The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is representative of monarch, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.. The governor General follows the conventions of the Westminister system of responsible parliament and acts only on the advice of the current Prime Minister of Australia and his ministers. A major exception when the governor General excercised the reserve powers of the office, was the 1975 constitutional crisis, in which Sir John Kerr sacked Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The Whitlam Labor government had received small majority in the house of represenattives, however the opposition had control of the senate, and blocked the passage ofappropraiaction bill. On the 11th of November 1975, Whitlam wanted to call a half-senate election attempting to break the deadlock, but when he went to seek Kerr for approval Kerr instead dismissed him as Prime Minister. Fraser then took his place. The governor Generals powers to appoint and dismiss governments are very controversial. Therefore there should be increased accountability of Governor Generals powers, and Kerr should have not acted in …show more content…
Conventions are unwritten rules not laws. The westminister parliamentary system is built upon these rules. A number of longstanding conventions were used and broken in the lead up to the 1975 constitutional crisis. The convention that the Senate would always pass supply was broken by the senate. The opposition used their numbers to block Whitlam’s budget. The convention that if the supply is blocked, the pm should resign or call an election was breached. The convention that the governor general only act on the advice of the ministers was broken, as Kerr sought advice from Opposition leader and Chief Justce Sir Garlfield Barwick. The governor general broke another convention when Kerr made Fraser pm, when he did not have the confidence of the
Political thinkers Rousseau, Locke and Montesqieu claimed that the powers of government should be limited, divided and checked. The principle is that there should be a division of government executive, legislative and judiciary powers into three separate arms or institutions that act separately and are independent of one another (members of one branch cannot be members of either of the other two). Australia’s constitution separated powers by delegating the legislative power to Federal parliament (s.1), executive power to the Governor General (s.61) and the Judiciary to the High Court (s.71). However due to Westminster conventions (adopted from the British system of parliament) commonly practiced by the Australia government, the members of the executive (cabinet) are selected from the legislative by the Prime Minister (going against the concept of having no cross-branched members). The PM (also Westminster convention) is not mentioned in the constitution and yet exercised executive power; for example in 2003 PM John Howard exercises (s.68) by sending troops to Iraq. The constitution also provides the executive with the power to appoint the High Court Judge (s.72) and thus is could be argued that the executive has power over the Judiciary in that sense; However the constitution actively safeguards the position of the Judiciary by stating the High Court Judge “Shall not be removed except by the Governor-General in Council, on an address from both Houses of the
Indigenous Australians have faced many changes to their original life style, with numerous policies being brought in. These policies had an incredible affect on how the indigenous Australians lived. The policies inflicted on the indigenous Australians varied widely and had numerous impacts. The policies of assimilation, protection and integration had mainly negative impacts on the community, causing loss of identity, language and religion. The policies of self-determination and reconciliation, had mostly positive effects to the indigenous Australian community, creating a stronger bond between black and white Australians, encouraging the concept of closing the gap between indigenous Australians and non-indigenous Australians. These
Two judges, Kenneth Hayne and Dyson Heydon agreed also with Howard government’s argument. Both the judges also banned under 21 and most women not to vote, many states imposed property or income qualifications, and most Aborigines and Pacific islanders and other “coloured persons” were denied the vote.
When you think of the “land down under” you don’t really think of the kind of government they have. I chose to write about the Australian government because I really don’t hear much about Australia. It currently has a pretty interesting story to tell when it comes to their government. I became a bit interested in Australian politics when I saw a political animated cartoon on the internet that depicted Kevin Rudd, the last Prime Minister, on a news television show and it was quite humorous. I am going to give a quick history lesson on Australia then go into how the government formed and came to be. Then I will talk about the Australian constitution, the Australian arms of government, their federal system, political parties and Australia’s
To introduce, Australia was country solely owned and run by Britian until 1901, the year of Australian federation, from 6 separate self-governing colonies to one, on the 26th day of January 1901. ’While Federation was not perfect, it was a system (of both laws and beliefs) that enabled Australia to flourish.’ The question itself represents the states coming together as one uniting nation. The laws, the beliefs, the privileges and the embellishment of the phrase gives you a sense of welcoming into the history of Australian federation.
As the Prime Minister of Australia, it is my duty to present my democratic nation with their elected desires. The current issue is concerning the movement of Australia’s governing system from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. I believe that Australia should become a republic, as our sunburnt country has overtime developed culturally and democratically since 1901 when we become the Commonwealth of Australia, and started living under the ruling of Queen Elizabeth the Second. We have created a place that is in no way similar to the British Empire. As Australians we respect and acknowledge the traditional owners of our land, the Aborigines. Over time, it seems as though we have taken this country out of their hands and handed it to the
On 27th may 1967, Australians voted in one of the most vital referenda in the nation’s history. The 1967 referendum is one of the many important key developments in aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples struggles for rights and freedoms .This is referred as the 1967 referendum which means a vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to change the constitution and is about Australians voting significantly to change the Australian Constitution. Requirements which
Gough Whitlam is regarded as one the most controversial Prime ministers in Australia’s history. He is highly recognised for the great change and impact he had on Australia and the lasting legacy of the Whitlam years. Through the many changes and introduction of policies within Government and internal events, the Whitlam Government experienced many successes and failures. These successes and failures contributed to the image of the Whitlam government and how the public perceived the stability and trust in the government. The successes showcased how the Whitlam government was quite dynamic and influential in change, but on the other hand, failures displayed how the Whitlam government was ill disciplined and inexperienced. Successes included education,
Another mechanism of the Sydney lockout laws involves the NSW parliaments. The role of parliaments
While Whitlam never believed the dismissal was illegal, he did however argue that it was improper and immoral. In fact Whitlam saw that Kerr’s failure to advise or warn Whitlam before the dismissal; the integrity of Barwick’s advice; that supply had not ‘run out’ when Kerr had terminated his commission; and finally that he was not restored as Prime Minister after supply was passed by the Senate and the House had declared ‘no confidence’ in Fraser, was the ultimate constitutional outrage. The legacy of Whitlam though goes beyond his dismissal, he was the man who brought the Labor party back into the light
Governor Ross Barnett was born at Standing Pine Mississippi on January 22, 1898. Ross Robert Barnett was the youngest of ten (10) kids (his brothers and sisters). His parents were John William Barnett and Virginia Ann Chadwick. In 1926 Barnett graduated from the University of Mississippi Law School. Barnett also opened a law practice in Jackson in 1926.
EDE 325 Assignment 1 Case study (30%). Due 20th June, 2016, 1500 words (10% leeway +/-) Includes intext references.
Whilst in theory there should be a distinct division between the three arms of government, in practice the Australian political system makes evident overlaps. The overlapping nature of government often arises as an issue over which parties are to exercise what kinds of power. Essentially however, each head or group is designed to keep the others in check.
The City of Melbourne which has a population of about 71,382 is operated under the
The system of government in this country is based on the liberal democratic tradition. This kind of government is one based on the values of religious tolerance and gives its citizens the freedom of speech. The citizens also have the freedom of association which arises from the rule of law that has been put in place to ensure that no individual is discriminated against. The practices of the government and the institutions present in the Australian government are those that reflect the British and North American models and are seen as being uniquely Australian. Being a responsible government, it houses some of the oldest democracies in the world in the sense that it has the commonwealth of Australia which was created in 1901. This