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The Politics of Australia take place within the framework of parliamentary democracy. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. This article describes the federal government of Australia See Australian governments for other jurisdictions In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. TalkCommonewalth realm.-->The monarchy For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the monarch of Australia (currently Elizabeth II Queen of Australia) Major General Philip Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC (born 12 December[[ 937]] was the 24th Governor-General of Australia The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Federal Executive Council is the formal body holding executive authority under the Constitution of Australia. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The Parliament of Australia or Commonwealth Parliament is the legislative branch of government of Australia. The Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate This is a List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition, who in Australian Federal Politics is a Member of Parliament in the Brendan John Nelson, MP (born 19 August 1958 is an Australian politician and former Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia, as leader See also Politics of Australia Australia elects a Legislature the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia using various electoral systems see This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. The Australian House of Representatives is elected from 150 single-member districts called Divisions. Background Following the federation of 1856 - New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria 1857 - South Australia Issues The 1972 Election was largely focused on domestic policy issues and the role of the federal government in resolving these issues Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975 All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for Background and Issues The election is remembered for the "fistful of dollars" advertisements run by the government offering tax cuts to voters Issues The mood in the electorate was moving against the Fraser Government by 1980 Background The coalition government led by Malcolm Fraser had to contend with a parlous economic situation with high inflation and high unemployment Federal elections were held in Australia on 11 July 1987 following the granting of a double dissolution on 5 June by the Governor-General Sir House of Reps preference flows The Democrats contested 138 electorates with preferences slightly favouring Labor (54 Results House of Representatives preference flows The Nationals had candidates in 13 seats where Three-cornered-contests existed Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 November, 2001. Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13 The next Australian federal election will elect members of the 43rd Parliament of Australia and must be held on or before 16 April 2011 In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. There are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian Courts the federal stream and the state and territory stream The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates The Commonwealth of Australia is made up of 8 states and territories controlled under a federal system of government In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. The Governors of the Australian states are the representatives in the six states of Australia of Australia's monarch Queen Elizabeth II. The Premiers of the Australian states are the de facto heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Commonwealth of Australia. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia. For elections to the Australian Parliament see the Australian electoral system. } The Australian Capital Territory (ACT is the Capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and its smallest self-governing internal territory The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then The Northern Territory of Australia is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the Queensland Government. The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then The form of the Government of Tasmania is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1890 although it has been amended many times since then Australia has two tiers of subnational government state (or territory government and local government. Political parties in Australia lists political parties in Australia. The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. The Country Liberal Party (CLP is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the Liberal and National parties The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor Political party in Australia. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The foreign relations of Australia have spanned from the country's time as Dominion and later Realm of the British Empire to become steadfastly allied with Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Australia is a federation and a constitutional monarchy, and Australians elect state and territory legislatures based on the Westminister tradition, as well as a bicameral Parliament of Australia, which is a hybrid of Westminister practices with the uniquely federalist element of the Australian Senate. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is The Westminster system is a democratic Parliamentary system of Government modelled after the British government (the Parliament of the United In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral The Parliament of Australia or Commonwealth Parliament is the legislative branch of government of Australia. Political federalism is a Political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together (Latin foedus, covenant) with a governing The Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia.
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The legislative branch
At the national level, elections are held at least once every three years. This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. The Prime Minister can advise the Governor-General to call an election for the House of Representatives at any time, but Senate elections can only be held within certain periods prescribed in the Constitution. The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the monarch of Australia (currently Elizabeth II Queen of Australia) The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate The Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates The last general election was in November 2007. The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia consists of two chambers:
- The House of Representatives has 150 members, elected for a three year term in single-seat constituencies with a system of alternative vote known as full preferential voting. In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty Instant-runoff voting ( IRV) is a Voting system used for single-winner elections in which voters have one vote and rank Candidates in order of
- The Senate has 76 members, elected through a preferential system in 12-seat state constituencies and two-seat territorial constituencies with a system of single transferable vote. The Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. This article is about voting systems that use ranked ballots For alternative meanings see Preferential voting (disambiguation. Single transferable vote (STV is a preferential Voting system designed to minimize Wasted votes and provide Proportional representation Electors choose territorial senators for a three-year term. The state senators serve for a six-year term, with half of the seats renewed every three years.
The voting system for the Senate underwent a significant change in 1948. Prior to that date Senate elections were conducted using a 'first past the post' voting arrangement. The plurality voting system is a Single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member This could result in landslide victories to one political party under relatively small changes in the popular vote, as well as periodically resulting in a Senate with a large majority of opposition Senators. In Politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the Government, party or group The change to a preferential system of voting has resulted in the numbers of Senators from each party more closely reflecting the numbers of votes the party list received, and a more balanced composition of the chamber. For most of the last quarter of a century, a balance of power situation has existed, whereby neither government nor opposition has controlled the Senate, with governments needing to seek the support of minor parties or independents to secure their legislative agenda. In Parliamentary politics the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor Political party or other grouping whose guaranteed
The relative ease with which minor parties can secure representation in the Senate compared to the House of Representatives has meant that such parties have focussed their efforts on securing upper house representation, both at the national and state level (the two territories are unicameral). Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber They have usually been unable to win seats in the House of Representatives (the Greens won a House seat at the 2002 Cunningham by-election, but lost it in the 2004 general election). There is also a Queensland State Electoral Division of Cunningham The Division of Cunningham is an Australian Electoral Division A by-election or bye-election (called special election in the United States) is an Election held to fill a political office that has become vacant Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Minor parties do however affect lower house politics through their recommendations to voters regarding which party should receive voters' preferences, a strategy regarded as decisive in the outcome of the 1990 federal election. [1] A focus on the upper house has moulded the platforms and politics of minor parties, for which an upper house brokering role is the best opportunity to affect legislative outcomes. The demands placed on parties by this role can cause internal tensions within, and external pressure on, these parties, demonstrated by the splits within, and political decline of, the Australian Democrats. The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology
Because legislation must pass both houses in order to become law, it is possible for there to be disagreements between the houses that can stymie government bills. Such deadlocks are resolved under section 57 of the Constitution, under a procedure called a double dissolution election. This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. Such elections are rare, not because the conditions for holding them are seldom met, but because they can pose a significant political risk to the government that calls them. Of the six double dissolution elections held since federation, half have resulted in the fall of the government that called them. The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Only once (in 1974) has the full procedure for resolving a deadlock been followed, with a joint sitting of the two houses being held after the election to deliberate upon the bills that originally led to the deadlock.
The executive branch
Reflecting the influence of the Westminster tradition of British government, Australian government Crown ministers are drawn from amongst the elected members of parliament. This article describes the federal government of Australia See Australian governments for other jurisdictions TalkCommonewalth realm.-->The monarchy The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Westminster system is a democratic Parliamentary system of Government modelled after the British government (the Parliament of the United This article describes the federal government of Australia See Australian governments for other jurisdictions Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign [2] The government is formed by the party or parties that have the confidence of the majority of members of the House of Representatives. In practice, this has equated to the party or coalition of parties that holds a majority of seats in that chamber.
By convention, the Prime Minister is always a member of the House of Representatives. On the only occasion that a Senator was made Prime Minister (John Gorton in 1968), Gorton immediately resigned and contested a seat in the House of Representatives. Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH (9 September 191119 May 2002 Australian politician was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.
The same high degree of discipline that characterises Australian party politics extends to the executive, where all ministers individually defend collective government decisions, and individual ministers who cannot undertake the public defence of government actions are generally expected to resign from the ministry. Such resignations are even less common than breaches of cabinet solidarity. The rarity of public disclosure of splits within cabinet reflects the seriousness with which internal party division is regarded in Australian politics.
Political parties and Australian politics
The role of parties in Australian politics
Organised, national political parties have dominated Australia's political environment and parliament since federation. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor Brendan John Nelson, MP (born 19 August 1958 is an Australian politician and former Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia, as leader The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. Politics since 1900 can be characterised by the rapid and early rise of a party representing organised, non-revolutionary workers – the Australian Labor Party – and the coalescing of non-Labor political interests into two parties: a centre-right party that has been predominantly socially conservative and with a base in business and the middle class (now the Liberal Party of Australia); and a rural or agrarian conservative party (now the National Party of Australia) (see following sections for more detail). While there are a small number of other political parties that have achieved parliamentary representation, these three parties dominate organised politics in all Australian jurisdictions, and only on rare (and generally short-lived) occasions have any other parties or independents played a role in the formation or maintenance of governments.
Whether Australia's political system should be characterised as a 'two-party system' is a matter of debate, and can be said to vary to some degree from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. A two-party system is a form of Party system where two major Political parties dominate voting in nearly all Elections at every Of Australia's three main parties, two (Liberal and National) are in long-standing coalition at the national level – however they are not always in coalition at the state level, and the Liberal Party is not always the senior partner (the National Party predominates in the state of Queensland). However, as the National Party only ever considers a coalition or similar arrangement with one of the other two parties (ie. Liberal),[3] the system might be regarded as a two-party one in terms of choices of government, even though voters in some electorates may have a choice between three candidates with realistic chances of being elected to office.
Despite the entrenched role of formal parties in Australian politics, they are 'almost totally extra-legal and extra-constitutional'. [4] In contrast to some other countries, such as the United States, Australian political parties and their internal operations are relatively unregulated. There is however a system of party registration through the Australian Electoral Commission and its state and territory equivalents, including reporting of some aspects of party activities, principally the receipt of major donations. The Australian Electoral Commission, or the AEC is the federal government agency in charge of organising and supervising federal elections and referendums The term political donations refers to gifts to a Politician, a Political party, or an election campaign.
Political parties in Australia today
Major parties:
- The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is a social democratic party founded by the Australian labour movement and broadly represents the urban working class, although it increasingly has a base of middle class support. Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left The Australian labour movement has its origins in the early 19th century and includes both Trade unions and political activity. The Australian Labor Party currently governs.
- The Liberal Party is a party of the centre-right which broadly represents business, the suburban middle classes and many rural people. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The centre-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals political parties or organizations (such as Think tanks whose views Its junior coalition partner is the National Party of Australia, formerly the Country Party and now known for electoral purposes as "The Nationals", a conservative party which represents rural interests. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Their NT counterpart is the Country Liberal Party. The Country Liberal Party (CLP is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the Liberal and National parties They are collectively known as the Liberal/National coalition. The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a pragmatic grouping of Centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922
Minor parties include:
- The Australian Greens, a left-wing and environmentalist party
- The Family First Party, a socially conservative party
- The Australian Democrats, a centrist, socially liberal and environmentalist party
The list of political parties in Australia comprises the names and federal leaders of significant political parties as well as the names of other parties, including formerly significant parties. The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor Political party in Australia. The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology In Politics, centrism usually refers to the political ideal of promoting Moderate policies which land in the middle ground between different political extremes Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. Political parties in Australia lists political parties in Australia.
The History of Australia's political parties
Australian politics operates as a de facto two-party system. Unlike in the United States, however, internal party discipline is extremely tight. Australia's system was not always a two-party system, however, nor was it always as internally stable as in recent decades.
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Contemporary Australian national politics
The Australian Labor Party came to power in the November 2007 election, ending John Howard's 11 years in office as Prime Minister and head of Liberal/National coalition government. The Labor Party now holds a majority in the House of Representatives. The Senate, however, reverted to its prior state, with the balance of power being held by minor parties. However, until July 2008, the Liberal/National coalition will retain their majority in the Senate, when the transition to the new parliament will take place in the upper chamber.
More info: Australian federal election, 2007
Administrative divisions
In the states and territories, elections are held at least once every four years (except in Queensland, which has three-year terms). Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13 The Commonwealth of Australia is made up of 8 states and territories controlled under a federal system of government Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent In New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, election dates are fixed by legislation. South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country } The Australian Capital Territory (ACT is the Capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and its smallest self-governing internal territory However, the other state premiers and territory Chief Ministers have the same discretion in calling elections as the Prime Minister at the national level. The Premiers of the Australian states are the de facto heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Commonwealth of Australia. (See Main articles: Australian electoral system, Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories). This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. For elections to the Australian Parliament see the Australian electoral system.
Regional or local government within each state is handled by Local Government Areas and unlike other equivalent forms of local government, they have relatively little power compared to the state governments (See Main article: Local government in Australia). Local Government Area (abbreviated LGA) is a term used in Australia (and especially by the Australian Bureau of Statistics) to refer to areas controlled Australia has two tiers of subnational government state (or territory government and local government.
See also
- List of Australian ministers
- Politics of Australia and Canada compared
- Politics of Australia and New Zealand compared
- Canberra Press Gallery
- Political donations in Australia
- Political families of Australia
References
- ^ Timothy Doyle and Aynsley Kellow, Environmental Politics and Policy Making in Australia, Macmillan, Melbourne, 1995, pp 130-131
- ^ Section 64 of the Australian Constitution. The following is a list of Australian Federal Government Ministers following Prime Minister Kevin Rudd 's swearing-in on 3 December 2007. There are a great many similarities between the countries of Canada and Australia. There are a great many similarities between Australia and New Zealand. The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff including The term political donations refers to gifts to a Politician, a Political party, or an election campaign. Beazley Family Kim Edward Beazley AO (born September 30, 1917) Australian politician was Minister for Education in the government Strictly speaking, they may be drawn from outside, but cannot remain a minister unless they within three months become a member of one of the houses of parliament.
- ^ Dean Jaensch, Power Politics: Australia's Party System, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1994, p. 11.
- ^ Dean Jaensch, Power Politics: Australia's Party System, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1994, p. 2.
Reading
- Department of the Senate, 'Electing Australia’s Senators', Senate Briefs No. 1, 2006, retrieved July 2007
- Rodney Smith, Australian Political Culture, Longman, Frenchs Forest NSW, 2001.
Australian politics blogs, opinion pages and news sites
- Australianpolitics.com News, reference articles, and many other resources, maintained by teacher Malcolm Farnsworth
- ozpolitics Australian politics information, blog and feed site, unknown originator
- Australian Government and Politics Database maintained by Campbell Sharman of University of Western Australia
- Australian National University Politics site Australian politics links, maintained by Rick Kuhn, ANU
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