Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP - term4, civics is the study of rights and…
CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP - term4
key concepts
Democracy
: a system for to people by the people where they vote for their representatives
Participation
: people take part to keep democracy strong by contributing
Justice
: balanced, equality treated in a fair manner.
principles
: right to a fair trial, the judiciary is impartial and independent, the right to appeal and all are equal before the law
Democratic Values
: respect, equality, fairness and freedom
Rights
: our freedoms protected by the law
Responsibilities
: things we do to make our democracy strong
Westminster system
: from the UK this is a parliament of two chambers elected by the people to make laws
vocab
Representative democracy
: a representative democracy is a system where representatives are elected to represent/share the same beliefs and ideas on how the country should be run.
Direct democracy
: a direct democracy is when the population vote and represent themselves like the Ancient Athens.
Constitutional
: relating to an established set of principles governing a state
Republic
: a form of government in which a state is rules by representatives of the citizens body
Monarchy
: political system based upon the undivided sovereignty or rule of a single person
Plaintiff
: the party who believes their rights have been breached
Bicameral
: legislative body consisting of two chambers
Constitution
: a set of laws by which a country or state is governed
Defamation
: a type of civil action where one party makes false accusations resulting in the other party losing their reputation
Judiciary
: the courts
Dispute
: an argument of disagreement between two or more parties
Legislation
: law made by parliament
Legislature
: parliament
Ideology
: the way people view the world
Criminal law
: laws to protect us from harm
Civil law
: laws to resolve disputes between two or more parties
political parties
Labor
main aims & beliefs:
• raise taxes to help support the citizens through more services from them
• diminish the gap between poor and rich
• big govt. to give out more services
main voters:
majority of people the ages 18-34
Liberal
main aims & beliefs:
• small govt. and less taxes
• to support small businesses
main voters:
majority of people the ages 35-65+
Nationals
main aims & beliefs:
• environmentally friendly
• repair, recovery and growth for regional Australia
main voters:
rural town people who care for their crops and natural resources
federal parliament in Australia (
bicameral
)
upper house
House of Representatives
the green room with 151 seats/members (currently)
The main political parties represented in the House are the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia. In recent years there has also been a number of independent parties and Members.
This is where the prime minister sits and where the laws are made and debated
lower house
Senate
the red room with 76 seats/members, 12 from each state and two from each mainland territory (currently)
The Senate is elected by a system of proportional representation which more accurately reflects the votes of the electors than the method used to elect members of the House of Representatives.
The two houses have the same law-making powers except the Senate cannot introduce or amend proposed laws, it can, however, request it to House of Representatives to make amendments to financial legislation and it can refuse to pass any bill.
Election
Australia is a representative democracy, which means Australians vote to elect members of parliament to make laws and decisions on their behalf. It is compulsory for Australian citizens 18 years and over to enrol to vote. It is also compulsory to attend a voting place on election day or to vote by mail.
each member is elected through
preferential voting
where you have to number your most preferred candidate to be in power to who we don't want to be in power. each election is won when a candidate has reached to 50% +1 amount of voters
types of laws
Common Law
definition
: a body of laws based on legal precedents made by the courts of judges
Civil Law
definition
: cases handling with disputes between individuals (or groups) to protect their individual rights
Statutory Law
definition
: law made by parliament starting as bills which then gets passed to bother houses of parliament, if the bills are approved then they become Acts.
Three levels of government laws
court hierarchy
the courts in each Australian state and territory are arranged in a hierarchy, meaning they are ranked in order of importance from lowest to highest according to the seriousness of the cases they can hear.
High court
:
the high court is the highest court in Australia. they decide cases including appeals from any state or territory, disputes over interpretations of the Australian Consitution or any case of significant legal importance because of their duty to interpret the law
Supreme court:
the supreme court deals with all cases indictable or serious criminal offences such as murder, serious drug offences and armed robberies. they also hear civil disputes involving over $750,000.
District court:
the district court has the power to hear serious criminal offences except for those cases with maximum punishments as whole life imprisonment. the civil cases they deal with is personal injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents and negligence involving $750,000
Magistrates court:
the magistrates court is the busiest but the lowest court. it hears all minor criminal cases (simple offences) for example property damage and speeding. their civil disputes does not exceed the amount of $75,000
three levels of government
Federal
responsible for:
• defence • income tax
• postal services • trade
• pensions • foreign policy
• immigration
State
responsible for:
• education • hospitals and health • agriculture
• housing • payroll and land taxes • community services
• transport • water • prisons
• power • environment
• police • industrial relations
Local
responsible for:
• libraries • recreation centres
• rubbish collection • local roads
• parks and gardens • building permits
• public swimming pools • dog control
civics is the study of rights and responsibilities of citizens within a society or country.