Term 4 Civics and Citizenship
Civics is the study of rights and responsibilities of citizens within a society or country
Key Terms
Democracy
Democratic Values
The Westminster System
Justice
Participation
Rights and Responsibilities
A democracy is a system of government in which the people have the power to determine how they will be ruled or managed. In most democratic societies, citizens are involved electing parliamentarians to represent their views.
Democratic values are the beliefs and ideals that are held by our society as a democracy. Such values include respect, equality, fairness and freedom
Australia’s system of government is based on the Westminster system. The Westminster system is a form of parliamentary government originating in the United Kingdom.
The concept of justice can have many different definitions. The idea of justice can mean different things to different people depending on their nationality, culture and values.
The concept of participation is an important part of living in a democracy. It refers to the way good citizens contribute or take part in society
The concept of rights and responsibilities refers to our entitlements and duties as citizens. The rights and responsibilities we experience in Australia are an important part of living in a democracy
Direct Democracy
Representative Democracy
Where we elect someone to represent us
Australia is an example
Where we represent ourselves
Switzerland is an example
Australian Political Parties
The Federal Voting System
The Court System
Liberal
Labor
Established October 16th 1944
Established May 8th 1901
Established by Robert Menzies
Established by Anderson Dawson
He believed the time was right for a new political force in Australia
There was a demand for a new political party to represent the working class
Their main aims are lower taxes, backing small businesses, helping with the cost of living, better transport, and infrastructure
They believe in strong national government role, all people are equal in their entitlement to dignity and respect, and should have an equal chance to achieve their potential, government has a critical role in ensuring fairness by ensuring equal opportunity removing unjustifiable discrimination and achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth income and status
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Ways both Labor and Liberal communicate to/with the public
Newspaper
Social Media
TV Ads
Australia uses the preferential voting system
This is where voters mark a preference for every single candidate on the ballot paper
If you don't mark every candidate, it doesn't count and wont go towards the end outcome of the vote
In order to win, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes, which is half of the votes plus one
If a candidate receives the majority of the first preferences, they are elected straight away
If not, then the candidate with the fewest first preferences is eliminated and the second preferences on those ballot papers for that candidate are distributed to the other candidates
If there is still no clear winner, the next candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated and their preferences are distributed
Legal and non-legal rules
Non-legal rules are rules that apply to a small specific group of people
Legal rules are laws and apply to everyone
For example: schools can require students to wear a uniform and not have obvious body piercing
For example: it is against the law to murder someone
How laws are made
In Australia, laws can be made by a number of different bodies or organizations. For example, Commonwealth, state and territory parliaments can make laws, as well as other bodies such as local councils and court judges.
In parliament
Most laws in Australia are made by parliaments.
A parliament is a group of people elected by the majority of society to make laws on their behalf
Laws made by parliament are referred to as legislation, statutes, or Acts
In Australia, we have two levels of parliament – Commonwealth and state/territory
The Commonwealth Parliament, located in Canberra, makes laws that apply to the whole of Australia, while each state and territory also has its own elected parliament to make laws for that specific state or territory.
In court
Judges in higher courts, such as the state Supreme Courts and the High Court of Australia, can also make laws on occasion
In simple terms, sometimes when a judge makes a decision to resolve a dispute, the reasoning behind their decision creates a legal principle or law that must be followed by judges in other courts when a similar case arises
Law made by judges is known as common law, which will be examined in more detail later.
Law types
Civil law
Criminal law
This is when the defendant brings the case
This is when the police bring the case to the court
e.g 'Strong v Woolworths' case
e.g a murder case