Introduction to Parliament

Introduction to Parliament

by Kaitlin Everitt

The Commonwealth Parliament

• Also known as the Federal or Australian Parliament, this parliament creates laws for the whole of Australia

• ​Is a bicameral system, meaning it has two houses

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​Structure of the Commonwealth Parliament:

​Governer-General: The Queen's representative.

​Senate: Upper House

House of Representatives: Lower house

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tkrJ3Tj8Ho&ab_channel=ABCNewsIn-depth

​Victorian Parliament

• ​The Victorian Parliament is one of 6 State Parliaments in Australia and creates laws for Victorians only.

• ​Bicameral structure like the Commonwealth Parliament

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​Structure of the Victorian Parliament

​Governor: The Queen's Represenative

​Legislative Council: The Upper House (40 members)

​Legislative Assembly: The Lower House (88 members)

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Open Ended

What is a bicameral system? What are some benefits and drawbacks of this system?

Government

The government is formed from the political party that holds the most seats in the lower house.

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example:​

​In Victoria, the party with the most seats in the Legislative Assembly (lower house) forms the state government. There are 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly. This means that the party needs to hold more than 44 seats to form the government.

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​Leadership

​The leader of the Victorian Government is called the Premier.

​The leader of the Federal Government is called the Prime Minister

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Open Ended

Which political party is the current federal government? What about the Victorian government? Who are the leaders of these parties?

​The Opposition

​The government is the party with the most seats in the lower house.

​The opposition is thus the party with the second most seats.

​The role of the opposition is to challenge the government and hold them accountable.

​Ex.

​Labor has 50 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

​Liberals have 31 seats in the LA.

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​Government = Labor

​Opposition = Liberals

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Open Ended

If the Liberal Party holds a majority of seats in the Senate, they will form the government. True or False?

​Important Notes

​Parliament and the government are not the same thing.

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​The government is formed by the political party who hold the most seats in the lower house, whereas parliament consists of all elected members

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tkrJ3Tj8Ho&ab_channel=ABCNewsIn-depth

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