Index Introduction Australian History Federal Government How many Politicians are there? Executive Government and the Governor-General The Division of Powers Justice The Growth of Federal Power and the Constitution Australian Political Parties

Australia is a democracy. Our system of government is based on the British "Westminster" system. Australia is proud of its progressive democracy. South Australia gave the right to vote, to all men, for the House of Assembly in 1856. In Great Britain, at the same time, the right to vote was dependent on a man owning a certain amount of property and having a certain level of income.

South Australia was also the first Australian state to give women the vote, in 1894.

The powers of each level of government are detailed in the Australia Constitution (its full title is ''The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900'', and the act was passed by the British Parliament in 1901). The Act was the basis for Australia's six states to combine to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Under our Constitution, two democratically elected Federal Houses of Parliament were established (the House of Representatives and the Senate); the office of Governor-General was established (the Governor-General is the Queen's representative); and High Court was created to resolve any disputes that might arise in the interpretation of the Constitution. Most of the Commonwealth Parliament's legislative powers are enumerated in Section 51 of the Constitution.

In our federal system, power (the ability to make laws), is shared between the Commonwealth (or Federal) government, the State governments and local government authorities (local ''councils''). Australia has three ''tiers'' (or levels) of government.

In 1999, Australia had 822 elected members of Parliament, of whom 224 were Commonwealth and 598 State and Territory members. Both the State and the Commonwealth systems of government derive mainly from the British Westminster system, although some features of the Commonwealth Constitution (including the federal structure) are based on the United States Constitution. Ministers must be members of Parliament, and they are required to answer to questions in Parliament from other members, regardless of whether their party or grouping has the majority in government or not.

Local Government A local council in an urban area is called the ''municipal'' council of ''X''; a local council in a rural area is called the ''shire'' council of ''X''. Voting in local council elections is ''voluntary''; you do not have to vote if you do not wish to do so.

Australia has had a federal system of government since 1901.

The Australian Federal Parliament (the legislature), is in Canberra. Federal Parliament has two "Houses" ; these are the House of Representatives and the Senate. All Acts of Parliament must be passed by two sets of elected representatives and signed by the Governor-General before they become law.

Federal Government is responsible for all deciding on all issues that extend beyond state boundaries. These include : defence, telecommunications and external affairs.

The House of Representatives (also known as the ''Lower House'') is made up of members elected from geographical areas of Australia known as ''electorates''. Each electorate has the same number of voters (or ''electors''), or as near to equal as can be arranged. The Australian Electoral Commission ''redistributes'' the boundaries of electorates on a regular basis, so that electorates which have grown, either due to natural increase within their boundaries, or because of migration from other electorates are reduced in geographical area. In this way, the number of voters per electorate is kept constant.

Once a "bill" (a proposed new law) has been passed by the "Lower House", the bill is sent to the "Upper House".

In the federal sphere, the "House of Review" is the Senate. In the state sphere, the bill is passed to the "Legislative Council" or a similarly named body. After review and amendment (often a bill is sent back to the "Lower House" for modification before accepted by the "Upper House") a bill is agreed to by both Houses of Parliament.

Parliament In Detail

The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia has two chambers. The House of Representatives has 148 members, elected for a three year term in single-seat constituencies. Each ''seat'' has approximately the same number of electors

The 148 House of Representatives ("Lower House") seats are divided among the States on a population basis:

• 50 from New South Wales
• 38 from Victoria
• 25 from Queensland
• 14 from Western Australia
• 12 from South Australia
• 5 from Tasmania
• 2 from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and
• 1 from the Northern Territory (NT)

The other federal House of Parliament is the Senate. Each State has twelve senators; the ACT and the Northern Territory have two senators each. Normally, senators from the States serve a six-year term, half of them retiring every three years.
Senators representing the Territories serve a maximum of three years, coinciding with the terms of members of the House of Representatives.

Elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate are conducted using a full preferential system. This ensures that a majority of voters has a say in the election of the successful candidate.
The Constitution requires that the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Representatives is as close as practicable to twice the number of MPs in the Senate.

The proportional representation electoral system for the Senate gives independents or smaller - party candidates a better chance than in elections for the House of Representatives.

The party or coalition of political parties that gain a majority in the House of Representatives forms the Government. The Prime Minister of Australia must be an elected member of the House of Representatives.

How many Senators are there?

State Parliaments

There are six State Governments. The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory have governments similar to state governments. The Northern Territory was granted self-government in 1978, and the ACT in 1988. Both can raise revenues through taxation and can determine where a large amount of there total revenues can be spent.

All State parliaments except Queensland's have two "chambers". The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory have one chamber. Queensland abolished its Upper House in 1922.
In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, the Lower House is known as the "Legislative Assembly"; in South Australia and Tasmania it is called the "House of Assembly". Each of the five Upper Houses is known as the "Legislative Council". The States administer education, transport, law enforcement, health services and agriculture.

Australia's federal system of government is based on the Westminster system of government, which evolved over many centuries in the United Kingdom.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy, as is the United Kingdom. Australia's head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor-General is the Queen's representative in Australia. The Governor-General is appointed by the Queen, on the advice of the Prime Minister, and has a five term of office.

The role of Governor-General is not purely ceremonial. The Governor-General exercises the executive power of the Commonwealth of Australia, and other powers and functions conferred by the Constitution. The Governor-General has the power to appoint times for holding the sessions of the Parliament, and to prorogue Parliament or dissolve the House of Representatives. The Governor-General can order that writs to be issued for general elections of members of the House of Representatives.

The Governor-General assents, in the Queen's name, to all proposed laws passed by both Houses of the Parliament.
All bills passed by the two House of Federal Parliament do not become ''law'' until signed by the Governor-General. Indeed, under the Australian Constitution, the Queen has the right to disallow any bill passed by the Australian Parliament, within one year of the bill's signing by the Governor-General. This has never happened. However, the Queen legally has the power to ''veto'' (from the Latin ''I forbid'') any bill passed by an elected Australian Parliament.

The Governor-General chooses the Executive Councillors, who hold office during the Governor-General's pleasure and appoints Ministers of State for the Commonwealth of Australia.

The authority to call a federal election, under our Constitution, is held by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister of the day must call on the Governor-General and ask for permission to call an election. This is always given; but it need not be. A Prime Minister can go the Governor-General and ask for fresh elections, when any government bill is rejected three times by the Senate. That is, the Government may wish to have a new law enacted. A ''bill'' is written by the Government's legal experts; the bill is debated in the Lower House; since the Government has a majority in the Lower House, the bill is passed. More often than not in Australia, one political party or coalition will have control of the Lower House (have a majority of members) and another party will have control of the Upper House. The Governor-General can, if he chooses (there have never been any female Governor-Generals), dismiss the Government of the day, and call new elections. The Governor-General can do this if he believes Parliament is unable to effectively function. The ''trigger'' for such a decision can be having a bill rejected three times.

In 1975, the Governor-General dismissed the Whitlam Labor government for exactly this reason. The Senate was controlled by the Liberal/National Party coalition, and it refused to pass the government's Budget bills; the bills that gave the government power to collect taxes and spend money on its programs.

This action by the Governor-General caused enormous controversy. It had always been a ''convention'' (an agreement between the parties, but not actually written in the Constitution) that the government's Budget bills would never be rejected. This convention had lasted since 1901.

The Governor-General, as the Queen's representative, is Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces. Our present Governor-General is His Excellency the Honourable Sir William Patrick Deane, AC, KBE.

At state level, a similar process occurs. Bills are debated by both Houses and then passed to the Governor for signing, where they become law.

After each federal election, the party or coalition with the majority of members in the Lower House will meet and elect one of their number to be Prime Minister. (Usually, this is a formality, as the parties have already decided this well before the election). The Prime Minister then selects a group of members from both the Upper and Lower Houses, who will become ''Ministers'' in the government. A minister is the head of a Commonwealth Government Department, responsible for the running of that Department. The Ministers form a ''Cabinet''; the core advisory body for the Prime Minister. The Cabinet meets regularly to determine government policy.

A select group of Ministers from the Cabinet form the Executive Council. This group advises the Governor General on matters of importance.

Australia's system of government at state and federal level is historically based on the two party system. The party or coalition of parties, with the majority of seats in the House of Representatives (in the federal parliament) forms the government and provides the Ministry, including the Prime Minister.
All Government Ministers must be current Members of Parliament.

Before Australia became a ''Commonwealth'', each State had power to make any laws it wished. For example, Victoria could (and did) put taxes on any goods imported from New South Wales. Victoria did this to protect its manufacturing industries, and to encourage the growth of industry within its borders. Each State had its own ''militia'' or armed forces. The States realised that Australia could not function effectively unless there was a central government; you may have heard the saying ''united we stand, divided we fall''.

The Australian Constitution divided the powers of government into three. ''Exclusive powers'' are those that could only be exercised the Federal government. For example, only the Federal government can levy taxes on imported goods, issue currency, and pass laws concerning our defence forces and external affairs (Australia's dealings with other nations). When the Federal government makes an agreement with another nation, the agreement applies to all the States (whether they may like it or not).

From 1901, no state could impose taxes on the production of another state. ''Free trade'' was enacted, forever.

The second type of power defined in the Constitution are called ''concurrent powers''. These are powers that are shared by the States and the Federal Government. Both state parliaments and the federal parliament can pass laws on industrial relations, for example. The Constitution lists thirty nine concurrent powers; these include powers relating to commerce and trade, industrial disputes and corporations law. Each State can only pass laws that regulate trade and commerce, for example, that occurs only within its own boundaries.

Only the Federal Government can levy income tax. However, the States can and do impose a range of other taxes - such as Financial Institutions Duty, payroll tax, and stamp duty. The rates of these taxes vary from State to State.

Under the Constitution, if a conflict exists between a State law and a Federal law, the Federal law will prevail. Indeed, state governments cannot borrow money from overseas unless the loan is approved by the Loans Council, a body dominated by federal Government members. It is the Loans Council that sets the Total Public Sector Borrowing Requirement (the PSBR). This is the total amount of money all levels of Government and all public sector enterprises can borrow. State governments are free to spend the money borrowed as they wish; however, the amount they can borrow is determined by the global limits set by the Loans Council.

Any area of legislative power not mentioned in the Constitution is called a ''residual'' power and is exclusively under State government control.

The powers of local government areas are determined (delegated) by its State government.

The Australian Constitution provides for a system of courts to be established, and for the Australian Government to pass Acts that will be administered by these courts. The High Court of Australia considers all final appeals, and interprets the Constitution.

A key feature of our system of government is an ''independent judiciary''. Judges who preside over Courts that make decisions on Commonwealth law (laws passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate) are appointed by the Governor General, for life. The Federal Government will put forward names of eminent lawyers the Government believes will be impartial and fair judges; however, the final decision on who is appointed rests with the Governor-General, not the Government.

All States, the ACT and the NT have their own court systems. Judges who preside over Courts which make decisions on State law are appointed by the Governor of that State.

The judicial system in Australia is independent of the government. Federal judges do not owe any loyalty to any particular party, and they cannot be removed from office unless by a majority vote of both Houses of Parliament.

The highest court in Australia is the High Court in Canberra. There are nine judges on the ''Full Bench'' of the High Court. This court resolves disputes over the meaning of the Constitution, adjudicates in disputes between the Commonwealth and the States, and is the final court of appeal for cases from other Australian courts.

The Parliament has created the Federal Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia to deal with specialised areas of federal law.

Over the years, the Federal government has gained more and more powers as its ''exclusive'' right. The most important area of increase has been in taxation. The Federal government has been able to gain powers because of decisions on interpretation of the Constitution made by the High Court.

The Federal Parliament passed the ''National Emergencies Act'' in 1942, and income tax was now collected by the Commonwealth, alone. State governments, which had been able to levy their own income taxes, appealed to the High Court after World War II, but lost. State governments could create their own ''income taxes'', which would be levied on top of Federal income tax, but to do so would be ''political suicide'' for any political party that did so. Today, the Federal Government receives five times the tax revenue collected by all the State Governments, combined.

State governments now receive a share of income tax collected, according to a complex formula that takes into account state population, area, age demographics (how many pensioners, how many children under 5 years etc), from the Federal government. A meeting is held each year (the Premiers Conference) between the representatives of the Federal government and the state governments to debate the allocation of federal funds. (Usually, one state complains it has not received ''enough'', and that it is ''subsidising'' another state.

It is possible to change the Constitution. This is done by conducting a ''referendum''; a national vote by all eligible electors. Referenda (in the plural) are held at the same time as national elections, because of the cost. To be successful, a referendum must be passed by a majority of voters in Australia, and by a majority of states. This last condition makes it difficult for a referendum to be passed. A proposition may be accepted by a majority of the total Australian population, but if it is rejected by a majority of the population of Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia (whose total population is less than that of Victoria), the referendum will fail.

Since 1901, there have been 38 referenda (some have asked more than one question) and only eight have passed. The referendum on the issue of ''Should Australia become a republic''? was not passed in 1999. History tells us that a proposition is unlikely to be passed unless it has the support of both major parties (''bipartisan support''), and this did not occur in the ''republic'' debate. Many Liberal Party and National Party members (including the Prime Minister) were supporters of the ''status quo'' - (''that which exists'') - Australia's constitutional monarchy.

The Australian Parliaments currently are made up of four main political parties: the Australian Labor Party, the Australian Democrats, the Liberal Party and the National Party of Australia.
All these parties contest elections at State and Federal level. All have similar structures: they have State divisions or branches, and each has a federal executive and conference.

All political parties are committed to maintaining a liberal democracy; they support the rule of law, the maintenance of parliamentary democracy and liberty of the individual, which includes freedom of speech, religion and association.

Australia's head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. She is represented in Australia by Governor General Sir William Dean and six State Governors.
Sir William was appointed Governor General in 1996.

The head of executive government in Australia is the Prime Minister.

The Honourable John Howard is leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and Prime Minister of Australia (since 1996).

The Australian Labor Party is the major Opposition party in the Australian federal Parliament. The Leader of the Australian Labor Party is the Honourable Kim Beazley.

Other Opposition Parties

Australian Democrats Party

Former Leader : Cheryl Kernot, who caused a storm of controversy when she resigned from the Democrats in 1997, and joined the Labor Party.

The Federal Parliament also has a small Green Party and several independent members of Parliament, who are not aligned with any of the major parties.