4.1.01 The roles of the Crown and the Houses of Parliament

What is the government in the Commonwealth Parliament?

• The party(s) with a majority of members in both houses.
• The party(s) with a majority of members in the upper house.
• The law-making body that passes bills into law.
• The party(s) with a majority of members in the lower house.

Which of the following allows the Senate to act as the ‘states’ house’?

• There is equal representation from each state under the Constitution
• The Senate can pass money bills to raise taxes.
• Only the Senate can act as a house of review.
• The larger states have greater representation in the Senate.

Which of these is not a role of the House of Representatives in law-making?

• Approving bills from the Senate.
• Acting as a house of review.
• Initiating and making laws
• Representing the people.

What is the name of a proposed law that has not yet been passed by parliament?

• Act
• Statute
• Bill
• Common law

How many elected members sit in the Senate?

• 12
• 76
• 40
• 151

A situation where the government holds a majority in the upper house of the Commonwealth Parliament is known as a:

• Hostile Senate
• Minority government.
• Situation in which the upper house can act as a rubber stamp.
• Majority government.

Following a recent Victorian election, one of the major parties won 40 seats, the other major party won 39 seats, and 9 seats were won by independents or minor parties. What statement best describes this situation?

• This is a majority government because one of the parties has won the majority of seats.
• This is a hung parliament because no party has won a majority of seats.
• This is not possible – the lower house has 40 seats only.
• This is a minority government because one of the parties won more seats than the other but only in a minor way.

What is considered to be one of the upsides or advantages of a government having a majority in both houses?

• There are no upsides – a majority in both houses is a weakness as it does not allow for proper debate.
• It allows the government to introduce bills that are part of its mandate/legislative program.
• Bills may not be adequately debated.
• It means that the government will need to negotiate with crossbenchers in the lower house to get its bills passed.

In October 2019 Adam Bandt MP, a member of the Australian Greens, introduced a bill to change the law to allow young people aged 16 and 17 the right to vote. This is known as a private member’s bill. Why is it that bills such as these are unlikely to pass?

• The bills will only need the support of the opposition to pass.
• There will be political pressures preventing the bill from passing.
• These bills are likely to pass as they supported by the public.
• They generally do not have the support of the government.

The parliamentary law-making process is often seen as slow and cumbersome. Which reasons make this the case?

• Parliament only sits for a limited number of days each year.
• All options are correct.
• There is sometimes extensive debating of the bill.
• The processes the bill has to go through can take a long time.