Civics and Citizenship - Australia's democracy

Single member electorates

Used for the House of Representatives. One candidate is elected to represent their electorate. E.g. Julie Bishop for Curtin.

Multi member electorates

Used for the Senate (proportional voting). Parties, groups and independent candidates are elected to the parliament in proportion to their support in the electorate.

formal vote

a ballot paper that has been filled out correctly

electorate

a designated geographical area that is represented by an elected member in parliament

Constitutional Monarchy

a form of monarchy in which the sovereign (king or queen) exercises their authorities in accordance with a written or unwritten constitution e.g. Australia

executive

a group of senior members of parliament; also known as cabinet. They are responsible for the day to day administration of the government

bicameral system

a parliament consisting of two houses

separation of powers

a parliamentary principle that ensures no single group or body within our parliamentary system has the power to make, implement, apply and interpret the law

candidate

a person standing for election

Constitution

a set of rules that determines how Australia will be governed

democracy

a system of government in which the people have the power to determine how they will be ruled or managed

proportional representation

a system where candidates are elected according to the proportion (or quota) of the vote achieved by their party

first-past-the-post

a voting system where a candidate wins by receiving more votes than any other candidate

Define democracy (pc)

A democracy is a form of government where citizens elect people to represent there values and belief systems in parliament. Australia is a democracy.

Identify and describe 3 international laws Australia has ratified.

Australia has ratified the law of The convention of a child, 1989, which states how a child should be treated. It has also ratified The declaration of rights of indigenous people, which applies to how Aboriginals and Torres Strat Islanders should be treated. Conventions on the rights of persons with disabilities states how people with disability are to be treated in society, which Australia ratified with as well. International laws are often non-binding and rely on the country to implement statute laws to properly regulate the human right.

Explain how the separation of powers operates in Australia.

Australia separates it's branches of power to guarantee no group or person has complete authority. The legislative branch is responsible for making the laws - The house of representatives and senate take on this role. The executive arm implements/administrates the law (puts it into action). This power is given to senior ministers (a cabinet), the prime minister (Malcolm Turnbull), and the governor general (Sir Peter Cosgrove). The judiciary arm of government has the power to apply/interpret the law - The high court and other courts have this responsibility. However, the separation of powers in Australia, is not a complete separation of powers because there are some people in multiple branches.

Explain how Australia's election system encourages citizens to be involved in the democratic system.

Australia's election system, by law, is anonymous. This means people can freely express who they want to represent their values, with no fear of judgement. Voting is a direct way we participate in democracy as we chose the people who will represent us in parliament. We chose people who reflect our values and views and therefore elections are a way of ensuring the people keep the power.

Compare the voting system in Australia with an Asian nation.

Both Indonesia and Australia have 2 houses, however Indonesia is not bicameral because only one house can pass laws. Both of Indonesia's parliament houses use proportional voting, whereas Australia's houses use proportional and preferential voting. In Australia, it is compulsory one is 18 years old. However, in Indonesia, anybody over 17, or married, can vote but it isn't compulsory. Both voting systems elect candidates from different states for a set time.

Common Law

Common law is based on precedent, and is made by judges interpretation of the law. It keeps the law relevant, but it can be over-riden by statutory law. An example of common law is the Mabo case, Mabo vs Queensland, in 1992. Eddie Mabo was successful in his case. The land rights of the Meriam people, tradition owners of the Murray Islands, was recognised.

Define human rights.

Human rights are rights that every human posses, regardless of gender, language, ethnicity, place of residence or any other social status. An example is Freedom from slavery.

Explain how the voting system operates in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, the national parliament, The People's Consultive Assembly, has two houses. The People's representatives council (DPR), the lower house, and The Regional Representative Council (DPD). For the DPR, 3-12 members are given seats per constituency (electorate). There are 77 constituencies within Indonesia. For the DPD, four members are elected per province, there are 34 Provences in Indonesia. Both houses use proportional voting, meaning the candidates must receive a certain quota. Both houses have multiple members for each constituency. The KPU organises and controls voting in Indonesia. Anybody ages 17+ or married can vote.

Explain how preferential voting operates in Australia.

Preferential voting is used in Australia, for the House of Representatives. It is used in single member electorates - one candidate is elected per 150000 people. For preferential voting, a voter will rank the candidates from most to least preferred. A candidate must receive at least %50 + 1, an absolute majority, to get a seat in the house. Of no candidate receives this, the lowest ranked candidate is dropped and the 'second' votes are recounted.

Explain how proportional voting operates in Australia.

Proportional voting is used in Australia for the senate. 12 candidates per state, and 2 per territory are voted. It is used in multi-member electorates. For proportional voting, voters rank parties above the line, and candidates below the line. For a candidate to be elected, the must receive a certain quota. Determined by: the number of people voting, divided by the number of available seats plus one, once this is determined, 1 is added to the total - the number is the number of votes a candidate must receive to be elected. Preferential voting favours smaller parties. They are held every three years, half the senate is elected to keep it at the same time as the election for the house of representatives.

Identify and describe 3 human rights protected by Statutory Law.

Statutory law, laws made in parliament, suits the changing needs of society. The first example of statutory law is The Racial Discrimination Act, 1975, that makes it illegal to discriminate against anybody on the bases of their skin colour/race. The sex discrimination act, 1984, makes it illegal to discriminate against somebody on the bases of their gender. Statute law also protects the right to equal opportunity in the employment field, based on the equal opportunity act, 1985.

Identify the human rights protected by the Australian Constitution.

The constitution protects five human rights of the Australian people. The right to religious freedom (section 118) protects people choice to believe in different religions or none at all, Australia is a secular nation. The to a trial by jury (section 80) allows people to be trialed by a jury in court, and innocent until proven guilty. The constitution protects free trade between states (section 92), it is illegal to discriminate based on states, (section 117) acquisition of land act (section 20).

Explain the purpose of the Constitution.

The constitution, made in 1901, serves as a way to determine how a nation should be governed. It dictates the power of the government. The constitution states how the separation of power operates, the roles and responsibilities of the government and the referendum process. It's purpose it to explain how Australia should be governed.

Distinguish between the legislate and the judiciary arms of government.

The legislative arm of government creates the law, and the House of Representatives and Senate have this role. The judiciary arm applies and interprets the law, the High court and other courts have this responsibility. The main difference is that the legislative arm creates the law to shape Australian life, the judiciary arm makes sure the law is correctly interpreted and applied in Australian society.

Absolute monarchy

form of government in which one ruler (monarch - King, queen, emperor etc) has supreme authority

Majoritarian voting system

involves any system where the winning candidate receives a majority of the votes. E.g Preferential voting, First past the post voting.

governor-general

the Queen's representative in Australia

judiciary

the collective name given to the judges who preside over law courts

Westminster system

the democratic parliamentary system based on the British system of parliament

government

the elected members of parliament who make decisions for a nation or state.

government

the elected members of parliament who make decisions for a nation or state. It is made up of the party or coalition that has won a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament

House of Representatives

the lower house of the Commonwealth parliament

legislature

the national or state law-making body that is made up of elected representatives (parliament). They are responsible for creating laws

The Rule of Law

the principle that the laws apply equally to all individuals and organisations throughout a nation and must be upheld by all

opposition

the second-largest political party, or coalition of parties, after the government party in the lower house of parliament, that works to scrutinise and oppose government policies

Senate

the upper house of the federal parliament of Australia

Preferential voting

voters are required to number all candidates on the ballot paper in order of preference. If no candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the vote, the preferences are distributed until one candidate has a majority of votes.

election

when people vote to elect a leader