1 / 67

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 The Australian Parliamentary System Chapter Overview This chapter looks at the concepts of The Australian Parliament State parliaments Separation of powers Representative and responsible government Limitations on powers Legislation, Bills and Acts Parliament

lotus
Télécharger la présentation

Chapter 2

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chapter 2 The Australian Parliamentary System

  2. Chapter Overview This chapter looks at the concepts of • The Australian Parliament • State parliaments • Separation of powers • Representative and responsible government • Limitations on powers • Legislation, Bills and Acts Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  3. Parliament • Supreme law making body derived from the British Westminster System • Supreme position of parliament is referred to as sovereignty of parliament • Australia has a national Federal Parliament as well as state and territory parliaments. Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  4. Australian parliaments • Commonwealth Parliament - Canberra (bicameral) • ACT Parliament (unicameral) • NT Parliament (unicameral) • Queensland Parliament (unicameral) • NSW Parliament (bicameral) • Victorian Parliament (bicameral) • Tasmanian Parliament (bicameral) • South Australian Parliament (bicameral) • Western Parliament (bicameral) Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  5. Parliamentary system • Parliament is comprised of one or two houses • A house is an assembly of elected members of parliament • Bicameral parliamentary system • two houses • Unicameral parliamentary system • one house Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  6. Westminster System in Britain • Head of State • Queen Elizabeth II • Lower House • House of Commons • Upper House • House of Lords Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  7. Main functions of parliament • Form government • Enact and abolish laws • Establish committees to investigate issues of concern and scrutinise the government in power Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  8. History of Australian Federation • Federal Council of Australasia Act 1885 passed to allow the colonies to confer every two years and pass laws of common interest Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  9. Historical Timeline Idea of an Australian Federation was born Late 1800s 1891 -1898 A number of conventions were held to draft the Australian Constitution 1899 The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution was passed to form the Commonwealth of Australia The colonies formed six states and two territories Lord Hopetoun was appointed as Australia’s first Governor General 1901 Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  10. Commonwealth Parliament • Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 • referred to as the Commonwealth Constitution • Constitution • established Commonwealth Parliament • set out the law making powers between the Commonwealth and the States Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  11. Commonwealth Parliament • King or Queen (i.e. the Crown) • Upper House • Senate • Lower House • House of Representatives Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  12. C’wealth Government • Government • political party in power • Prime Minister • head of the government Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  13. Cabinet • Cabinet comprised of senior and junior ministers • Senior ministersin charge of important portfolios • Junior ministers in charge of less important portfolios Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  14. Cabinet functions • Constructing policy • Approving bills • Prioritising bills for introduction to parliament • Senior ministers supervise the administration of their respective government departments Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  15. Executive Council • Consists of • Governor General • Prime Minister • Ministers in Cabinet • Role is to formally ratify decisions made by the ministers in relation to administration of government Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  16. Opposition • Party with the next largest number of seats Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  17. State & Territory Parliaments • Structure • King or Queen • Upper House • usually called Legislative Council • Lower House • usually called Legislative Assembly Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  18. State & Territory Governments • Leader of the governing party • Premierof that state • States’ parliaments have cabinets, Ministers, and Executive Councils • Executive Councils called Governors in Councilin all states and territories Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  19. Parliaments Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  20. Separation of powers Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  21. Separation of powers • Law-making powers exercised within society can be classified in three ways • legislative power • executive power • judicial power Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  22. Legislative power • Given to Australian parliaments by the Commonwealth Constitution to make legislation Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  23. Executive power • Power to administer laws • Exercised by • Executive Council in the Commonwealth of Australia • Governor in Council in all states and territories of Australia Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  24. Judicial power • Power exercised by the Courts • Involves • hearing and determining legal questions • interpreting the law and its application in particular cases Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  25. Representative Government • Every member of each parliament in Australia represents the people within the electorate that elected that member • Every Member of Parliament is answerable to his/her electorate • If majority of voters in an electorate are dissatisfied with the local member/local member’s political party, a new person may be elected to represent that electorate in parliament Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  26. Powers of parliament • Constitution divides the legislative powers between the Commonwealth and the states Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  27. Powers of Commonwealth Parliament • Constitution has given the Commonwealth Parliament the right to exercise specific powers • Two categories of specific powers • Exclusive • Concurrent Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  28. Exclusive powers • Constitution has allocated the Commonwealth Parliament exclusive powers to legislate in particular areas • Allow only the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws in areas that affect the nation Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  29. Exclusive powers • S114 – the raising and maintaining of any naval or military force • S 115 – the coining of money • S 90 – the granting of bounties on the production or export of goods • S 52 (ii) – the Commonwealth Public Services Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  30. Concurrent powers • Shared between Commonwealth and State Parliaments • Allow both parliaments to legislate in the same areas such as quarantine and taxation Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  31. Concurrent Powers • S109 of the Constitution provides that where a State law is inconsistent with a Commonwealth law the later will stand • Commonwealth laws always prevail over State laws Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  32. Residual Powers • Given to state parliaments to make laws in relation to state matters • roads, railways, hospitals etc • Powers are not specifically stated in the constitution but are left over powers Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  33. Limits on Commonwealth Power • Limited by the Constitution • Commonwealth • must not prefer one State over another in relation to trade, commerce or revenue (s 99), or in relation to taxation (s 51(ii)) • must protect every State against invasion (s 119) • cannot restrict free trade between states (s 92) Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  34. Limits on state powers • Limited by the Constitution • States • cannot levy customs & excise duties (s 90) • trade between states must be free (s 92) • prohibited from raising military forces (s 114) • prohibited from coining money (s 115) • Federal law will always prevail over state use of a concurrent power to the extent of any inconsistency (s 109) Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  35. Overcoming constitution limitations • The Commonwealth may overcome its constitutional limitations in two ways • making an agreement with states • change the constitution Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  36. Agreement with the states • S 51 (xxxvii) of the Constitution allows state parliaments to refer a residual power to the Commonwealth in relation to passing legislation in a particular area • S 61 of the Constitution allows the Commonwealth to give the states funds to spent in a particular way, e.g. maintenance of roads • Encourage all the states to enact the same legislation in a particular area thus uniforming the law Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  37. Changing the constitution • The Constitution may be changed in two ways • Referendum method • High Court method Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  38. Referendum Method • Section 128 of the Constitution allows itself to be changed only in accordance to the process of a referendum • A referendum allows wording of the Constitution to be changed through adding, deleting or amending words, sentences or sections Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  39. Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  40. High Court Method • High Court • Does not change the words of the Constitution • It’s role is only to interpret its words • Resolves disputes between the Commonwealth and a state • Its interpretation of particular sections of the Constitution may alter the balance of power between the states and Commonwealth • See Franklin Dam Case on page 41 Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  41. Delegated Legislation • Parliaments delegate some of their law making powers to expert bodies to make laws in their specialised areas • Expert bodies known as subordinateauthorities • Laws made by these bodies are referred to as delegated legislation Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  42. How are law making powers delegated? • By way of an enabling act or a parent act • Enables a subordinate authority to make laws in the form of regulations, by-laws, orders, statutes, and/or rules • Setsstrict guidelines to be followed by the particular subordinate authority Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  43. Ultra Vires • Regulations passed by subordinate authorities that are beyond the powers granted by parliament can be challenged as being ultra vires(‘beyond power’) • Regulations declared ultra vires are not enforceable Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  44. Examples of bodies that make delegated legislation • Subordinate authorities • local governments • government departments • Executive Council • Statutory bodies • educational institutions • public utility corporations • administrative tribunals • some courts • sporting & other public purpose institutions Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  45. Advantages of delegated legislation • Subordinate authorities • have more time, in comparison to Parliaments, to make laws • have more expertise (especially local) • can take swifter action • allow greater public participation through the empowerment of local authorities Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  46. Disadvantages of delegated legislation • Laws and regulations are made by unelected public officials • Quality of checks on subordinate authorities can at times be questionable • Subordinate authorities may at times infringe upon basic human rights • Use of subordinate authorities may contribute to over-government and the fragmentation of law-making Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  47. Checks on delegated legislation • Main methods of checking • committee system • parliamentary supervision through tabling Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  48. Legislative process • Refers to the law making by which parliaments make Acts • Commonwealth and State Parliaments have the same legislative process Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  49. Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

  50. Tabling of proposed law • The Minister advises one of the Houses of Parliament of the issues raised in the report to place it before the House • called tabling Cornerstones of Australian Law: Chapter 2

More Related