term 3 politics and law notes.docx

Social Sciences- Term 3 Politics and Law By Vrinda Dudeja 15.1- Key features of Australia's system of government Australia's system of government - A parliament is a group or assembly of people who have been elected by the people to make laws on their behalf - Once the parliament has be...

Social Sciences- Term 3 Politics and Law By Vrinda Dudeja 15.1- Key features of Australia's system of government Australia's system of government - A parliament is a group or assembly of people who have been elected by the people to make laws on their behalf - Once the parliament has been chosen, they must performs a variety of tasks including. making new laws and altering existing laws so they reflect the views and values of the majority of the people and benefit society discussing and debating matters that affect the voters examining problems that exist within society reviewing perceived injustices in the law. A federal system of government - This means that the nation is divided into states, each of which has its own parliament that is responsible for making laws for the residents of that state. - In addition, there is one central or federal parliament, which has the power to make laws that apply to the entire country. - In Australia, we have six state parliaments and one Commonwealth Parliament (often referred to as the federal parliament) which is in our nation's capital, Canberra. +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | 3 levels of government in | Example areas of law making | | Australia | | +===================================+===================================+ | Federal | - Currency | | | | | | - Defence | | | | | | - Marriage | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | State | - Education | | | | | | - Health services | | | | | | - water | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Local | - local infrastructure ( roads) | | | | | | - recreational areas ( pools) | | | | | | - age + child care | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ Notes - a constitutional monarchy is a system of government in where the reigning monarch is the head of state but there power is limited by a constitution. Australia is an example of a constitutional monarch, as the governor general is the representative of the Head of State, King Charles III. Separation of Powers Legislative - law making House of Reps, Senate and the Crown Executive - putting laws into place Governor General and Prime Minister Judicial - Judging the law - The only place to hear the place jurisdictional matters ( Barnaby Joyce ) **There must be a separation of powers, so each power division can keep each other in check.** **To avoid the concentration of power ( a place of power attempting to over rule the roles of power for other groups) legislate** **Legislative trying to over rule judicial** House of Representatives - Government is formed in the house of reps with the party which has absolute majority ( 50% and 1 ) xq - 151 seats, must win 76 seats - The prime minister must come from the House of Reps, because anybody can be elected. - You must win your seat to have a seat in the House of Reps by an electorate vote - Most bills and all money bills start in the house of reps - House of reps is based on the house of commons, from the Westminster system in England. - Preferential voting. People choose who they want to be represented in the House of Reps. - 3 year term Senate - Based on the house of Lords - Have 76 seats, 12 from each state, 2 from each territory - 6-year term- half senate elections every 3 years - Is known as the States house, as it shows equal representation from each state - Proportional representation must surpass the quota to win a seat. - House of review, the bills passed from the House of Reps (1^st^, 2^nd^, 3^rd^, committee consideration, more passing back and forward in both houses. Governor generals ascent is a signal of the bill being passed. - Members can sometimes be excused to not vote for what their party has decided to vote for. It is done in favour - You must follow party policy. - When the government also has a majority of members in the senate, it will be friendly towards the government. - Any legislation introduced by the government will be passed in the senate if there is a majority of members in both houses. - Hostile senate is when government does not have majority of members. Opposition has majority in senate, then debates can be held to analyse the bill. Notes **Federal and state got autonomous** - Federal system is a political arrangement where there is one central government that legislates for the whole country and several state or provincial governments that legislate in their own area. - **Residual powers** were areas that the colonies had control over prior to federation, and the states continued to control after Federation. leg environment, laws and order). - Aviation is a power of the commonwealth. - Power of the Commonwealth is found in the Constitution. - The commonwealth can legislate in that area as outlined in the constitution. - **Specific power** of the Commonwealth is both concurrent and exclusive -- both states the Commonwealth can legislate in (education, health and marriage) - Commonwealth law prevails to the extent of an inconsistency (section 109) - **Exclusive power** - only one Commonwealth. (e.g immigration, defence). - **Lobbyist** - organised group who impact gout policy from outside parliament - **Concurrent powers** are those specific areas of law-making power that are shared by both the Commonwealth and state parliaments. For example, both Commonwealth and the state parliaments can make laws in the areas of taxation, marriage, and census and statistics. - However, the in terms of conflict, Commonwealth law will prevail over state law. Principles of Australia's Government 1. governments must protect the rights and freedoms of individuals 2. governments must make laws that reflect the views and values of the people 3. governments must be accountable to the people 4. there must be separation of powers. There must be a separation of powers - Our governments must not abuse or make laws beyond their power. So this doesn't happen, there is a **separation of powers** - This ensures that no group or body ( government, the parliament and the courts) in parliament can have power over both political and legal systems. - 3 main powers at a federal level. These consist of executive power ( power to administer or implement the law, held by the GG), legislative power (the power to make the law, in parliament) and judicial power ( power to apply and interpret the law) - The 3 levels of power are separated so the duties of senior ministers and parliament is combined - However, the judicial system remains independent. The government and the parliament both have power to make and administer the laws, but only the courts can interpret and apply them - This system allows judges to solve disputes independently, without any bias. - Courts also act as a checking system, as they are kept separate from the other levels of power. A person can challenge a law made by parliament, which can be declared an invalid law, determined by an unbiased judge. - This is a key part of the principles of Australia's government. It keeps all levels of powers in check and does not allow a level of power to have all the strength. Governments must protect the rights and freedoms of the individual - Our system of government is a representative democracy. This means that it is a system that aims to protect the individual rights and freedoms and place limits on the level of government control and interference - Parliaments have the ability to make laws that regulate people's behaviour, they can't make laws which are excessively harsh or limit people's life - **We have laws that** - protect our broad right to freedom of speech - protect our basic right to freedom of assembly and expression - limit individuals from behaving in an offensive or indecent manner in public. Governments must make laws that reflect the views and values of the people - Parliament's must make laws that reflect the key views, values and moral standards of the people, called a **representative democracy** - We achieve this by holding regular and fair election, where the people can vote for individuals to represent them in parliament - If these elected members can not represent the views of their voters, they will not be re-elected - Federal parliament elections are held every 3 years and state every 4 years. - Australia is one of the only nations who has compulsory voting +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | for compulsory voting | Against compulsory voting | +===================================+===================================+ | - Helps ensure our parliaments | - Forces those who are | | have the support of the | uninterested to cast an | | majority of people, not just | ill-formed note | | those who voted | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | - May force candidates and | - Is a violation of individual | | political parties to consider | rights | | the needs of all society when | | | making policies | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ Governments must be accountable to the people - Australia's government must be responsible and accountable for their actions. They must be able to defend and justify there actions to their voters. - A way that governments are held accountable is through a process of parliamentary discussion time, where the public can ask questions about its policies and actions - Members of the public can also directly contact their member of parliament to questions about their policies and actions - The principle of responsibility also ensures that members who have been dishonest about their activities will voluntarily resigns, as they have not followed the principles of Australian Government. Notes **Legislature** - House of reps, senate and crown **Executive** - Prime minister and governor general *The governor general appoints justices to the high court.* **Unicameral** - There is only one house of parliament, the legislative assembly **Bicameral** - There are both houses, the senate and the house of reps. Indonesia vs Australia- Comparing Systems of Government A representative democratic republic - Indonesia became a republic in 1945 after claiming their freedom from the Dutch and Japanese - They are a **democratic republic,** meaning the people vote to determine government (head of state) rather than having a Crown or monarch 3 levels of government - 3 levels of government: **the national, provincial and district** (city level) - **National-** - Each level of government is elected by the people to make laws on their behalf, and elections are held once every 5 years on the same day - Having national and provincial voting on the same day makes the electoral process tough - Enrolment needs to be finalised and all ballot papers must be finalised. - 19700 seats were contested in the national and provincial and district parliament, with 6600 candidates standing in the national elections and 16,000 at provincial and district level. Structure of National Parliament - Indonesian parliament which is responsible for making laws that apply to the whole country is the **People's Consultative Assembly.** Similar to Australia's Commonwealth parliament - The lower house **peoples representative council (** often referred to the house of reps) consist of 560 seats - The upper house, **regional representative council** which has 132 seats. - It has 2 houses but differs form a bicameral system. A bill doesn't need to be passed by both houses. Final power is held in the peoples consultative assembly. - The political party that wins absolute majority ( 50% and 1) aka 280 seats also earns right to govern. Separation of Powers **National and Provincial Government ( legislative)** - They hold the power to make the law, and their elections are held every 5 years **President ( executive)** - They hold the power to administer or implement the law. They are head of the Indonesian government, held at presidential elections from the rest of the parliamentary elections. **Judges ( judiciary)** - They have the power to implement the law Social Cohesion The Australian Human Rights Commission defines social cohesion as the in the context of a society, **that works towards the wellbeing of all its members, fights exclusion and isolation of people, creates a sense of belonging for all members, it promotes trust and offers its members the chance to move upward in life, with better living standards and life stances.** Processes to Resolve Differences - Processes exist in Australia to help groups or individuals to resolve all problems and disputes - This can include the inclusion of legal aid and procedures, or a simple conversation between parties to settle an issue - A few processes might include the following, in both an informal and formal setting. - **Negotiation-** parties can get together and negotiate their issue, to solve their dispute and reach a settlement. - **Mediation-** this is when parties implement the use of a third party, who helps them reach a solution to their dispute, while allowing for all conditions from both parties to be met - **Reconciliation-** the process of renewing a friendship between parties, which usually requires forgiveness - All of these processes work together to safeguard social cohesion, because without it, people would often struggle to solve disputes. Without these processes, people would be forced to solve issues by themselves, creating a larger chance of more aggressive outcomes. People elect the government - Each of the state, territory, and federal parliaments throughout Australia is elected by the people to make laws on their behalf - Compulsory voting's aims to make sure that our governments have the support of the majority of the people and not just those who bother to vote - The Electoral Commission (AEC) is responsible for managing federal elections and maintaining the commonwealth electoral roll which lists the names and addresses of all eligible citizens who have enrolled to vote - The AEC must confirm that approximately 16 million people throughout Australia are able to cast their votes in secret and they must also check that the votes are honestly counted. - Citizens must vote once and every vote has the same value, regardless of who's it is. - The people electing the government helps in safeguarding Australia's in multiple ways. Having elected representatives helps to uphold Australia's democracy and encourage social cohesion as it means that laws made by representatives reflect the values of the population. Compulsory voting also ensures that election results reflect the opinion of the whole population. Governments uphold our shared values - parliaments and governments make and enforce laws that protect our shared values so that all citizens are treated with dignity, equality and mutual respect. - For example, our laws protect a range of rights that are important to society, including the right to: - **a fair trial and freedom from torture** - **life, liberty and security of person** - **working and living in a healthy environment** - **basic health care and education** - government also aim to provide structures, services and social welfare benefits such as aged pensions and unemployment benefits - this helps us to live in a cohesive society, where citizens cooperate and live together in a peaceful, inclusive and tolerant manner. The right to dissent - Individuals have the right to oppose or disagree with the views held by the government. - Also have the right to publicly express that disapproval in a lawful manner without fear of being censored or punished - Eg. The Australian law upholds the right to freedom of speech, press and protest - These freedoms give us the ability to debate political issues and openly express our view without fear of being punished - Although these rights are limited to a certain extent