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In 1901, Australia
became a Federation.
This resulted in the end of British dependency and the
start of its own laws and autonomy. It was not a sudden
independence, but a gradual process of leaving old
English customs and authority behind and becoming a new
and independent country with its own culture. The
friendship and devotion from Australia towards the
monarchy and our ‘mother country’ has continued over
the years and even today a great level of respect is
devoted towards Britain and the Queen. Despite no longer
having any power or control over the Australian
government, a General Governor is appointed by the
Queen, (this still takes place even to this day)
representing Britain in Australia, but under the orders
of the Australian ministry. The Australian Federacy is
composed by 6 States: Tasmania, West Australia, South
Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and
3 territories: Australian Capital Territory, Northern
Territory, and Norfolk Island.
There are also small
islands, such as
Coco Island, but they are considered only possessions,
with a nominated government to manage them. The
Constitution (1901) requested that all these States,
Territories and Possessions are managed by a Central and
National government, called the Commonwealth. The
Constitution also defines what the central government
and each state government legislates. Each state has its
own laws, and is different from the other states.
Example: In New South Wales, you need to buy a license
to fish, but in Queensland this is not required. The
different state laws always create a lot of confusion,
mainly for tourists and students. The laws voted in
parliament are called the Bill.
The Government System
in Australia is Parliamentary, where the political
parties choose a representative in the general
elections, and they elect the Prime Minister. The Prime
Minister can be changed, if the party is not successful
in their government program, or if he loose the majority
of chairs in parliament. It could also change if
he does not get through coalitions with other
parties to get the majority. In Parliament there are 72
senators elected, with 12 elected for each one of the 6
states, and 2 for each territory. State Senators have a
mandated period of 6 years, while territories only
require 3 years. In order for a Bill to be effective, it
needs to be approved by the Senate. The Congress is
called The House of Representatives, and consists of 150
members belonging to the registered parties. The party
with the biggest amount of elected members, forms the
government and indicates which prime minister is in
power. The parliament has to sustain the majority of
members, otherwise it loses power and is replaced by
another party who has gained the majority. The members
of the House of Representatives are elected for a period
of 3 years. Members of the Senate as well as members of
the House of Representatives compose the Ministry. In
time, voting has become mandatory in Australia, and
anyone over legal voting age who does not vote is issued
a fine unless there is a plausible justification.
The Judiciary system
does not depend on the ministry, in other words, the
government is obedient to the legislation and executive,
while the Judiciary system only deals with legal
subjects, obeying blindly the constitution.
Canberra is the
Australian Capital
and the headquarters of the Australian Parliament. The
city has been builded specially for this purpose in ACT
, Australian Capital Territory.
The
Prime Minister of Australia is called Julia Gillard
after Kevin Rudd from
the Labor Party, elected in November of 2007, after 12
years with the conservative John Howard.
Political
Parties in Australia:
Australian Democrats (AD) |
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Australia First Party |
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Australian Greens |
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Australian Reform Party (ARP) |
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Australian Women's Party (AWP) |
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Communist Party of Australia (CPA) |
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Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) |
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Labor Party (ALP) |
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Liberal Party of Australia (LP) |
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National Party of Australia (NP) |
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NT Country Liberal Party (CLP) |
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| Photo:
Electors surprised when Julia Gillard
took Kevin Rud out of the power. |
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