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Australian Politics For Dummies
Created especially for the Australian customer! Understand the Australian political system and make your vote count Get to grips with the good, the bad and the ugly of Australian politics! Whether you're a seasoned political punter or a voting novice, this is your essential guide to understanding politics in Australia. Master the ins and outs of elections, parties and policies, and learn to discuss the big issues in no time. You have to vote — now learn whyand how. Open the book and Learn
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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137 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 17, 2019
Fantastic guide that clarified many confusing areas of politics such as proportional voting in the senate, “washminister” concept and the 1975 constitutional crisis. Probably the one slight negative is that the 10 important politicians didn’t have Paul Keating (but did have Bob Hawke). Overall a great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2013
Why we don't learn more about the political system in which we live at School is beyond me. This was the book I should have read in high-school.
May 8, 2022
Review coming
federation - divide in government - federal, state and local, started in 1908?
Australia system - hybrid between America and Britain
Federal government - legislates from the federal constitution regarding matters such as defence, quarantine, immigration, currency, external affairs, marriage, foreign corporations, foreign policy, and importing and exporting
- prime minister
- governor general (representative of the queen)
State government - have residual power (not in the federal constitution) responsible for health policy, primary and secondary education, land use and planning, law and order, and transport
Territories- subordinate to the federal government (chief minister, chief administrator (rep for the queen))
Local government - roads, rates and rubbish- subordinate to the state government
- responsible for levying of rates and maintenance of local services- includes roads and waste management
- deal with important planning matters, climate change policy and action
- tend to be domain of independent politicians instead of parties
Disputes between local and state government break out esp over planning decisions relating to major development projects
2 political groups - political parties and interest groups
Parties
- major - alp and liberals (national party?)
- minor - democratic Labor party (DLP), the Australian Democrats (the Nuclear Disarmament Party (NDP), the West Australian Greens, the Australian Greens, One Nation, Family First, the Palmer United Party
Federal Liberal National Coalition (PM is liberal leader, Deputy PM is national leader) with other national members getting ministerial positions
Interest groups - influence public policy
- promotional - broad causes like environment groups, community groups, cultural, abortion etc (open memebership)
- sectional - economy (confined membership to the economic activity being represented - trade unions, professional groups like Australian Medical Association, business groups, producer groups
Socialism
Liberalism
- welfare liberals
- market liberals
Conservatism
Pragmatism
Australia more Pragmatic than ideological or philosophical (borrow broad range of ideas to construct policies - results in Labor and Liberal agreeing on as many things as disagreeing)
AUSTRALIAN ISSUES:
Tariffs - protects local businesses, but could negatively effect Australian exports
Trade Unions - began in 1850s mining industry when miners earned wages
- Australian Workers Union (AWU)
- in 1890s, unions consolidated to form a political party, the Australian Labor Party - businesses formed political parties to counter unions
- became part of legal process - fair days wage for a fair days work
- John Howard introduced Work Choices Legislation - to freeze unions out of industrial relations system - but then lost election in 2007
Labor was accused of letting unions over-influence, during 1983-1997, so lib-nat party won
Immigration
- white Australia policy - declared redundant in 1973 by Whitlams' government
- post war migration for better defense - led to 40% aussies's ancestry not in Britain
- 'populate or perish' - argument for immigration, then it became economic, but after recession, it led to resentment, but then it became a moral argument to accept refugees
- Whitlam government propelled multiculturalism, but first policies were implemented by Fraser government in 1978
Reconciliation
- relations between white settler and indigenous Australia - responsibility lay with colonies initially
- 1967 referendum overwhelmingly supported indigenous Australians to be citizens - supported by both Labor and Liberals - responsibility lay with federal government
- Whitlam government - land rights
- 1980s - limited form of indigenous self-governance (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) - abolished by John Howard but introduced Northern Territory Intervention
- Walk of reconciliation - 250,000 marched in response to the Stolen Generation report "Bring Them Home", on the state of indigenous children being treated - in 2000
Women in p0litics
- make up less than 40% of the federal parliament
- Australia led other countries in allowing women to vote in the early 1900s and women winning parliament
- first woman to win Edith Cowan (Western Australian lower house in 1921)
Foreign policy
- great and powerful friends
- during WW2, John Curtin aligned with the U.S instead of Britain (britain were struggling to defend against Germany and Aus needed US to fight off Japanese invasion)
- during WW1, Australia was a willing participant on the side of British Empire in the Great War, yet Billy Hughes conscription was lost in a referendum
Environment
- campaign to save Lake Pedder from being dammed in 1970s - lost
- Hawke government stopped destruction of Franklin River in Tasmania west coast for the hydroelectric scheme, precedent of government intervention regarding climate was set
- climate change
- environment debate went from local land disputes to worldwide multilateral issues
Water
- australia is dry country- tricky issue to fix - reconcile different interests / demands on the water between 6 state governments, 1 federal governments, many local governments and a host of water-use authorities
- Murray Darling Basin - 2 major rivers run through, runs through 4 states and farmers, irrigation use them - wasteful usage needs to be addressed
Australia a Republic
- Sir John Kerr
- minimalist republicans (australian head of state) and radical republicans (overhaul system and have directly elected head of state) - frequently at odds with each other
- Only 30% australian support
Globalisation
- first protectionist during the war, until the 1980s where globalisation was embraced by the Hawke Governement - dissidents include Pauline Hanson - her attack on multiculturalism and immigration made her One Nation party perform strongly in state queensland election in 1998, and won 10% in federal parliament, didn't win many seats (her party won 4 seats in the Senate in 2016)
Nation Building Program
- response to the GFC
- federal and statement government provide infrastructure for health and education
- assistance for transport, and during Covid, construction
Structure
Exclusive powers
Concurrent powers
Residual powers
States came first - colonies - 6 colonies with 6 different constitutions - imposed intercolonial tax to gain revenue
- victoria protectionist
- nsw free trade
6 constitutions common features
- bicameral parliament (upper and lower chamber)
- governor as head of government
- executive in council
- Independent court system
- applications of conventions of Westminster governance, meaning premier, rather than governor, was the real head of government although it wasn't written down anywhere
The executives in council
- bunch of Ministers (ministry) chosen by the governors or governor general (in the constitution) inform the crown about what's happening in parliament. And request governor general to give royal assent
Royal assent - crown bestows its authority on an act of parliament
States
- lower house: legislative assembly
- upper house: legislative council
Federal
-Lower house : House of Rep - 3 year term
-Upper house : House of Senate - 6 year term
High Courts - independent of parliament- resolves constitutional disputes between states and federal
Unwritten rules in the constitution or "conventions" that are from the Westminster system
WESTMINISTER
Australian constitutions have to be read against backdrop of Westminister system
- only then Cabinet government, collective responsibility, ministrial responsibility and Responsible Government be understood and applied to the Australian approach
Westminister - named after building in London with Big Ben
Unwritten rules and "conventions"
- deal with way governments are formed
- how long governments can survive
- whats expected of ministers
- MOST IMPORTANTLY - nature of relationship between parliament and crown, and public service and parliament
Parliament followed on from monarchy in England in the late 1600s
- then followed constitutional monarchy
- Prime Minister - head of the parliament based cabinet
conventions
- crown only acts on the advice of the prime minister
- crown influence is curtailed by separation of powers
- Separation of Powers - keeps courts, military and public service separate from partisan politics that occur in the legislature - therefore crown can't interfere with public service as it is the responsibility of the minsters
- courts independent from crown - crown isn't above the law, and citizens are in the jury
Britain two federal chambers
- house of commons
- house of lords - PM appoints commons to be in the supper house
No longer "lords" and "commons" but basic principles still persist
- Upper house is still house of 'review'
- sovereign cannot attend house of commons, only house of lords
- neither house recognizes each other in internal parliamentary discussion - "that other place"
- when new parliament is elected, sovereign speech is written by the government, and read at house of lords, house of lord members can invite common into the lord for speech
- many of these features are replicated in Australia
Executive is the government aka cabinet aka ministry - unlike US, government must come from the parliament
Westminister has cabinet, ministry, and parliment secretaries as 3 divisions
- the cabinet - meeting of senior ministry whose led by the PM
- the full ministry - senior and junior ministry (assistant ministers) - meet much less frequently
- parliamentary secretaries - MPs who are junior to the junior minsters, though status is the same and considered part of the government
Therefore Westminster government technically includes ALL minsters and parliamentary secretaries - but practically its only the cabinet
Cabinet initiates policy, parliament debates policy
Responsible Government
- (ministry) government is responsible for as long as it enjoys the support of the parliament
- held accountable to its citizens
Budget and appropriation bills
- Supply: combination of legislation that levies taxes on the community (tax bills), and legislation that authorizes government to spend public money on programs (appropriation bills)
- in westminister, government is only responsible for house of commons - their supply bills must go through house of commons (parliament) (failure to do so at a good rate tends to resignation) - unlike Australia where the upper house has more power because its directly electable by the people
No confidence motions - if successful, indicate that majority of MPs in lower house don't have support in government, and should tender its resignation
When government resigns (either for lack of supply or no confidence), defeated PM is expected to advise the crown (aka governor general) to seek the leader of opposition to form its government - if they don't form one, then both are dissolved and a fresh election starts
Collective responsibility
- all senior ministers in the cabinet should abide by the final decision in the cabinet with or without referring to parliament - publicly disagreeing results in a sacking - federal documents should remain confidential for 20 years
ministerial responsibility
- ministers in parliament are given a 'portfolio' - in charge of a particular area like health, transport education etc
- public servants give advice on policy matters pertaining to their portfolio and to convert policy decisions into actual administration
- however, any Ministerial responsibility means answering to parliament regarding decisions made with regard to policy, but also for conduct of the public service department allocated to him.
- ministry is answerable to parliament, and parliament is answerable to the citizens by way of electoral process
Adversarial politics
- altnerative prime minister - power to elect shadow ministry made up of opposition mps
- change of government can occur if enough government MPs vote "across the floor" with the opposition
- shadow ministers have no access to public service as a resource unlike government ministers
party politics
- pm tends to be of the party with majority of seats the lower house and cabinet is from that majority party in the lower house, shadow pm and shadow cabinet is the same except minority
- Westminister, voters don't elect PM directly, they vote for candidates in local districts (nearly all of whom are party candidates) - so best the voter can do is cast a vote for the party that is led by someone who the voter wants to be PM
- tyranny? critics think disciplined political parties' domination of parliament is "tyranny of the executive, rendering backbench MP redundant - opposition leader gets frustrated
- other side is advent of discplined parties brought stability and certainty, MPs who support the minster are tied to it by party discipline
party gives, it can take away
- party elects PM, but if it doesn't like it, can replace them (Labour caucus replace K Rudd with Gillard, and then again with Rudd after Gillard, same with Abbot to Turnbull to Morrison)
Australian Colonies Self Government Act in 1850 (Aka Act for the Better Government of Her Majesty's Australian Colonies 1850)
WASHMINISTER
Australia had a cultural exchange with the US (gold visits)
Instead of Responsible Government, Australia's primary focus was getting 6 colonies together, and the idea of the Senate was brought on.
Australia rejected America's republicanism and remained with the British empire - so no President but a PM (so obvious it wasn't written in the constitution)
Nexus provision - though section 53 sees bith houses as 'co equal', section 24 says number of MPs in House of reps will be practicable twice that as number of senators
Technically executive in council is the government and not cabinet in the constitution, but practically they ratify legalisation from cabinet
Practically PM is head of government though constitutionally it's the governor general
States don't have as many disputes between the two chambers, NSW and other states have fixed terms (denying upper house of forcing early elections). Other states like Queensland have no upper house
Senate can amend bills except for tax spending and government spending. They can still block it though which gives them power.
The Senate act more on party lines than as state representatives. The premier will advise the governor to nominate someone of the same party for the vacant senator state position - justified on grounds that it represents the electorate - its more like house of review (functioning more like House of Lords than American senate)
Section 57 - Deadlocks - if a bill from house of reps is rejected twice in its original form by the Senate, (second defeat), governor general may dissolve both chamber - double dissolution (double dissolution election is called)
- convention is PM has the power to invoke section 57
Joint sitting - if government remains after double dissolution election - a joint sitting takes place and because of nexus provision - the government will het its legislation through
Stockpiling - PM allows bills to be defeated so they can nominate the Senate??? - and stockpile bills through
1975 crisis - PM didn't have majority of Senate (situation worsened when non-labor premier replaced Labor senator with non-labor, breaking convention), so Senate didn't pass PM budget. Opposition leader Fraser told PM to call a fresh election so the bill can be put through - PM declined. Governor general decided to talk with PM and others (allowed) to make the decision to hand over power to opposition leader and after section 57 invoked, passed the bill - Labor tried to vote of no confidence out Fraser, but bill already passed and parliment had been double dissolved ahead of elections in Dec 1975.
- ppl were outraged by crowns representatives power over the government - problem with half written and half convention approach. Also provlem with both chambers being directly electable.
Kerr thought Whitlam wasn't working as a responsible government - which means the idea of popular will by the nature of the two chambers being electable - in 1977 a referendum passed to not let premier elect opposite party senators but 1999 referendum to replace governor general with a head of state (and convert Australia from constitutional monarchy to a republic) failed.
However of reps - green floor
Senate - red floor
New house- bigger whilst old house was more intimate
Presiding officer
- speaker of the house with seaegant-at-arms with a mace
- president of the senate with usher of the Black rod
Speakers used to be assassinated
Front benchers - ministers, secretary etc
Backbenchers - non government MPs who support ideas
Cross benchers - no party affiliation with the two major parties
Whips - manager of business who outlines government legislation of the house - organises backbench MPs on things like voting, attendance in parliment
Voting - say aye or nay
Crossing the floor - when MPs defies party and whips wishes and votes for the other side for personal principle - conscience voting
Making laws- legislation that comes before parliment is known as the "bill" - first reading , in second reading responsible minister outlines reason government is pursuing its policy, why bill is being introduced
Next stage is "commitee" stage - speaker vacayes their chair and allows Mp (chairperson of the committees) debate bill clause by clause - parliment chambers can move ammedments to the bill
Then is third reading - speaker back on chair ready to resume to the next chamber for the exact process
If second chamber ammend bills, it goes back to first chamber- if first chamber agrees bill passes through to executives in council for loyal assent. If nit then bill is defeated - maybe Joint House Action Committee for compromises or section 57 federally
Gags and guillotines
Adjournment and grievances
Hing parliment - coalition or minority government
Power struggle between states and federal
- Grant commission
- specific purpose and general purpose grants
Federal can impose federal and company tax, allocate revenue according to Grant Commission
4 states support federal (vendfit more per capita)
Super cabinets
SES - senior executive council - government draws departmental secretaries for fixed terms (not permanent like it used to)
Minestrial advisers - part of ministerial team
Statutory authorities (public corporations used to be commonwealth bank)
federation - divide in government - federal, state and local, started in 1908?
Australia system - hybrid between America and Britain
Federal government - legislates from the federal constitution regarding matters such as defence, quarantine, immigration, currency, external affairs, marriage, foreign corporations, foreign policy, and importing and exporting
- prime minister
- governor general (representative of the queen)
State government - have residual power (not in the federal constitution) responsible for health policy, primary and secondary education, land use and planning, law and order, and transport
Territories- subordinate to the federal government (chief minister, chief administrator (rep for the queen))
Local government - roads, rates and rubbish- subordinate to the state government
- responsible for levying of rates and maintenance of local services- includes roads and waste management
- deal with important planning matters, climate change policy and action
- tend to be domain of independent politicians instead of parties
Disputes between local and state government break out esp over planning decisions relating to major development projects
2 political groups - political parties and interest groups
Parties
- major - alp and liberals (national party?)
- minor - democratic Labor party (DLP), the Australian Democrats (the Nuclear Disarmament Party (NDP), the West Australian Greens, the Australian Greens, One Nation, Family First, the Palmer United Party
Federal Liberal National Coalition (PM is liberal leader, Deputy PM is national leader) with other national members getting ministerial positions
Interest groups - influence public policy
- promotional - broad causes like environment groups, community groups, cultural, abortion etc (open memebership)
- sectional - economy (confined membership to the economic activity being represented - trade unions, professional groups like Australian Medical Association, business groups, producer groups
Socialism
Liberalism
- welfare liberals
- market liberals
Conservatism
Pragmatism
Australia more Pragmatic than ideological or philosophical (borrow broad range of ideas to construct policies - results in Labor and Liberal agreeing on as many things as disagreeing)
AUSTRALIAN ISSUES:
Tariffs - protects local businesses, but could negatively effect Australian exports
Trade Unions - began in 1850s mining industry when miners earned wages
- Australian Workers Union (AWU)
- in 1890s, unions consolidated to form a political party, the Australian Labor Party - businesses formed political parties to counter unions
- became part of legal process - fair days wage for a fair days work
- John Howard introduced Work Choices Legislation - to freeze unions out of industrial relations system - but then lost election in 2007
Labor was accused of letting unions over-influence, during 1983-1997, so lib-nat party won
Immigration
- white Australia policy - declared redundant in 1973 by Whitlams' government
- post war migration for better defense - led to 40% aussies's ancestry not in Britain
- 'populate or perish' - argument for immigration, then it became economic, but after recession, it led to resentment, but then it became a moral argument to accept refugees
- Whitlam government propelled multiculturalism, but first policies were implemented by Fraser government in 1978
Reconciliation
- relations between white settler and indigenous Australia - responsibility lay with colonies initially
- 1967 referendum overwhelmingly supported indigenous Australians to be citizens - supported by both Labor and Liberals - responsibility lay with federal government
- Whitlam government - land rights
- 1980s - limited form of indigenous self-governance (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) - abolished by John Howard but introduced Northern Territory Intervention
- Walk of reconciliation - 250,000 marched in response to the Stolen Generation report "Bring Them Home", on the state of indigenous children being treated - in 2000
Women in p0litics
- make up less than 40% of the federal parliament
- Australia led other countries in allowing women to vote in the early 1900s and women winning parliament
- first woman to win Edith Cowan (Western Australian lower house in 1921)
Foreign policy
- great and powerful friends
- during WW2, John Curtin aligned with the U.S instead of Britain (britain were struggling to defend against Germany and Aus needed US to fight off Japanese invasion)
- during WW1, Australia was a willing participant on the side of British Empire in the Great War, yet Billy Hughes conscription was lost in a referendum
Environment
- campaign to save Lake Pedder from being dammed in 1970s - lost
- Hawke government stopped destruction of Franklin River in Tasmania west coast for the hydroelectric scheme, precedent of government intervention regarding climate was set
- climate change
- environment debate went from local land disputes to worldwide multilateral issues
Water
- australia is dry country- tricky issue to fix - reconcile different interests / demands on the water between 6 state governments, 1 federal governments, many local governments and a host of water-use authorities
- Murray Darling Basin - 2 major rivers run through, runs through 4 states and farmers, irrigation use them - wasteful usage needs to be addressed
Australia a Republic
- Sir John Kerr
- minimalist republicans (australian head of state) and radical republicans (overhaul system and have directly elected head of state) - frequently at odds with each other
- Only 30% australian support
Globalisation
- first protectionist during the war, until the 1980s where globalisation was embraced by the Hawke Governement - dissidents include Pauline Hanson - her attack on multiculturalism and immigration made her One Nation party perform strongly in state queensland election in 1998, and won 10% in federal parliament, didn't win many seats (her party won 4 seats in the Senate in 2016)
Nation Building Program
- response to the GFC
- federal and statement government provide infrastructure for health and education
- assistance for transport, and during Covid, construction
Structure
Exclusive powers
Concurrent powers
Residual powers
States came first - colonies - 6 colonies with 6 different constitutions - imposed intercolonial tax to gain revenue
- victoria protectionist
- nsw free trade
6 constitutions common features
- bicameral parliament (upper and lower chamber)
- governor as head of government
- executive in council
- Independent court system
- applications of conventions of Westminster governance, meaning premier, rather than governor, was the real head of government although it wasn't written down anywhere
The executives in council
- bunch of Ministers (ministry) chosen by the governors or governor general (in the constitution) inform the crown about what's happening in parliament. And request governor general to give royal assent
Royal assent - crown bestows its authority on an act of parliament
States
- lower house: legislative assembly
- upper house: legislative council
Federal
-Lower house : House of Rep - 3 year term
-Upper house : House of Senate - 6 year term
High Courts - independent of parliament- resolves constitutional disputes between states and federal
Unwritten rules in the constitution or "conventions" that are from the Westminster system
WESTMINISTER
Australian constitutions have to be read against backdrop of Westminister system
- only then Cabinet government, collective responsibility, ministrial responsibility and Responsible Government be understood and applied to the Australian approach
Westminister - named after building in London with Big Ben
Unwritten rules and "conventions"
- deal with way governments are formed
- how long governments can survive
- whats expected of ministers
- MOST IMPORTANTLY - nature of relationship between parliament and crown, and public service and parliament
Parliament followed on from monarchy in England in the late 1600s
- then followed constitutional monarchy
- Prime Minister - head of the parliament based cabinet
conventions
- crown only acts on the advice of the prime minister
- crown influence is curtailed by separation of powers
- Separation of Powers - keeps courts, military and public service separate from partisan politics that occur in the legislature - therefore crown can't interfere with public service as it is the responsibility of the minsters
- courts independent from crown - crown isn't above the law, and citizens are in the jury
Britain two federal chambers
- house of commons
- house of lords - PM appoints commons to be in the supper house
No longer "lords" and "commons" but basic principles still persist
- Upper house is still house of 'review'
- sovereign cannot attend house of commons, only house of lords
- neither house recognizes each other in internal parliamentary discussion - "that other place"
- when new parliament is elected, sovereign speech is written by the government, and read at house of lords, house of lord members can invite common into the lord for speech
- many of these features are replicated in Australia
Executive is the government aka cabinet aka ministry - unlike US, government must come from the parliament
Westminister has cabinet, ministry, and parliment secretaries as 3 divisions
- the cabinet - meeting of senior ministry whose led by the PM
- the full ministry - senior and junior ministry (assistant ministers) - meet much less frequently
- parliamentary secretaries - MPs who are junior to the junior minsters, though status is the same and considered part of the government
Therefore Westminster government technically includes ALL minsters and parliamentary secretaries - but practically its only the cabinet
Cabinet initiates policy, parliament debates policy
Responsible Government
- (ministry) government is responsible for as long as it enjoys the support of the parliament
- held accountable to its citizens
Budget and appropriation bills
- Supply: combination of legislation that levies taxes on the community (tax bills), and legislation that authorizes government to spend public money on programs (appropriation bills)
- in westminister, government is only responsible for house of commons - their supply bills must go through house of commons (parliament) (failure to do so at a good rate tends to resignation) - unlike Australia where the upper house has more power because its directly electable by the people
No confidence motions - if successful, indicate that majority of MPs in lower house don't have support in government, and should tender its resignation
When government resigns (either for lack of supply or no confidence), defeated PM is expected to advise the crown (aka governor general) to seek the leader of opposition to form its government - if they don't form one, then both are dissolved and a fresh election starts
Collective responsibility
- all senior ministers in the cabinet should abide by the final decision in the cabinet with or without referring to parliament - publicly disagreeing results in a sacking - federal documents should remain confidential for 20 years
ministerial responsibility
- ministers in parliament are given a 'portfolio' - in charge of a particular area like health, transport education etc
- public servants give advice on policy matters pertaining to their portfolio and to convert policy decisions into actual administration
- however, any Ministerial responsibility means answering to parliament regarding decisions made with regard to policy, but also for conduct of the public service department allocated to him.
- ministry is answerable to parliament, and parliament is answerable to the citizens by way of electoral process
Adversarial politics
- altnerative prime minister - power to elect shadow ministry made up of opposition mps
- change of government can occur if enough government MPs vote "across the floor" with the opposition
- shadow ministers have no access to public service as a resource unlike government ministers
party politics
- pm tends to be of the party with majority of seats the lower house and cabinet is from that majority party in the lower house, shadow pm and shadow cabinet is the same except minority
- Westminister, voters don't elect PM directly, they vote for candidates in local districts (nearly all of whom are party candidates) - so best the voter can do is cast a vote for the party that is led by someone who the voter wants to be PM
- tyranny? critics think disciplined political parties' domination of parliament is "tyranny of the executive, rendering backbench MP redundant - opposition leader gets frustrated
- other side is advent of discplined parties brought stability and certainty, MPs who support the minster are tied to it by party discipline
party gives, it can take away
- party elects PM, but if it doesn't like it, can replace them (Labour caucus replace K Rudd with Gillard, and then again with Rudd after Gillard, same with Abbot to Turnbull to Morrison)
Australian Colonies Self Government Act in 1850 (Aka Act for the Better Government of Her Majesty's Australian Colonies 1850)
WASHMINISTER
Australia had a cultural exchange with the US (gold visits)
Instead of Responsible Government, Australia's primary focus was getting 6 colonies together, and the idea of the Senate was brought on.
Australia rejected America's republicanism and remained with the British empire - so no President but a PM (so obvious it wasn't written in the constitution)
Nexus provision - though section 53 sees bith houses as 'co equal', section 24 says number of MPs in House of reps will be practicable twice that as number of senators
Technically executive in council is the government and not cabinet in the constitution, but practically they ratify legalisation from cabinet
Practically PM is head of government though constitutionally it's the governor general
States don't have as many disputes between the two chambers, NSW and other states have fixed terms (denying upper house of forcing early elections). Other states like Queensland have no upper house
Senate can amend bills except for tax spending and government spending. They can still block it though which gives them power.
The Senate act more on party lines than as state representatives. The premier will advise the governor to nominate someone of the same party for the vacant senator state position - justified on grounds that it represents the electorate - its more like house of review (functioning more like House of Lords than American senate)
Section 57 - Deadlocks - if a bill from house of reps is rejected twice in its original form by the Senate, (second defeat), governor general may dissolve both chamber - double dissolution (double dissolution election is called)
- convention is PM has the power to invoke section 57
Joint sitting - if government remains after double dissolution election - a joint sitting takes place and because of nexus provision - the government will het its legislation through
Stockpiling - PM allows bills to be defeated so they can nominate the Senate??? - and stockpile bills through
1975 crisis - PM didn't have majority of Senate (situation worsened when non-labor premier replaced Labor senator with non-labor, breaking convention), so Senate didn't pass PM budget. Opposition leader Fraser told PM to call a fresh election so the bill can be put through - PM declined. Governor general decided to talk with PM and others (allowed) to make the decision to hand over power to opposition leader and after section 57 invoked, passed the bill - Labor tried to vote of no confidence out Fraser, but bill already passed and parliment had been double dissolved ahead of elections in Dec 1975.
- ppl were outraged by crowns representatives power over the government - problem with half written and half convention approach. Also provlem with both chambers being directly electable.
Kerr thought Whitlam wasn't working as a responsible government - which means the idea of popular will by the nature of the two chambers being electable - in 1977 a referendum passed to not let premier elect opposite party senators but 1999 referendum to replace governor general with a head of state (and convert Australia from constitutional monarchy to a republic) failed.
However of reps - green floor
Senate - red floor
New house- bigger whilst old house was more intimate
Presiding officer
- speaker of the house with seaegant-at-arms with a mace
- president of the senate with usher of the Black rod
Speakers used to be assassinated
Front benchers - ministers, secretary etc
Backbenchers - non government MPs who support ideas
Cross benchers - no party affiliation with the two major parties
Whips - manager of business who outlines government legislation of the house - organises backbench MPs on things like voting, attendance in parliment
Voting - say aye or nay
Crossing the floor - when MPs defies party and whips wishes and votes for the other side for personal principle - conscience voting
Making laws- legislation that comes before parliment is known as the "bill" - first reading , in second reading responsible minister outlines reason government is pursuing its policy, why bill is being introduced
Next stage is "commitee" stage - speaker vacayes their chair and allows Mp (chairperson of the committees) debate bill clause by clause - parliment chambers can move ammedments to the bill
Then is third reading - speaker back on chair ready to resume to the next chamber for the exact process
If second chamber ammend bills, it goes back to first chamber- if first chamber agrees bill passes through to executives in council for loyal assent. If nit then bill is defeated - maybe Joint House Action Committee for compromises or section 57 federally
Gags and guillotines
Adjournment and grievances
Hing parliment - coalition or minority government
Power struggle between states and federal
- Grant commission
- specific purpose and general purpose grants
Federal can impose federal and company tax, allocate revenue according to Grant Commission
4 states support federal (vendfit more per capita)
Super cabinets
SES - senior executive council - government draws departmental secretaries for fixed terms (not permanent like it used to)
Minestrial advisers - part of ministerial team
Statutory authorities (public corporations used to be commonwealth bank)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2015
My first 'dummies' book, and it did everything I wanted it to do. All the little gaps in knowledge and questions I had about how the political systems in Australia work were all more than adequately answered.
September 14, 2023
I do consider myself a bit of a political junkie but I was still able to learn some new stuff from this book and had some things cleared up for me by the clear writings of the authors. It was a Well ridden book that was not too wonky but also didn't dumb down the book too much. Recommend for anyone interested in Australian politics
October 23, 2023
We should have learnt all this in school. How can we properly participate in this democracy and cast informed votes without being taught how everything works in our political system?
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