Australia was originally six British colonies that became a federation with the passing of the Australian Constitution in 1901. The Constitution established a federal parliamentary system of government with a bicameral parliament consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives. The Prime Minister and other ministers form the executive government and are responsible for developing policies, while the opposition scrutinizes the government. The Constitution also created six state governments and outlined the division of powers between federal and state authorities.

1. #electionprep101
AUSTRALIA: A NEW FEDERATION

2. i. Australia was not a nation
ii. Was just a mere six British colonies, subject to their
law-making powers
iii. Partly self-governing - by which each colony had its
own government and laws, including its own railway
system, postage stamps and taxes (DA COOL SHIT)
BEFORE 1901:

3. BUT…
…this was all highly
problematic and
people began to think
about the benefits of
uniting as one nation.

4. i. During the 1890s, each colony sent
representatives to conventions
ii. Delegates agreed and made a draft
constitution
iii. The people of the colonies voted in a
series of referendums to accept this
new Australian Constitution
AND THEREFORE:

5. i. Passed as a British Act
of Parliament in 1900
ii. Called the
Commonwealth of
Australia Constitution
Act
i. Came into effect on 1
January 1901
ii. AND IS: the written set
of rules by which our
fine nation is governed.

6. 8 chapters
128 sections
KEY FEATURES
i. Sets up a federal Parliament and government
i. A bicameral Parliament
i. Six state governments
i. The power-sharing arrangements between the
federal and state parliaments

7. What’s not in it?
The Prime Minister:
While central to the way government works, the
Prime Minister operates by convention
Rights of the Australian people:
Unlike the United States’ Constitution, Australia’s
does not include a bill of rights, such as the right to
free speech

8. A proposed change must be approved by the
Parliament and then be put to Aussies in a
referendum, for their approval
HOW DA FUCK
WE CHANGE
IT?

10. Each level of government has its own responsibilities, although in
some cases these responsibilities overlap.
FEDERALISM

11. over 560 local councils—make local laws, called by-
laws, for their region or district
LOCAL COUNCILS

12. STATES
six state and two mainland territory parliaments—
make laws for their state or territory

13. SEPARATION
OF
POWERS

14. POWER ROLE COMPOSITION
PARLIAMENT Makes and amends
the law
Parliament is made
up of the Queen, the
Senate and the
House of
Representatives
EXECUTIVE Puts the law into
action
The Executive is
made up of the Prime
Minister and ministers
JUDICIARY Makes judgments
about and interprets
the law
The Judiciary is made
up of the High Court
and other federal
courts

15. PARLIAMENT

16. i. In Australia the term 'parliament' refers to an assembly
of elected representatives
i. makes laws for the country or state/territory

17. Our parl
has a h
stat
Queen,
represented
Governor-G

18. BICAMERALISM
226 members in total
This means it consists of two houses:
the Senate and the House of Representatives

19. i. Has 150 members
i. Each member
represents one of
the 150 electorates
in Australia.
ii. On average, 94 000
voters live in each
electorate.
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES

21. i. Made up of 76 senators
i. Twelve senators represent each
state and two senators represent
each territory
SENATE

23. Responsible government
means that at an
election, the party (or
coalition of parties) with the
the majority of members
elected to the House of
Representatives becomes
the government.
EXECUTIVE
GOVERNMENT The separation of powers works together
with another principle known as
responsible government.
And that party must maintain the support of the majority of members of
the House of Representatives in order to remain in government.

25. i. The leader of the Australian Government
and the leader of the nation.
ii. By convention, the Prime Minister is a
member of the House of Representatives
who leads the parliamentary party with
the support of the majority of members in
the House.
PRIME
MINISTER

26. i. The Prime Minister is chosen by a vote of the members of
the government (their colleagues)
ii. The Prime Minister can keep their job as long as they are a
member of parliament and retain the support of the
government.
i. Australia has no maximum period of service for a Prime
Minister
CHOOSING THE
PRIME
MINISTER?

27. KEY ROLES:
- chairing meetings where the government
discusses policies and examines bills
- selecting members of the government to be
ministers
- leading Cabinet (Prime Minister and
ministers) in deciding government policy
The Prime Minister is the most powerful
person in Parliament.

28. - acting as the chief government
spokesperson (here and abroad)
- advising the Governor-General about
important issues such as the
appointment of ambassadors and
heads of government department
- deciding when to call a federal election
and leading the government in the
election.
The PM, continued

29.  Ministers are members of the government who have been allocated an
area of responsibility for how Australia is run; a portfolio.
 The Prime Minister and ministers make up executive government. The
executive is responsible for developing government policy and putting
government decisions into action.
MINISTERS

30. “WHY?!” I HEAR YOU ASK GLEEFULLY
Well, they could form government if it
they were to win the support of the
majority of members in the House of
Representatives.
THE
OPPOSITION
These guys are basically the
alternative government.

31. i. scrutinizing the work of the government
i. debating bills (proposed laws) in the
Parliament
i. working on committees that examine bills
and important national issues
i. providing alternatives to government
policies.
OPPOSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

33.  The minister responsible for economic and financial policy, and
who prepares the government’s Budget
 They are in charge of the government department known as
the Treasury
The Treasurer

34. i. is the federal government’s annual statement of how
it plans to collect and spend money.
ii. since 1994, it has been handed down on the second
Tuesday of May
i. I like to call the day B-DAY
THE BUDGET
**USELESS BUT DELICIOUS EXTRA INFORMATION:
Section 81 of the Australian Constitution states that all money collected by the government must be paid into a consolidated
revenue fund. According to section 83 of the Constitution, this money can only be spent with the agreement of the Parliament.

35. i. sets out the government’s priorities and policies for the
coming year
ii. how the government intends to raise money
iii. how much money is expected to be raised
iv. how the government intends to spend this money
v. the allocation of money to government departments
vi. The Treasurer works with other ministers to develop
spending policies for each government department. The
Cabinet (Prime Minister and ministers) must approve the
Budget before it is introduced into the Parliament.
DOES WHAT?!?!?!?!!!1111

36. The Open Budget Project

37. VOTING,
BITCHES

38. From Cathy Wilcox, The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 September 2013

39. HOW TO BECOME A POLITICAL PARTY:

40. is formed when two or more political parties join together.
In a parliament, parties may form a coalition to create a
bigger group and gain more power.
Each party in a coalition usually holds separate party
meetings.
_________________________
The Liberal Party of Australia and the Nationals
have formed the longest-running coalition in the
federal Parliament.
A coalition

41.  Minor parties only have a small number of members elected to
Parliament. They may form part of the government or the opposition
through a coalition or agreement with another party.
 Sometimes minor parties can hold the balance of power. This means
that their vote may decide the outcome of an issue if the government
and opposition disagree.
Minor parties

42. House of
Representatives
Section 28 of the Australian Constitution
states that House of Representatives
elections must be held at least every three
years.
The Prime Minister decides the date for an
election. This could be at any time during
the three-year term.
Voting in the House
Victorian Preferences, visualised

43. Twelve senators are elected to represent
each state and two senators are elected to
represent each territory.
Elected for a period of six years using a
system of rotation that ensures that only
half the state senators end their term every
three years.
Territory senators are elected for a period
of three years at the same time as the
members of the House of Representatives
and half of the Senate.
Half-Senate elections are usually held at
the same time as House of
Representatives elections, though they do
not have to be.
Senate
Voting in the Senate
Voting below the line in Victoria

64. From David Rowe, The Australian Financial Review, 3 September 2013