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the people and the australian constitution - Coggle Diagram
the people and the australian constitution
role of the houses and the crown
house of representatives
elected every three years to represent the people in the their electorate, roughly 105,000 people
151 electorates
151 members in the house of reps
roles in law making
initiate, debate and amend and vote on bills (proposed laws)
form government: the political party that has the ost members in the house of reps forms government
represent the people: the house of reps should represents the interests of the majority of people. the proposed laws introduced the house of reps should reflect the views and values of the majority of the community.
senate
12 senators are selected from each state
two senators are selected from each territory
senators are elected to represent the interests of the states and territories in law making
each senator is selected for a six year term
however, elections for half of the senators occur every house of reps election, every 3 years
72 state senators
4 territory senators
76 senators in the senate
roles of the senate
act as a house of review
:
majority of bills are initiated in the lower house, and the senate has the task of reviewing the bills already passed through the lower house
the senate scrutinises legislation by checking bills, ensuring they are in public interest
operates as a check on government, including government administration and government policy in general
acts as a states house
section 7 of constitution provides that the senate should have equal representatives from each state, regardless of its size population. therefore, senates represents interests of the states
initiate and pass bills
legislative assembly
88 districts in victoria that each elect a member for the legislative assembly to represent their interests (75,000 per district) in state parliament. the members serve for 4 years
same as house of reps roles
legislative council
largely the same for the senate with the exception of acting as a states house
has 5 members for each of 8 regions who are elected every 4 years
roles
acts as a house of review by scrutinising, debating and amending or rejecting legislation that has been initiated by the legislative assembly
initiate and pass bills
represent the views of the people living in the region
the crown:
represented in australia by the kings representatives, the governer general at a federal level and the govenors of the six states
under the constitution the king holds executive power, which is exercised by the governor generals and the governors
the governor general acts on advice from the prime minister and senior ministers, and the executive power is carried out by the government
governor general is appointed by the queen on advice from the prime minister
governor and governor general main roles
granting royal assent
before a bill passed by both houses becomes a law, it has to be approved by the governor and governor general
almost always given
witholding royal assent
appointing the executive council
division of powers
residual powers
powers left to the states at the time of federation
exercised by the states only and is not listed in constitution
constitution protects states rights:
s106: the constitution in each state of the commonwealth shall continue until altered
concurrent powers
area of law that both state and federal governments can make laws in
listed in constitution
includes trade, taxation, and marriage
exclusive powers
powers listed in constitution that can only be exercised by the commonwealth because of their nature, or because the states are prohibited in the constitution from legislating
listed and protected in constitution
most powers in s51
significance of section 109
when a law of the state is inconsistent with a law of the commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid
discuss the significance of s109 of the australian constitution
s109 of the australian constitution is significant as it provides a consistent approach to dealing with inconsistencies between state and commonwealth laws. this is significant as the federal court can apply s109 to any case that comes before them where an inconsistency is evident and the commonwealth parliament will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency over state law. however th court requires a case to come before them, which limits the significance of s109 as it does not stop the states from applying or creating inconsistent laws, nor the inconsistency taking place
another significance of section 109 is that it limits the states law making powers, whereever an inconsistency occurs, it is clear that the state law will become invalid to the extent of the inconsistency, and thus the states will always be restricted in their law making by laws made by commonwealth
in the mcbain case, section 109 was applied to the case by the federal court where an inconsistency occured between state and commonwealth laws regarding a marital test when providing a service
bicameral check on parliament
bicameral structure
bicameral means there are two houses, upper and lower
effective check
existence of two houses allows for review of all bills and scrutiny by both houses
if government holds slim majority in the lower house or is in minority in lower house, there is extra debate likely in lower house
two houses means more interests are represented
ineffective check
if the government holds majority in both houses, the upper house is unlikely to fully scrutinise bills
law making can be stalled or significant compromises may be need to be made in order to pass bills. this may not reflect all of the majority of voters
aus consitution does not specify that state parliaments have to be bicameral, this means that victoria could abolish its upper house like qld
members are usually required to vote on party lines, rather than as representatives of their electorate
rubber stamp senate
if gov holds majority in senate, senate tends to act as rubber stamp, passing bills with not much added scrutiny.
can lead to voter backlash as legislation may not have broad casted public support
hostile senate
if gov on the day does not hold majority of seats in senate, then hostile senate may occur
senate will scrutinise bills thoroughly
can be thought as negative and positive. hostile senate provides checks designed by bicameral structure
seperation of powers
parliament
role is to make law
composition of all members of parliament
section 1 of australian constitution
executive
administer law and conduct government
composition of governor general as well as ministers and departments
section 61 ac
judiciary
role is to apply and interpret law
composition of federal courts