the crown and the parliament roles in law making

explain the law making process in steps

1. bills a drafted by a member of parliament

2. they are introduced into either the lower house or upper house of parliament

3. the bill is debated, possibliy amended, then voted on. If it receives majority of votes, the bill is passed to the next house

4. The bill is sent to the next house of parliament and the above process occurs. If it receives majority of votes the bill is passed through parliament

5. the bill will then go to the crowns representative for royal assent

6. if approved the bill is now considered an act of parliament but many not come into affect immediately

parliaments in australia

commonwealth

• the governor general

• senate

• house of representatives

victoria

• the governor of victoria

• the legislative council

• the legislative assembly

what is the lower house in commonwealth parliament

• the house of representatives

what is the lower house in victorian parliament

• the legislative assembly

house of representatives, member, majority, government

• 150 members of each electorate in Australia elect one member of parliament to sit in the House of Reps

• this is where the government is formed. The political party that receives the majority (76) becomes the government. The leader of that party becomes prime minister

• the party with the next highest number of elected members becomes opposition

legislative assembly, members, majority, government

• 88 members - each MP represents an electorate from within Victoria

• this is where the government is formed. The political party that receives the majority (45) becomes the government. The leader of that party becomes premier

• the party with the next highest number of elected members becomes the opposition

roles of the lower house in commonwealth and state parliament

• the main role of the lower house is to make and amend laws

• determine the government

• act as the peoples house

• act as a house of review

• control government expenditure

• provide responsible government

role of the lower house - determine government

• the political party with the most members in the lower house forms government. The government generally initates the majority of law reform in parliament

role of the lower house - act as the peoples house

• mps are elected to represent the people of their electorate and act on behalf of them. Any laws made or amended should reflect the values of the community.

role of the lower house - act as a house of review

• bills can also be initated in the upper house. If this occurs, the lower house will act as the house of review. If the bill is then passed it will be sent to the governor-general for royal assent

role of the lower house - control government expenditure

• money bills (taxation or government spending) can only be introduced and amended in the lower house. therefore it is the lower houses role to control government expenditure.

• Money bills are still required to be passed through both house of parliament before the government can collect taxes or spend money

role of the lower house - provide responsible government

• minister are responsible to parliament and therefore to the people of Australia. They are examined and scrutinised by opposition members about their ideas for law reform during question time.

what is the upper house in commonwealth parliament

• the senate

what is the upper house in state parliament

• the legislative council

senate, members, majority, government

• the senate is made up of 76 members known as senators - 12 from each of the states, 2 from each of the territories

• half of state senators (6 per state) face election every 3 years

• territoty senators face election every term of the lower house

legislative council, members, majority, government

• legislative council is made up of 40 members - each region in victoria elects 5 members of the legislative council

role of the upper house

• law making

• act as a house of review

• act as a states house

• scrutinise bills through the committee process

role of the upper house - law making

• main role is to make and amend laws (except money bills) and act as a house of review for bills that are initiated in the lower house

• they may pass a bill without amendment, pass it with amendments or reject it

role of the upper house - act as a house of review

• because majority of bills are initiated in the lower house, the upper house has a large role in reviewing these bills. The upper house can ensure that bills that are not appropriate are not passed through parliament

role of the upper house - act as a states house

• due to the composition of the senate (12 members per state, 2 per territory) it ensures equal representation from each state, the senate is able to represent the interests of each state in law making.

role of the upper house - scrutinise bills through committee process

• the senate has a number of committees

• their role is to assess proposed legislation/bills to determine what impact these bills would have on the people of Australia/Victoria and the rule of law, they can make recommendations on whether to pass the law in the house

role of the crown in law mkaing

• provide royal assent

• act as head of the executive government

role of the crown - provide royal assent

• once a bill has successfully passed through both houses of parliament, the crowns representative provides formal approval to bills

• the crowns representative has the power to withhold royal assent.

role of the crown - act as head of executive government

• the executive is made up of the prime minster/premier and senior government minsters. The crown acts as the official head of this and performs a number of roles on the advice of the executive.

• E.g the crown sets sitting dates/times for parliament and appoints judges to courts.