civics and citizenships

concepts

democratic values

• Democratic values are the beliefs and ideals that are held by our society as a democracy

• Respect: treating other considerations and valuing their views, beliefs, and rights

• Equality: rights and privileges for all, without discrimination based on gender, race religion, age, sexual orientation, or level of education. All citizens have the right to the same opportunities

• Fairness: all people are treated fairly

• Freedom: people have the freedom of speech, religion, assembly, association and movement

democracy

• A system of government run by the people, for the people

• People have the power to determine how they will be ruled or managed

• Representative democracy: representatives are elected to make laws on our behalf

• Citizens over the age of 18 are required to vote in state and federal elections. It is optional to vote in local election

Westminster system

a parliament system consisting of two chambers or house, that is elected by the people to make laws on their behalf

a sovereign (such as the king, queen, or governor general)

In Australia, our federal and state government are modelled on the Westminster system

to act as the head of state and hold various powers including being required to give final approval to all laws made by parliament

in Australia, our federal and state government are modelled on the Westminster system

justice

people should treat each other in a manner that is fair and balanced for all

the key features of the WA and Australian legal system are designed to deliver justice to all

eg. the right to a fair trial, legal representation, unbiased juries

participation

good citizens contribute or take part in society through activities such as voting in an election of referendum serving on a jury, or paying taxes

contributing in a democracy by voting in electrons

government can also give citizens the opportunity to participate in important decisions out side of elections and referendums

rights and responsibilities

rights: the right to vote, protection against acquisition of poverty on unjust terms, the right to trial by jury, the right to freedom of religion, protection against discrimination

responsibilities: voting in elections, jury service pay taxes, obeying the law

Australia's government system

the role of the government

Australia consists of a variety of systems, structures and laws designed to ensure that all members of our society can live together in a united, safe and peaceful manner

Australia system of government

laws produced by parliament

parliament - a group of representatives who have been elected by the people to make laws on their behalf, responsible for:

creating new laws and changing existing laws, in aims to reflect the views and values of the majority of the people and benefit society

debating and discussing matters that affect the voters

analysing problems that exist within society

federal system of government

a federal system entails that Australia is divided into states, each containing it's own parliament that is responsible for making laws for the residents in that state

there is also one central or federal parliament, which has the control to produce laws that apply to the entire country

three levels of government

local #

responsible for reginal areas

responsibilities include: garbage collection and road work

state #

responsible for issues and matters dealt with in the states individually

responsibilities: hospitals and railway and public transportation

federal #

power to make laws that apply to the entire country

responsibilities include; currency and immigration

principles

government must protect the rights and freedoms of individuals

liberal democracy: purpose is to protect people's rights and freedoms, and place limits on the level of government control or interference

we have laws that

protect our broad rights of freedom of speech

protect our basic rights to freedom of assembly and expression

limit individuals from behaving in an offensive or indecent manner in public #

government must make laws that reflect the views and values of the people

representative government: Parliaments have to make laws that reflect the values, beliefs, views and morals of the people

achieved through free and fair electrons

Australia is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting

helps ensure our parliaments have the help of the majority of people, not just those who voted

may force candidates and political parties to consider the needs of all society when making policies

government must be accountable to the people

responsible government

government needs to be accountable to the people

meaning that the government must be able to justify their actions and decisions to the voters

this is achieved through parliamentary question time and emailing or visiting your local member office

any member of government who acts in a dishonourable manner has a duty to resign form their position

There must be a separation of powers

our government cant abuse or make laws beyond their power

separation of power: meaning no single group of individual within our parliamentary system has the power over both the political and legal systems

three main power of the federal level:

executive - the power to administrate the law, held by parliament

legislative power - the power to make the law; held by parliament

judiciary - the power to apply and interrupt the law; held by the courts and allows them to enforce the law and settle disputes

governments must be accountable to the people:

responsible government

government must be accountable to the people

this means that the government must be able to justify their actions and decisions to the voters

achieved through parliamentary question time and emailing or visiting your local member's office

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Indonesia's government system

history

in 1942 after claiming interdependence from the Dutch and Japanese, Indonesia became a republic

in the nation's first direct presidential election in 2004, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected as the president

levels of government

each of the parliaments in all the levels of government is elected by the people to create laws on their behalf, and elections take place once every five years, on the same same day. these levels include:

national provincial (similar to federal)

provincial (similar to state)

district, also known as "city" (similar to local)

structure of Indonesia's parliament

structure of Australia's parliament

house of representative (lower house)
151 members

senate (upper house)
76 members

the English monarch (represented by governor general
76 members

people's consultative (lower house)
560 members

reginal representation (upper house)
76 members

president (single individual)

Indonesia's type of government

republic: people vote to determine government or head of state, instead of a hereditary monarch, having a president

however as of recently, Indonesia has been leaning towards a more representative democracy, consisting of people voting to elect the parliaments and governments

compared to australia

similarities:

representatives are elected to make laws on our behalf

separation of power

three levels of government

differences

the bill able to pass without being approved by both houses

administrating the law is solely done by the president

republic

both of the houses contain more members

threats to Australia's democratic society:

media bias and voting

the democratic system relies on individuals being able to make informed decisions about which political party would produce laws that best show their views and values

most voters gain their info from the media

it is therefore essential that the media present impartial and unbiased information especially in the lead-up to an election

influence of those with vested interests

concerns that a little proportion of very rich individuals and large corporation have been able to have a disproportionate amount of influence over government policy in Australia by making large donations to political parties who benefit their interests

example: Charles Bass, a co-founder of a large business, donated $200000 to the liberals

organised crime

refers to criminal groups and networks that undertake very carefully planned criminal procedures

threatens national safety and security of citizens

costs our economy $15 million per year

example: human trafficking

corruption

the unethical abuse of power in the aims of personal gain

Australia is seen as having one of the least corrupt public or government sectors in the world, although our ranking has fallen over the last five years because of an increase in corruption

example: bribery and fraud in various organisations

lawlessness

usually associated with gangs who act in unruly and occasionally violent manner with no regard for the law

increased amount of young gangs over the recent year

involved in street violence, vandalism and organised crime

poses risk to public safety

corruption perceptions index

the corruption perception index is an index which ranks countries by their "perceived levels of public sector corruption" which is determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.

the CPI overall defines corruption as un "abuse of entrusted power private gain"

Safeguards to Australia's democracy

people elect the government

all individual state, territory and federal parliament is elected by the people

compulsory voting means our government have the support of majority of the people

governments uphold our shared values

main feature of democracy is that our parliament creates and enforces laws that protect our shared values so that all citizens are treated equally

the laws protect our rights to:

fair trial

basic healthcare and education

life security

the right to dissent

individuals have the rights to oppose or disagree with the views held by the government

freedom of speech and freedom of assembly allow us to protect without fear of punishment

processes to resolve differences

in order to keep peace, processes exist to help groups or individuals resolve their problems or disputes

process can be in formal settings (courts) or informal domestic settings:

negotiation (parties getting together and try to communicate the key problems in their disagreements to reach a settlement between them

medication (parties meeting with an independent third party who assists them discuss problems and gain a mutual resolution

reconciliation: processes of renewing a relationship between parties, usually required forgiveness

social issue: poverty

what is poverty?

a social issue that refers to the severe lack of certain resources and the struggle to satisfy basic needs

consists of limited unreliable access of resources such as:

food

health care

education

shelter and safety

poverty peaked in 1995, with the numbers of poverty cases being 2.7 times greater than in the 1820s

South Sudan has the highest rate of poverty in the world, with a rate of 82.3 percent

country with least amount of poverty: Turkmenistan

causes:

an inadequate access to work and income:

In a recent study in 2020, it showed that unemployment rose to 6.47%

This is caused by the decline in jobs, with a rising statistic of 6.4 percent

The most prominent relationship between poverty and unemployment, is that with the loss of income it increases the amount of poverty

leads to more people in debt, borrowing money to have basic essentials like shelter

Due to the rates of youth unemployment, the chances of poverty in the future are growing. Which is major cause of the poverty cycle

The cycle begins with a child being born into a poor family. Children being born in those families are more likely to experience illnesses, lack of sufficient healthcare and an inadequate education which makes it virtually impossible for them to get out of poverty

. Their kids would then be born into poverty, the cycling continuing for the future generation, leading to the cause and increase of poverty

corruption:

refers to the misuse of entrusted authority an influence for a private gain

Corruption causes poverty because it twists, diverts, and delays economic growth

Due to corruption diverting scare funds and distorting decisions it denies poor people access to resources to improve their livelihoods and basic social services

This is shown in the fact that Somalia is the world’s most corrupt country and has one of the highest rates of poverty, with a level of 73 percent.

impacts

child labour

the unethical practice of depriving children of their childhood by exploiting them though employment

Poverty is one of the main causes of child labour because it only happens to the children trapped in the poverty cycle

Child labourers are constantly exposed to abuse, dangerous working conditions, and times life threating situations

Due to poverty 152 million children are enduring hard labour with little pay and are deprived of schooling and gaining basic human skills

disease

one of the main impacts of poverty because many individuals experiencing poverty don’t have the income to possess a sufficient healthcare

Third world countries typically having higher levels of poverty and being less developed are usually vulnerable to more diseases and higher amounts of malnutrition in their population

One of the diseases most caused poverty is Tuberculosis, which is a disease caused by infection

Although Tuberculosis is preventable and curable, many people enduring poverty still experience it because of their lack of income for treatment and they would usually live-in poorer countries which would have higher population with lower living standards, making it easier to catch the disease

The relationship between poverty and the disease is shown in how India has the highest cases of tuberculosis in the world and 68.8 of India’s population is leaving in extreme poverty.

solutions

investing in accessible, early education and high-quality childcare

One of the main barriers of people reaching the middle class is the limited amount of affordable education and child-care

by investing in accessible, early education and in high-quality childcare it helps more individuals break out from the poverty cycle

This can be done by investing in corporations such as Child Care and Development Block grant and Head Start which helps supports and encourages developments in preschools and overall education for children.

united nations

an establishment that promotes international cooperation

aims to bring all nation of the world together focusing on human rights and international justice

general assemble: where member nations meet to handle issues and problems of global significance

made in 1945

consists of 193 members

commitments

international peace and security

making friendships between nations

assisting nations work together to help poor citizens, reduce hunger, disease, and encouraging literacy

promote rights and freedoms for all

supplying a central point where nations can come together

type of work UN carries out

supplies food to 90 million people in 75 countries

supports over 34 million refugees and people fleeing war or famine

helps fight against climate change; works with 140 nations to prevent harmful emissions

Fights poverty, assisting 370 million rural poor achieve better lives

Protects and promotes human rights

Mobilizes $12.5 billion in humanitarian aid to help people affected by emergencies

Australia's role in the UN

In 1945, became one of the first 51 countries to become a member

Australia is not powerful nation in contrast to other countries

allows Australia to have the voice in international affairs

supports Australia protect its own economic and security interests

foreign aid

• Assistance in the form of money, skills or other resources transferred from one country to another, mainly for humanitarian reasons

• Australia’s main recipient of foreign aid: Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Cambodia, Eat Timor, Myanmar, Fiji and other countries in our immediate region

• Given to improve poverty and assist a community to develop a better standard of living by providing schools roads, water supply and medical assistance #

• May be offered in a humanitarian crisis that threatens the health and safety of a community

• Eg. Giving the type of emergency aid after typhoon Haiyan devested the Philippines in 2013

• The millennium development goals (MDGs): the eight un goals adopted by many countries including Australia in 2000

peacekeeping

environment

human rights

assists countries who have been torn by conflict to achieve lasting peace, achieved by

keeping peace and security in an area

securing civilians

overseeing elections

protecting and encouraging human rights

restoring rule of law to a region

three basic principles that guide UN peacekeeping include

consent of parties

impartiality

use of force as a measure of last resort

helps fights against climate change

national responsibility to reduce it's greenhouse gas emissions

a member of Kyoto protocol: a binding international agreement aims to reduce emissions

cut it's emissions by 5 percent by 2020

takes part in an international climate change agreement in2015, setting emissions reduction targets for 2020 and beyond

the universal declaration of human rights: adopted by the United Nations in 1945, considered to be the basis of international human rights law.

rights of the declaration:

All people are born free and equal.

• Everyone is entitled to the same rights and freedoms.

• Everyone has the right to life.

• No one should be subject to torture or slavery.

• Everyone is equal before the law.

• No one should be subject to randomly being

arrested, detained or exiled.

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