Government and politics

The Government of Australia is a system of institutions and organizations defined by the constitution and designed to provide governance of the political, economic, and cultural life of Australia. The Australian Government is based on two basic principles: the principle of federalism and the principle of separation of powers. The constitution divides the Australian government into three branches: legislative, executive, and legal.

The Constitution of Australia defines the federal legislature of the country – the Federal Parliament or the Federal Parliament. Parliament includes the Monarch of Australia, the Senate and the House of Representatives. According to the constitution, the federal government is given legislative rights at the state level, as well as the rights and responsibilities to enforce federal law. All other duties and rights remain with the governments of the six colonies that entered the federation at the time of its formation in 1901. According to the constitution, these colonies became the states of the Commonwealth of Australia. Each state has its own constitution and parliament, so Australia has seven independent parliaments, none of which can interfere in the affairs of the other. The Australian Supreme Court, as the legal branch of government, is charged with resolving disputes arising between the federation and the states, as well as between individual states.

The Federal Parliament has the right to make proposals for constitutional amendments. In order for these changes to acquire the force of law, it is necessary to pass them through a national referendum, at which they must receive a “double majority”:

– majority of votes, and

– majority of votes in most states.

The country’s constitution allows states to delegate some of their powers to the federal government. This can be achieved by amending the constitution through a referendum. The most common way of transferring authority is through a law that approves the transfer, and that law must be approved by all state governments involved in this transfer of authority. The transfer of powers, formalized in this way, can have a certain period of validity, after which the powers of the parties return to their previous state.

In addition to the states, Australia has a number of territories, three of which, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island, have self-government rights. These Territories have statutory rights granted to them by the federal government, and the Australian Parliament reserves the right to revoke these rights and repeal bills passed by the Territories as necessary. In addition, Australian citizens residing in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory have their representation in the Australian Parliament, while Norfolk Island residents do not.

The rest of Australia’s territories, which have a permanent population, do not have the right to self-government, these territories use federal laws, although there are local governments on Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands.

The principles of federal structure and the structure of the Australian parliament were the subject of much debate at the time of writing the country’s constitution. The House of Representatives is elected on the basis that the states that make up the Australian Federation have different populations. New South Wales, for example, has 50 seats in the lower house of parliament, while Tasmania has only 5. In contrast to the lower house, the Senate is elected by equal representation from all states, all of which are represented in the upper house by 12 senators. Such a system was chosen in order to prevent the two most populous states of the country, New South Wales and Victoria, from any advantage over other members of the federation due to the fact that if the lower house passes any law that can be regarded as an advantage for the two states, the upper house could block it by most of the smaller states.

The third tier of government, after the Australian federal government, state and territory governments, is the local government in the form of city and suburban councils. These institutions are responsible for issues such as maintaining local roads, libraries, garbage collection, animal registration, etc. Council members are elected in local elections and usually perform their duties in combination.

According to the Australian Constitution, the country is a federal state with a constitutional monarchical form of government. Politics in the country is carried out within the framework of parliamentary democracy. The Monarch of Great Britain is the monarch of Australia, and his authority in the country is represented by the Governor General. The power of the monarch in the territory of individual states and territories that make up the country is represented by governors and administrators. However, the monarchy in Australia is primarily of ceremonial and historical significance. At its core, Australia’s political system is a parliamentary democracy. The people of the country elect the legislatures of each territory and state that make up the federation, as well as the bicameral Australian federal parliament, which is a hybrid of the UK parliament, operating on the basis of the Westminster tradition, as well as elements of the unique Australian federal practice.

Legislature

The Australian Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament or the Federal Parliament, is the highest legislative body in Australia. It is bicameral, influenced by both the Westminster system and the federalism of the United States. According to article 1 of the Australian Constitution, Parliament consists of three parts: The Monarch, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Australian Parliament is the sixth oldest continuously democratic legislature in the world.

The House of Representatives has 150 members, each of whom is elected for flexible terms of office not exceeding three years, and represents one constituency, usually called the electorate or seat. Voting within each electorate takes place according to the rating system of preferential voting, which first appeared in Australia. The party or coalition of parties that gains the confidence of the majority of the House of Representatives forms the government.

The Australian Senate has 76 members. Six states nominate twelve senators each, and two territories nominate two senators each, elected through a single, non-transitional vote. Senators are elected for flexible terms not exceeding six years. Half of the senators must participate in the fight in every federal election. The Senate has been granted substantial powers under the constitution, far exceeding those of the upper houses of Great Britain and Canada. He has the power to block the House bill, as well as any budget spending. The Senate thus has the power to overthrow the government, as happened during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.

Since the bill must successfully pass through both houses to become law, if there is a disagreement between the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is possible to freeze government spending indefinitely. These deadlocks are resolved in accordance with article 57 of the Constitution, the procedure for the dissolution of both houses and the appointment of double elections. Such elections are rare, not because there are not enough reasons to hold them, but because they pose a real political threat to any government that wants to bring them to their attention. Of the six double elections that have been held since the founding of the federation, half have led to the fall of the government. Only once, in 1974, was the complete procedure for breaking the deadlock followed, with a joint meeting of both chambers, at which bills were discussed that brought the situation to a dead end.

Executive power

The role of the head of state in Australia is split between two people: the monarch of Australia and the governor general of Australia. The functions and roles of the Governor General include the appointment of ambassadors, ministers and judges, the issuance of royal assent to legislation, the issuance of electoral orders, and the conferring of honors. The Governor General is the President of the Federal Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defense Force. He holds these posts under the Australian Constitution. In practice, except in exceptional circumstances, the Governor-General exercises these powers only in consultation with the Prime Minister. As such, the role of the governor general is often described as a largely ceremonial post.

The Prime Minister of Australia is the highest minister of government, the leader of the Cabinet of Ministers and the head of government, and is appointed by the Governor General of Australia. The post of prime minister is, in practice, the most important political office in Australia. As the pinnacle of the country’s executive branch, the position is not mentioned in the Australian Constitution and exists thanks to an unwritten political custom. Except in exceptional circumstances, the prime minister is always the leader of a political party or coalition with the support of a majority in the House of Representatives. The only time a senator was appointed prime minister was with John Gorton, who later stepped down from his position in the Senate and was elected to the House of Representatives (Senator George Pearce was acting prime minister for seven months in 1916, while Billy Hughes was abroad).

The Cabinet of Ministers of Australia is a council of chief ministers responsible to Parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister and proceeds with his approval. Cabinet meetings are held in strict confidentiality once a week to discuss vital issues and formulate common policies. Outside the cabinet are junior ministers responsible for a specific area of policy and reporting directly to any cabinet minister. The Australian Constitution does not recognize the Cabinet as a legal entity, and its decisions have no legal effect. All members of the government are simultaneously members of the Executive Council, a body chaired – in theory, although rarely in practice – by the Governor-General, and which meets solely to confirm and enforce decisions already made by the Cabinet. Therefore, there is always a member of government with the title of Vice President of the Executive Council.

Reflecting the influence of the Westminster system, ministers are selected from among elected members of parliament. All ministers are expected to personally advocate for collective government decisions. A minister who cannot publicly defend government action is expected to resign in most cases. Such resignations are rare; public disclosure of divisions within the cabinet is also rare. Intraparty loyalty is seen as a significant factor in Australian politics.