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
• 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
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.