User:Eggs.Shown/Australian Political System

Australian Parliament House, the highest level of government in Australia

The Australian Political System is a democratic constitutional monarchy with three tiers of government: federal (or Commonwealth), state and local. It operates within the guidelines set out in the Australian Constitution and the various state constitutions, with election and legislative mechanisms remaining relatively uniform throughout the different levels. Although lacking the historical depth of systems found in some other countries it has served the Australian populous well since its inoculation and has evolved to meet the changing needs of society.

History of Australian Politics

The concept of political and governing systems in Australia is historically found in the tribal culture of the Indigenous Aborigines. Embedded in oral tradition and often with certain laws only being made known to selective groups within the tribe (for example, "secret womens' business", only men knowing laws controlling hunting) the governing style was based largely on age and superiority within the tribe, although the full consensus of the clan was often sought for large decisions or in cases of punishing a member. There were over 600 known tribal groups within Australia, each with their own individual sub clans, resulting in a large difference laws and governing styles. However, many elements remained constant throughout the Aborigines, such as respect for the environment (being seen as part of it rather than masters of it) and the authority of the elders as a result of the common beliefs in the basic foundations of the Dreamtime (the collective Aboriginal religion).

The modern, Westminster based system of government in Australia has its roots in the colonial governments first set up by Arthur Phillip in 1788 to rule the convicts, guards and occasional free settler who was located in the ever spreading colonies, first in New South Wales but soon to be also located in Western Australia and Van Dieman's Land. These were theoretically autocracies, with sole power held by the governor, although in practically the leaders often chose to act within the constraints of British law and on advice of the military officers and increasing number of free settlers (consisting both of new arrivals and convicts who had served their term). That said, many convicts resented the harsh conditions and alleged favoritisms shown by the government towards free settlers, and as a result several outbreaks erupted, including the Castle Hill Rebellion and subsequent Battle of Vinegar Hill which resulted in the declaration of martial law. Following the removal of this state Governor Lachlan Macquarie started the first step towards democratic government in NSW, which would be followed by the other colonies.

In 1823 the military code in NSW was removed in favor of an independent judiciary and Legislative Council, which was set up to advise the governor. It initially consisted of 5 members, then 7 in 1824 and then 15 by 1829. In 1842 it was expanded to 42 members, 12 who were appointed by the Crown and 30 elected from amongst land owners. In 1856 the NSW State Constitution was implemented and assented by British parliament, it created a democratically elected bicameral system of government that was followed in the same year in the colonies of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. These were followed by Queensland adopting a unicameral (single house) system in 1859 and Western Australia in 1890. These bodies had a degree of legislative freedom, however all Bills had to be assented by England and English law was paramount (if there was a conflict it would prevail). Although the system was democratic, voters had to be male and meet property and income requirements, however in later elections these restrictions were often reduced to being male and having lived in the respective colony for at least six months. Female suffrage rights were introduced throughout the colonial (or subsequently state) governments between 1894 and 1908.

Sir Henry Parkes, the "Father of Federation"

The push for Federation was started by Sir Henry Parkes in 1867, however the movement only began in earnest in the 1880's, as increasing numbers of colonists were native born and felt a sense of nationalism and states were faced with increasing concerns about defense (France was establishing colonies throughout the Pacific), international trade, immigration (there were concerns about the increasing numbers of Chinese immigrants and Queenland's use of Torres Strait Islander workers) and the standardisation of transport (often railway gauges were different sizes, resulting in the inability to smoothly travel between colonies). In 1890 and 1891 two conferences were held as delegates from each colony worked to draft a federal constitution modeled on the system of the United States, however this was rejected by the colonies. In 1895 a proposal was made to put hold referendums within each colony on whether or not to accept the Constitution, which had been updated with more emphasis on parliamentary responsibility and the role of the states in democracy. Two referendums were held in every colony but Western Australia (which was opposed to the idea of a Federated nation) in 1898 and 1899 with the latter being successful, in 1900 a referendum was held in Western Australia, which voted to support Federation.

Australia officially became a nation on January 1st 1901. The first federal election was held on March 29th/30th 1901 with the eligibility to vote being based on state requirements. This was changed in 1902 when women were given the right to vote in commonwealth elections, however Indigenous Aborigines were not granted the right to vote until 1949 (in most states) and 1962 (in the remaining states of Queensland and Western Australia). In 1931 the British Statute of Westminster removed the power of English parliament to pass laws for any domain (of which Australia was regarded) and Australia gained increasing legislative freedom, however this was still constrained in that Australia remained a constitutional monarchy, and the British could refuse to assent a Bill hence overriding the native parliament.

Two territories have subsequently gained self rule following Federation, the Northern Territory (1987) and the Australian Capital Canberra where federal parliament is based (1988).

Although in practice Australia has retained legislative freedom there has been a growing push for it to become a Republic. This would entail removing all references to the British monarch from the Constitution, ending any ability to refuse to assent a Bill on their part. In 1999 a referendum to institute these changes was held, but was defeated by a 55% overall vote against the changes. Although a federal senate inquiry was held in 2004 there have currently been no plans released for a second referendum.

Constitution

The structure of the Australian political system is detailed in the Australian Constitution, a legal document containing the rules which governments must abide by, as if a government is proven to be acting outside of these guidelines it can be dismissed from office. In addition the Constitution also protects several key rights and contains mechanisms on how it can be changed to adapt to the changing needs of society.

The Constitution was originally drafted in 1891, amended in 1895 and accepted by the states in various referendums between 1898 and 1900. It came into force in 1901 after the British government passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (UK), recognising the federated nation. It contains 8 charters divided into 128 sections. Any dispute over the Constitution must be handled by the High Court, over the course of its life several such interpretations have been made pertaining to different aspects of governance.

Division of Powers

The division of powers, as interpreted by the High Court, is embodied in section 51 of the Constitution and relates to the dividing of authority over aspects of governance between the federal and state governments (for example, responsibility for trade, responsibility for health, responsibility for the environment). The Constitution specifically lists all the powers held by the federal government and those held jointly between federal and state governments, with the assumption that all other areas of responsibility fall to the states. This creates three classes of power:

• Exclusive: those powers held solely by the federal government
• Concurrent: those powers held jointly by federal and state governments
• Residual: those powers not mentioned in the Constitution and hence held by the states

Section 109 of the Constitution states that if the powers of federal and state governments clash then the federal power will prevail, this has been a key point of law in several cases (for example in the Franklin Dam case the federal external affairs power relating to the ratification of the World Heritage Convention overruled the state's environmental powers and plans to build a dam).

Separation of Powers

The Constitution separates the powers held at a federal level into three main, separate bodies:

• Legislature: the parliament responsible for enacting laws
• Executive: the Governor General and the cabinet (Prime Minister and senior ministers) responsible for seeing laws are carried out and making non-parliamentary decisions
• Judiciary: the court system, including the creation of a new High Court for interpreting the Constitution

In reality the ministers and Prime Minister are required by the constitution to participate in parliament, and hence the separation between these two bodies is minimal. This embodies the concept of responsible government or parliamentary responsibility, where the senior government staff responsible for making decisions relating to their portfolios (for example, the health minister choosing to veto a drug, the defense minister choosing to authorise the purchase or aircraft) are directly accountable to the parliament for those decisions.

The judiciary remains vastly independent of the parliament and executive.

Constitutional Monarchy

The Constitution upholds the notion of the British monarch ruling over Australia, his or her power vested through their representative, the Governor General, who is required to assent all Bills, issue the writ and dissolve parliament prior to an election and has a series of reserve powers (including the power to dismiss the government if they breach the Constitution or consistently fail to pass legislation). In reality, however, the influence the monarch holds is minimal, the Governor General is almost always appointed on recommendation of the Prime Minister and will very rarely refuse to assent a Bill. There have been cases of controversy surrounding the position of the Governor General such as the Australian Constitution Crisis of 1975, however these have not had any royal involvement.

An ungoing issue is the question of removing references to the monarchy from the Constitution to create an Australian republic. A referendum was held in 1996, however 55% of the total vote was against the change and a majority was only received in the ACT. A senate inquiry explored the issue in 2004, hearing over 730 submissions and eventually releasing a report entitled "Road to a Republic", which proposed increased education and allowing the public to vote on the model they wish to replace the current system, however there have been no reports of a desire to hold a second referendum in the near future.

Individual Rights

The Constitution enshrines a small number of individual rights, specifically:

• Freedom of religion (section 116)
• Trial by jury for indictable offenses (section 80), the classification of a crime as indictable is left up to the government
• Compensation if property is forcibly removed by the government (section 51)
• Free passage between the states (section 92)
• Limited access to the high court in both appealing matters affected by the precedent it has set and in bringing an injunction against a commonwealth officer (section 75)

In addition there have been several implied rights as ruled by the High Court, most importantly the right to free speech in relation to political matters and governance.

Referendums

The Constitution provides the mechanism for changing itself in section 128 (all of charter 8). This is known as a referendum, which is a compulsory nationwide vote for all Australian citizens above the age of majority. The allowed votes are either "yes" or "no" on a question put to the public. In order to be successful a referendum must:

• Receive a majority of the overall vote
• Receive a majority of votes in a majority of states

The first of these ensures that the popular vote of the people is upheld, the second section protects the rights of the smaller states from possible hostile changes proposed by larger states, an issue surrounding the original conception of the Constitution.

Since 1906 there have been 44 referendums, only 8 of which have been successful, including:

• 1906 - split the parliamentary period of senators into two groups each serving six years, with half the senate being elected every three years
• 1910 - allowed the federal government to take over state debts from any time (previously it was only those incurred before Federation)
• 1928 - all government borrowing excluding defense was brought under a central, federally based loan council
• 1946 - expanded the federal government's ability to make social support payments
• 1967 - removed the power of the Commonwealth to make specific laws pertaining to Aborigines and included Aborigines in the census
• 1977 - three simultaneous votes
  • that if a senate vacancy arises the state must appoint a senator from the same party
  • that the territories were included in future referendum votes
  • that a federal judge had to retire at the age of 70

State Constitutions

All the states have their own Constitutions which predate the federal one. These set out the rules for their respective governments, including election and parliamentary processes and the role of different bodies. Similar to the commonwealth constitution the state constitutions all uphold the concept of the constitutional monarchy, each state has a Governor who must assent all Bills, manage election writs and dissolutions and maintains reserve powers, however like the federal Governor General this role is largely ceremonious. Unlike the federal constitution several states do not have a separation of power clause (although in some this has been implied), and as such parliament can play a direct role in the judiciary, such as appointing judges, ordering a decision to be appealed (not overturned) and voting to remove a judge from office.

Federal Government

The Federal, or Commonwealth Government of Australia is the peak elected body in the country. It is located in the Australian Parliament House, Canberra, where it legislates and oversees matters relating to areas such as trade, defense, immigration and ... The structure of the federal government is twofold.

Executive Body

The executive body, or Federal Executive Council, consists of the Governor General and the cabinet (the Prime Minister and senior ministers charged with overseeing government departments).

The Governor General is the British monarch's representative in Australia, who must assent all Bills, issue the writ and dissolve parliament before an election and maintains reserve powers which can be used (such as dismissing the government if they act outside the constitution or consistently fail to pass legislation). However, these powers are rarely used, and the Governor General plays a largely ceremonious role.

The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party that forms government. They are the highest elected official within Australia, and have ultimate responsibility for all government departments, as well as appointing certain positions (such as the director of the Reserve Bank), making executive decisions relating to Australia (such as the choice to go to war) and represents Australia at some international conferences. The powers of the prime minister are limited twofold, firstly he or she must maintain the support of the Federal Executive Council (this is almost guaranteed in practice) and secondly he or she is responsible to the Australian parliament and, by proxy, the Australian people, which can vote against the decisions made by the Prime Minister either directly in the legislature or in federal elections.

The senior ministers are the recognised members of the government who have been invited to join the cabinet. In addition to their specific powers on the Federal Executive Council, such as voting on decisions made by the Prime Minister or proposing executive decisions, they also maintain the role required as a minister in the parliament. Not all government ministers are in the cabinet.

Parliamentary Body

The parliamentary body is the main legislative organ of the government.

State Governments

Both of these states have unicameral house systems and enact laws through delegated authority (that is, the authority of federal parliament to make laws is granted to the territories, this also means that the federal government can, and has, repeal any law made by the territories' governments).

References

• Free Speech and the Constitution

External Links

This work is automatically licensed under the GFDL for sites maintaining a GFDL compatible license. It is also licensed for use on Conservapedia. If you don't know what that's about this message isn't for you...