2024 Politics and Law Notes PDF

**[2024 Politics and Law Notes]** [Democratic vs Non Democratic System] - Leaders are chosen through free, fair, and regular elections in democratic systems whereas leaders are chosen by inheritance, coup, or a selection party who seldom hosts elections in non-democratic systems. -...

**[2024 Politics and Law Notes]** [Democratic vs Non Democratic System] - Leaders are chosen through free, fair, and regular elections in democratic systems whereas leaders are chosen by inheritance, coup, or a selection party who seldom hosts elections in non-democratic systems. - Laws apply equally to all citizens in democratic systems, though law is often applied arbitrarily, and often to supress dissent in non-democratic systems - Freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion are protected in democratic systems, whereas non-democratic systems have limited or no freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion. - In democratic systems, the power of the government is often checked by the public and other branches of government, though in non-democratic systems, leaders often have unchecked or poor checks on power. - In democratic systems, multiple political parties and viewpoints are allowed and encouraged, whereas non-democratic systems often exhibit monopoly, where a single party or group controls the political landscape, suppressing the opposition. [Influences on the Constitution:] - The British Westminster System including the idea of responsible government. This includes the institutions and traditions. - The US Federal System - Canada's rather centralist Federation - Swisse Constitution. [What is a constitution?] - Constitutions provide the fundamental rules that set out the structure, power, processes, and procedures of government. - [Constitutional law] -- known as [superior law] \[cannot be changed by government or parliament\] -- can only be changed by the people through a referenda. - The commonwealth constitution has operated since the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901. - It established the framework of the main political institutions -- legislature, executive and judicature -- the relationships between them, and the powers of the Federal Parliament in relation to the states. [Features of a Constitution] - Geographic division of power \[what the state government can do versus the federal government\]. - Establish the institutions of government \[judicature, legislature, executive\]. - Set out processes and procedures of parliament. - Set out citizens' rights and responsibilities. - Establish a mode for constitutional change. [Parliament] - Parliament is the institution of government that is responsible for law making. Parliament is a legislative body of government responsible for making laws, debating important issues, and representing the interests of the public. - Section 1 of the constitution states that the parliament is made up of the king, the senate and the house of representatives. - The king must give Royal Assent to every law that is passed, which is why the king is part of the parliament. - In reality, the governor-general does this on the kings behalf. - The government always sits on the right hand side of the speaker. The speaker is a member of the government. [Three Main Functions of Parliament] 1. Legislation: Creating, debating, and passing laws. Parliament reviews proposals, makes amendments, and enacts laws that govern the country. 2. Representation: Representing the interests and concerns of citizens. Members of Parliament (MPs) voice the needs and opinions of their voters, ensuring the public\'s views are considered in decision-making. 3. Accountability: Holding the government accountable. Parliament scrutinizes government actions and decisions, ensuring transparency and preventing abuse of power through debates, questions, and committees. [Separation of Powers Doctrine] - The separation of powers is a fundamental principle in democracy that ensures the division of government responsibilities into different branches to prevent any one branch from gaining too much power. - These branches include the legislative branch, responsible for making laws \[the parliaments\] - The executive branch who enforces and executes laws \[the prime minister, governor general and cabinet ministers.\] - The judicial branch who interprets laws and ensures they are applied fairly. \[The courts\] - This enforces a balance of power and accountability and prevents abuses of power. [The Rule of Law] - The rule of law ensures that all individuals and institutions, including the government, are subject to and accountable under the law. - Everyone is equal in eyes of the law, with no one above it. - Government officials and citizens are accountable to the same laws. - Laws are enforced consistently with no bias. [Australia as a Constitutional Monarchy] - Australia is a constitutional monarchy because we were colonised by the British, and their political system heavily influenced ours, as they were a constitutional monarchy - We are a constitutional monarchy because we are in the commonwealth, under the British monarch \[king or queen\] and are also governed by a constitution. [Australia as a Representative Democracy] - Australia is a representative democracy as we have individuals whom we elect make decisions on our behalf. Direct democracy, where everyone citizen votes on every issue, is simply impractical. - Political parties are formed with certain ideologies, and citizens will vote for the party who's ideology best represents theirs. [The Westminster System] - Originated in the UK and is used in several commonwealth countries - It revolves around two houses -- an elected lower house \[house of reps\] and an appointed upper house \[senate\]. - The head of government is the prime minister, and is the leader of the majority party in the lower house. - The executive branch is accountable to the legislature - Regular sessions, known as question time, is where government ministers are questioned by members of parliament, promoting accountability. - Often includes a monarch as the head of state and a governor general who represents the monarch in Australia. - Bills are proposed, debated, and passed both houses of parliament before receiving the governor generals royal assent before becoming legislature. - Dominated by political parties. [Federalism In Australia] - Federalism is a system of government where power is divided between a central authority and individual political units, like states. This allows each level to operate independently in certain areas, ensuring a balance of power. - In Australia, we have federal, state, and local governments. - States handle issues such as education and health, federal governments manage national matters like defence and trade and foreign policy. - Some powers are shared between federal and state governments, and the high court is there to resolve any arising disputes. [3 Definitions of Executive] - Constitutional definition: The constitution defines executive as 'the executive power of the commonwealth is invested in the queen and exercisable by the governor-general.' - Administrative definition: the executive as the administrative machinery that runs the daily operations of the government, such as public service departments and agencies who execute government policy. - The political definition, who are the elected or appointed officials who have the authority to make decisions and set policies, such as the prime minister and cabinet. [Role of the Australian Public Service] - The APS is made up of professionals who work behind the scenes to ensure that the government runs smoothly and efficiently. - The APS is responsible for delivering government services to the public such as health, education and welfare services. - The provide informed advice to the government on policy decisions. - They enforce laws and regulations - They support government ministers in their duties [Reserve Powers of the Governor General] - The governor general holds several reserve powers which are exercised in exceptional circumstances. These powers re not defined in the constitution but are derived from the authority of the British monarch. - If an election has no clear majority, the governor-general can appoint a prime minister. - If the prime minister loses the support of the majority in the house of reps, the governor general can dismiss them. - The governor general can refuse a prime minister's request to call an election - The governor-general can dismiss a prime minister should they break the law. [1975 Crisis -- Conventions Broken] - The senate, controlled by the opposition \[liberal\] blocked the government's budget which was a significant departure from the convention that the senate should not block supply. - State governments broke the convention of filling senate vacancies with members of the same party. Many labour senators were unable to fulfil their duties for just reasons such as death, and they were replaced by Liberal Senators. - The governor-general Sir John Kerr broke the convention of acting on the advice of the prime minister when dismissing Gough Whitlam with the only consultation being the opposition leader, and the chief justice. [1975 Crisis -- Main Aspects] - Prior to the crisis was a Labor drought of over twenty years, and in the election of '72, Gough Whitlam won, promising extensive reforms - Gough spent lots of money too quickly, and a few labour senators left, and the Liberal party replaced them with Liberal senators, giving them a majority in the senate - Because of their senate majority, the Libs refused to pass Labour's budget, leading to a deadlock. - Sir John Kerr, governor general, used his reserve powers to dismiss the Prime minister as he believed it was an emergency situation. He only consulted with the opposition leader and the chief justice. [The High Court -- Roles And Functions] - The High Court interprets the constitution and ensures it is upheld, resolving disputes about its meaning. - The High Court keeps the constitution relevant through describing some of the commonwealth's law making powers as broad, so that the commonwealth would have the power to make laws inn areas not existing at the time. - It reviews laws and actions by federal and state governments to ensure they are constitutionally valid. - The High Court is the highest appellate court in Australia, hearing appeals from lower courts and delivering final judgements. - The high court sets precedents. [The High Court -- Original and Appellate Jurisdiction] - Original jurisdiction refers to a courts power to hear and decide a case for the first time, as opposed to reviewing a decision made by a lower court. - Original jurisdiction of the high court includes cases revolving around the interpretation of the constitution, federal disputes, and international issues. - Appellate jurisdiction refers to a court's authority to review and decide on appeals from a lower court decision. - The high court hears appeals from decisions of the federal court, family court, the state and territory supreme courts, and not all cases can be appealed to the high court. [House of Representatives] - Lower House - Also called the people's house or the house of government - The prime minister must come from this house - The party that wins a majority of seats wins government - 151 seats -- 76 needed to form government - Second largest party in this house is the opposition - MHR's serve three year terms. [Senate] - Upper house - Also known as the senate and the house of review. - Minor parties and independents control the crossbench. - 76 seats -- all states have 12 senators with 2 from each territory - Senators serve 6 year terms. [Australia's Commonwealth Parliament] - The Westminster system stated that each parliament consisted of an upper house and a lower house, and the reigning English monarch or 'crown.' - The commonwealth parliament was formed in 1901 to prevent constraints on inter-colony trade and defence concerns. - The central parliament was to be given the power to make laws relating to defence, currency, post, overseas matters, immigration, and trade. [The Executive] - The role of the executive branch is to put the laws made by parliament into effect. - Constitutional executive is the king and the governor general. - The political executive is the prime minister and all ministers of the government. - The administrative executive is the Australian public service. - The prime minister is the leader of the Australian government -- the Pm is the leader of the parliamentary party, or coalition of parties, that have the support of the majority of members in the house of representatives. - The prime minister can -- select ministers, chairs cabinet, set parliamentary agenda, makes prominent appointments, able to set date for elections, access to advisors and public servants, access to media, and powers of political patronage. [The Judiciary] - The separation of powers is separating government into three branches so power is distributed more evenly and allows for better decision making. It prevents one single branch from taking full power and allows for checks on power. - We are a federal system -- state parliaments and a federal parliament. - It also means we have state and federal courts. - Courts have two primary roles -- to interpret the laws made by parliament, and to dispute resolution. - Because society is so complex, many different types of disputed arise. We have created specific courts to deal with specific types of disputes. [The Tasmanian Dams Case Details] - In nineteen-eighty two, a liberal government was elected to Tasmania \[Premier Robin Gray\] with a mandate to dam the Franklin river. - A labour government was elected in Canberra \[Bob Hawke\] in eighty-three, who were against the dam, though rivers are a state and not federal issue. - Hawke placed the Franklin river on the world properties heritage list, which Hawke believed invoked a section in the constitution giving the commonwealth to have power to legislate over external affairs, though the Tasmanian Government disagreed. - A high court case was held, in which the commonwealth prevailed 4-3. [The Tasmanian Dams Case Significance] - This broad interpretation of external affairs now meant that the commonwealth could place anything on international treaty and they have control of it. - They expanded the powers of the commonwealth relative to the powers of state governments - It was the beginning of environmental politics in Australia.