The Governance of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is one of the oldest democracies in the
world. It was established in 1901. Government is based on a federal system
of six states and two mainland territories (there are also a number of
additional off-shore territories). The national capital is Canberra located
in the Australian Capital Territory. The six states are New South Wales
(capital Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Queensland (Brisbane), South Australia
(Adelaide), Western Australia (Perth) and Tasmania (Hobart). The remaining
mainland territory is the Northern Territory (Capital Darwin). Each of
the States and both the Territories have their own level of government.
Australia is a constitutional monarchy and has a parliamentary system
of government. The Head of State is the Queen, though on most occasions,
the monarch (Elizabeth II) is represented by the Governor-General. There
are two houses in the Federal Parliament. The House of Representatives
has 150 members elected to represent single-member electoral districts
of roughly equal size. The Senate has 76 members with 12 are elected from
each State and 2 each from the Territories. The government is formed by
the largest Party (or coalition of parties) in the House of Representatives.
The leader of the government is called the Prime Minister. The current
Federal Government is a Liberal Party/Nationals coalition. The Australian
Labor Party (ALP) principal parties in Australia are the currently
in opposition
There is no fixed term for the Parliament or fixed date for elections
though the maximum period between elections is 3 years. Members of the
House of Representatives are elected for 3 years using a preferential system
of voting, the Senators from the States are elected under a form of proportional
representation for 6 year terms with half the members retiring at each
election (the terms of the Senators from the Territories are the same as
members of the House of Representatives). The last Federal election was
in October 2001.
The governments of the States and Territories operate on a broadly similar
basis. However, in Queensland and the two Territories the Parliaments are
unicameral (they have a single House). In the States the leader of the
Government is called a Premier (or Chief Minister in the Territories).
The Monarch is represented at State level by Governors. Several States,
including South Australia, have now adopted fixed term 4-year parliaments.
The Federal Parliament has power to make laws on a limited range of
areas that are specified in the Constitution. These include defence and
foreign affairs, immigration, overseas trade, and finance. State governments
have powers over all unspecified, 'residual matters'. Where a State law
and a Federal law are in conflict, the Federal law prevails to the extent
of the conflict. However, as the financial power lies in the hands of the
Federal Government, in recent years the States' capacity for truly independent
action has been limited. So while States have powers over such matters
as police, legal services, health and education, their policies are increasingly
influenced by the limitations applied by the terms of the Federal grants.
Matters such as street maintenance, local environmental initiatives,
public works, and rubbish collection in cities and towns are dealt with
by local government. In many remote rural areas with very sparse populations
there is no local government or responsibilities rest with community councils.
The High Court is the supreme judicial body. The High Court hears disputes
over the Constitution and is the Court of Appeal from each of the State
Supreme Courts. There are other Courts at Federal and State level that
hear cases appropriate to their jurisdiction.
Dr. Clement Macintyre, Lecturer, Politics, University of Adelaide
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Things to Know
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