Commonwealth Parliament

Key Terms

House of Representatives Senate Legislative Assembly Legislative Council

Commonwealth Parliament

Commonwealth Parliament is a BICAMERAL parliament. It consists of the Senate (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Crown.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-

150 members

GOVERNOR-GENERAL

Represents the Crown

SENATE- 76 members

Remember your commonwealth houses of parliament by the traffic

light!! Red is the

‘upper’ traffic light and the ‘upper’ house is red!!

Red stands for STOP starting with ‘S’ and the upper house is the Senate also starting with ‘S’

Green is the ‘lower’ traffic light and the ‘lower’ house is green!

The Lower House is the House of Representatives

House of Representatives- The Peoples House

The lower house of the Commonwealth Parliament is known as the House of Representatives.

150 members.

Members of the House of Representatives are elected to represent areas called electorates- They are elected every 3 years.

The House of Representatives is designed to represent the interests of the majority of people in Australia. This is why it is referred to as the ‘people’s house’.

The political party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Representatives forms government. For this reason it is sometimes referred to as the ‘house of government’.

Role of the House of Reps

The House of Representatives is seen as having six key roles.1) Making laws - The main function of the House of Representatives is to

make laws- To become a law, the proposal must receive the approval of both houses of parliament.

2) Determining government- The party, with a majority in the lower house forms government.

3) Providing for representative government- The electoral system ensures that

the House of Representatives represents the interests of the majority of voters.

4) Providing for responsible government- Individual members of the House of Representatives have the opportunity to present their views, by presenting petitions or raising issues with ministers during question time.

5) Scrutinising government- The House of Representatives provides for responsible government. In the House of Representatives, legislation is debated, matters of public importance are discussed, and ministers are questioned during question time.

6) Controlling government spending The government can only collect taxes or allocate the spending of public money if a law is passed by parliament.

THE SENATE Consists of 76 members. Each state elects 12

representatives and each territory elects two.

Senators are elected for a term of six years.

Half the Senate retires every three years.

Whenever possible, these elections are held at the same time as the election for the House of Representatives.

The Senate provides stability.

The Role of the Senate- ‘House of Review’ and ‘States House’

The key functions of the Senate include the following.1) Making laws - A Bill (proposed law) must be passed by houses

before it can become a law.

2) Reviewing laws- The Senate provides for the review and check all legislation passed by the House of Representatives., the Senate can originate, amend or reject any proposed law.

3) Providing for representative government- A function of the Senate is to safeguard the interests of the states. Through an equal number of senators, from the states. For this reason the Senate is sometimes called the ‘states’ house’

4) Providing for responsible government- The government is account able for its actions. individual senators have the opportunity to raise issues during question time.

5) Scrutinising government Like the House of Representatives. The Senate has the responsibility for protecting the rights of the citizen and presenting conflicting views in open debate.

Question time Read the article ‘Do we really need a Senate?’

and answer the following questions.1) Outline the differences between the role of the

House of Representatives and the role of the Senate.2) What do you consider to be the two most important

strengths of the Senate and House of Representatives? Justify your view.

3) What do you consider to be the two most significant weaknesses of the Senate and the House of Representatives? Explain.

4) How do you think the bicameral structure of parliament provides for effective law-making?

5) State three facts about the House of Reps and three facts about the Senate.

The Crown

The governor-general represents the Crown. The Queen, appoints the governor-general. The Crown acts on the advice of the ministers

of state, who are members of parliament.

10 Things I Love about the Crown- ROLE

1) Appointed by the Queen on the advice of the PM2) Calls Elections3) Establishing departments of government and appoints

ministers4) Appoints parliamentary Sessions5) Expecting to Step in if the Government has been voted

out6) Brings a session of parliament to an end7) Dissolving the House of Reps to bring about an election. 8) Giving Royal Assent9) Withholding Royal Assent10) Delegating Legislation as part of the Executive Council-

Delegated Legislation is the rules and regulations made by government bodies such as VicRoads.

WHAT IS A MINISTER? A minister is responsible and answerable to

parliament for the actions of a government department/area (For example, the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Minister of Education, Minister of Transport).

Each minister has a portfolio. A portfolio is a special area of responsibility.

What is the Cabinet? Cabinet is a meeting of ministers. Members

of Cabinet form the Executive Council. Most members of Cabinet are ministers ‘with

portfolio’. This means that they are in charge of important government departments.

QUESTION TIME

State the four roles that you think are most significant of the Crown.