifying (agreeing to act on it), and including the proposal in domestic law via legislation.

ASTSIC Rights

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community (ASTIC) rights were recognized by the 1967 referendum, repealing section 127 (words other than Aboriginal race, section 51).

Residual vs. Commonwealth Power

• Impacts of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches:
  • L: Federal: racial discrimination ACT, Racial Hatred ACT
  • SA: Equal opportunity, racial vilification ACT
  • Signing of treaties ad UN conventions, Royal commissions Eg; death in custody, national apology 2008
  • Koo Warta, Mabo 1 and 2, Wik Case - co existence of native title with pastoral leases.