Factors That Affect Parliament to Make Law: KK5

factors that affect the ability of parliament to make law:

• the bicameral structure of parliament

• international pressures

• the representative nature of parliament

1) role of a bicameral parliament

• main function is to create and change laws

• supreme law-making body, meaning it can create and change any law within its power

• for a bill to become an act of parliament, it must be passed in identical form by a majority of members in both houses

bicameral structure: quality control

the requirement for two different groups of elected representatives to agree on a law being made is a form of ‘quality control’ on a bill in two ways:

• the second house double-checks the bill and may suggest amendments

• the second house reviews the proposed law to ensure there is not a misuse of law-making power by the other house

bicameral structure: thorough process

• The detailed and complex process of getting a bill through parliament ensures there are several opportunities for bills to be considered, debated and voted on to ensure proper and rigorous consideration of laws.

• However, this law-making process can slow down the legislative process, given the number of stages and the opportunities for debates.

• Parliament can act swiftly when needed, which was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic when parliaments were able to pass laws quickly.

• Time to pass a bill depends on the bill. Less controversial bills will likely take less time to pass.

how does the bicameral structure impacts the ability to make laws?

• composition of the upper house

• number of sitting days

• the law-making process

current composition of the upper house

• following the result of the 2025 federal election, the alp does not hold a majority of seats in the senate

• therefore, the balance of power is likely to be held by the members of the crossbench (independents & minor party members)

• government will need support of either the opposition or some or all of the crossbenchers to get bills passed through the upper house

hostile upper house

no government majority in the upper house

advantages of a hostile/diverse upper house

• more thorough debate and scrutiny of bills

• can be seen as an opportunity for more effective law-making (e.g., Greens, One Nation, independents, etc.)

• the government may be forced to consider a wider range of views and, in the process, laws better reflect community interests

disadvantages of a hostile/diverse upper house

• may mean more debate and scrutiny on bills will occur - time consuming

• the government can face difficulties implementing its legislative policy agenda, because the crossbench can force the government to make changes (amendments) to their bills or can reject government bills entirely by voting with the opposition

• it can also allow a small group of independent members or members of a minority party to hold a disproportionately high level of power compared to the size of their voter base

rubber stamp upper house

If the government has a majority of members in the upper house, they simply approve the bills passed by the lower house without real review or debate

advantages of a rubber stamp upper house

• the government can pass laws quickly and effectively

• it can implement its full legislative policy agenda, which it was elected to deliver

disadvantages of a rubber stamp upper house

• reduces the senate’s role as a ‘house of review’, and there is less debate or scrutiny of bills.

• party loyalty may override what’s best for the broader community – and members of the upper house may vote for bills even if they are not in the interests of the majority of the community.

• private members’ bills (non-government bills) may be rejected without debate.

sitting days

• On a “sitting day”, members meet at parliament house, and it is only then that bills can be debated and passed.

  • For example, the House of Representatives sat for 64 days in 2022, and the Senate sat 51 days.

• the limited number of sitting days has been criticised by some as a ‘waste of time’, on the grounds that it reduces the time and opportunities to pass important legislation.

2) international pressure

international pressure are demands or forces applied to parliaments to persuade them to make (or not make) law to address matters of international concern

sources of international political pressure

• organising petitions or demonstrations for change (domestic pressure in response to a global issue, e.g. climate action)

• international activists (e.g. greta thunberg)

• other countries

• the UN, its agencies, and treaties/conventions australia is signatory (e.g. the un pressuring australian parliaments to raise the age of criminal responsibility)

• ngos (e.g. amnesty international which is an ngo focused on human rights, and is advocating for australia to raise the age of criminal responsibility)

• tncs (including meta and google)

raise the age of criminal responsibility

• the age of criminal responsibility is the age at which a child is deemed to capable of forming the intention to commit an offence under criminal law, and therefore can be found guilty of committing a crime

• in 2024 the victorian parliament raised the age of responsibility from 10 to 12 years old

how does the international pressures of parliament affect its ability to make law?

affects

• government likely to respond to pressures from the international community, as they dont want to risk their international reputation

doesn’t affect

• if the government believes that acting on a global issue will lead to voter backlash, they will avoid legislating in this area

• no ability for international bodies or other countries to force the parliament to change the law - parliament much more likely to respond to domestic pressures

3) representative parliament

this means that the australian people vote in elections to choose politicians that will create laws and make decisions on their behalf, if the government does not make laws that reflect their views and values, they risk being voted out at the next election

factors that affect the representative nature of parliament to make effective law

• the diversity of parliament

• willingness of parliament to act in accordance with the views of the majority

• regular elections

the diversity of parliament - affects ability to make effective law argument

• despite Australia's diverse community, the parliament does not reflect the broader make up of our communities

• some argue that this means some groups and their interests aren't well represented, not representative in their law-making

• laws may disproportionality reflect the views and values of those in parliament

the diversity of parliament - doesn’t affect ability to make effective law argument

• on the other hand, some argue that the diversity of parliaments does not affect their ability to represent the aus people in parliament, and that there are means by which members of parliament can understand the needs and interests of their communities.

  • can communicate through petitions and demonstrations

  • can rely on formal law reform bodies to gauge the views of communities to help ensure those views are represented in law making

willingness to act in accordance with the views of the majority

• representative nature encourages members of parliament to listen to the views of the community and make laws in accordance with these views

• social media is a powerful way to gauge community views

negative of acting in accordance with the views on the majority

• in an attempt to be re-elected, members of parliament may introduce and support laws that are popular with voters rather than passing laws that may be necessary but unpopular with voters
  eg. governments may promote tax cuts to win the support of voters when it may not necessarily be in the best interests of the country.

• can be difficult for members of parliament to assess the view of the majority of people in areas where there are conflicting societal views on controversial issues

• can be difficult for governments to accurately predict the future views and needs of the community and make laws to provide for them

regular elections

• to achieve representative government, regular elections must be held so that the people can vote for politicians to represent them in parliament

• whilst there is compulsory voting, a criticism of the federal system is that elections are not held on a fixed date, which means that early elections can be held

how does the representative nature of parliament affect its ability to make law?

affects

• can’t pass laws the aus people don’t agree with - otherwise risk being voted out

• often opposing views - therefore parliament may be reluctant to change, may be reluctant to make laws and go against the views of half the population

doesn’t affect

• mp’s are elected by the people, should already represent the views and values of the majority, therefore, not something that affects them making laws as they already have the approval from the public by being elected in the first place

broad - ability of parliament to make law

can

• supreme law-making body

• representative nature - don’t want voter backlash - and want to get reelected

can’t

• time-consuming process - reluctant to make new law (sitting days, bicameral structure)

• often conflicting views in australians - can be hard to gauge the interests of the majority - may be reluctant to make change as they don’t want backlash

• voting along party lines affects ability to be representative

crossing the floor

a term used when a member of parliament votes against their own party’s official position