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Democracy And The Australian Political System Essay

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Democracy is produced in the Australian political system to created a fair society, however it is ironically produced by non-democratic and democratic instruments. The extent to which the Australian political system produces a democratic and fair society is dependent upon instruments such as the Constitution, Bicameral parliament, Separation of powers, Representative government, Responsible government and the ethic and values during a particular time.

An instrument in the Australian political system that produces a fair and democratic society is the Federal Constitution 1901 because it outlines the powers and constraints of the Australian political/legal system. The constitution creates a democratic and fair society because as Judge Murphy describes, it allows “an equal share of power”, this is evident through the division/separation of powers. Moreover, Gordon Reid and Martyn Forrest support Murphy’s claims regarding the constitution producing a fair society because it ‘uphold[s] the highest ideals of political representation’. The constitution protected rights regarding democracy in s 41,7 and 24, thus producing a democratic/fair society. However, in regards to values and ethics the constitution had failed to produce a democratic and fair society in the past, because suffrage was only granted to non-aboriginal men. This was due to the values and ethic of the time period, in which it was thought that aboriginals were not ‘citizens’ and women not qualified to vote.

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