Parliamentary sovereignty

The Australian Constitution sets out the powers of government in three separate chapters—the legislature, the executive and the judiciary—but insists that members of the legislature must also be members of the executive. In practice, parliament delegates wide regulatory powers to the executive.

Government is formed in the House of Representatives by the party able to command a majority in that chamber.

Minority parties often hold the balance of power in the Senate, which serves as a chamber of review for the decisions of the government. Senators are elected for six-year terms, and in an ordinary general election only half the senators face the voters.

In all Australian parliaments questions can be asked without notice, and there is a strict alternation between government and Opposition questions to ministers during Question Time. The Opposition uses its questions to pursue the government. Government members give ministers a chance to put government policies and actions in a favourable light, or to pursue the Opposition.

Anything said in parliament can be reported fairly and accurately without fear of a suit for defamation. The rough-and-tumble of parliamentary Question Time and debates is broadcast and widely reported. This has helped to establish Australia’s reputation for robust public debate, and serves as an informal check on executive power.

Frequent elections

A national general election must be held within three years of the first meeting of a new federal parliament. The average life of parliaments is about two-and-a-half years. In practice, general elections are held when the Governor-General agrees to a request from the Prime Minister, who selects the date of the election.

The governing party has changed about every five years on average since federation in 1901, but length of hold on government has varied greatly. The Liberal Party led a coalition with the longest hold on government—23 years—from 1949 to 1972. Prior to World War II, several governments lasted less than a year, but since 1945 there have been only seven changes of government.

Voting

For all citizens over the age of 18 it is compulsory to vote in the election of both federal and state governments, and failure to do so may result in a fine or prosecution.

Читайте також:

Read the text about Parliamentary monarchy. Guess the meaning of underlined words.

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
A written constitution	\|	Parties

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.005 сек.