...Essay Popular participation is a key aspect of good governance in both the United States of America (USA) and Australia, it derives from the freedom to speak out, assemble and associate, take part in public affairs, as well as having the ability to register as a candidate and campaign for election; by allowing these elements to occur. It is established on the credence that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision making process. However in both countries there are significant, almost insurmountable challenges that interdict a citizen’s ability to engage in and be represented in their respective political system. Popular participation in Australia is countenanced in a multitude of ways [Uphold] * Increase opportunities to vote, on and before, Election Day. In 2013 Election the Australian Electoral Commission undertook extensive remote area mobile polling services. Voting facilities were widely available. There were polling booths at airports (eg. For ‘fly in fly out’ workers to vote early and with convenience), postal votes and early voting at shopping centres and local government offices * Variety of political parties. In the 2013 Federal Election 54 different parties contested the available seats in the Federal Parliament. Individuals can join a political party and they can also form a political party and contest seats at the next election eg 2013 Clive Palmer and the formation of a new political (just before the election) being...
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...Is the Australian government effectively making alterations within the Australian Legal System for the benefit of Indigenous Australians? Introduction The Indigenous Australian population consists of people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent. Prior to European settlement in 1788, Australia was occupied by over 750, 000 Indigenous Australians who spoke 700 languages between them. However, the number of Indigenous people in Australia has transformed since the devastating impact the European settlers had on Australia’s indigenous Australians. They were exposed to new diseases and violent conflicts resulting in a significant number of deaths. Consequently, today Indigenous Australians make up only 2% of the entire Australian population. In 1788, the European colonists settled into Australia as James Cook enforced the doctrine of terra nullius because he believed that it was, ‘no one’s land’ during his journey around Australia in 1770. The cultures of the Indigenous Australians have changed over the past 227 years, as the European colonists of Australia caused very prompt changes to the Aboriginal society and the ways in which they lived. Whilst a number of alterations have been made to the Australian Legal System for the benefit of the Indigenous Australians, they continue to fight to have their rights documented and acknowledged by the Government and the people of Australia. This paper will evaluate the arguments...
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...“parent” party ♥ Aggrieved minor parties – usually form after the group failed as a pressure group ♥ Doctrinal parties – firm, narrow rigid doctrine Why do major parties dominate? ♥ Australia is basically a two-party system and other parties have found it difficult to establish themselves ♥ Media tends to concentrate on major parties ♥ Minor parties find it difficult to raise finance ♥ Use of single member electorates has made it very difficult Strategies used by Minor Parties ♥ Gaining major party support of their policies in exchange for their preferences ♥ Form coalitions with major parties, eg Nationals and Liberals ♥ Holding the balance of power in the senate ♥ Use electoral preferences as threats/compromises The Australian Democrats The Democrats have had a greater impact than any other minor party in the history of federal politics – emerged as a distinctive third force in federal politics – relative success over a period of 25 years. Origins – * Democrats emerged in the 1970s during period of dissatisfaction with the performance and policies of both major parties * ‘Swinging voters’ – not strongly attracted to either major parties * Opportunity existed for a third force to emerge in Australian politics – TIMING * 1977 –political meetings were held in all State capitals to...
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...elections is of great concern to everyone interested in politics and parliamentary government. Many ideas have been put forth about how to address this problem including a recent Bill that would provide for a system of compulsory voting similar to that used in several other countries. The following article is based on the speech at second reading by the sponsor of Bill S-22. O ur democracy depends upon the active participation of its citizens, and, while voting is o n l y o n e e l e me n t o f p o l i ti c a l engagement, it remains the very foundation of our democracy. Reinforcing this foundation is the goal of Bill S-22, which will establish mandatory voting in Canada. This legislation is a direct response to a rising electoral crisis. Voter turnout has been on the decline in Canada since the 1960s, reaching a record low of just 60.9 per cent in the 2004 election. Other Western democracies are also experiencing the same dramatic drop. Only 55.3 per cent of Americans voted in the 2004 presidential election, and the 2001 British general election recorded a turnout of just 57.6 per cent. Only one in four Canadians under the age of 25 bothered to vote in the last election. Research shows that these young people, as they age, may not re-engage in the system as their parents and grandparents did. Canadian researchers tell us that this generational shift represents a Senator Mac Harb was a Member of the House of Commons from 1988 to 2003 when he was appointed...
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...Marketing Plan 1. Political system Comparing the American and Australian Political Systems Like Australia, the United States has a system of government that enshrines the idea of indirect democracy. Like Australia, the American system is based on principles of political equality, majority rule and the preservation of minority rights. The United States is the oldest continuing democracy in the world today and one of the first to embrace the idea of popular sovereignty. However, it is relatively unique in the world with its emphasis on ideas of personal liberty. Similarities * Both are Federal systems (Federal and State governments). * Both have a parliament (called a congress in the US) composed of two houses - a House of Representatives and a Senate. * Both have a House that is popularly elected with electorate size determined by voting population. * Both have a Senate that represents the States equally - 2 senators per state in the US, 12 per state in Australia. Senators in both countries serve 6 year terms. * All legislation must be passed by both houses of parliament. * Both have constitutions which delineate the powers of the Federal Government. * Both have an independent judiciary (Supreme Court in US, High Court in Australia) which interprets the constitution and acts as a final court of appeals. Differences * The US is a republic, whereas Australia is a constitutional monarchy. * In Australia, the government (ministry, cabinet...
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...Paper In a democratic system it is vital that citizens engage in their civic duty of voting; only then can a proper governing body be chosen to represent the will of the majority. Abraham Lincoln got to the core of democracy when he stated, “the government of the people, by the people and for the people.” In the last 50 years of Canadian history we have begun to see a decline in voter turnout; ranging from 80% of citizens voting in 1962, gradually dwindling to 59.1% in the year 2008 (Dickerson, Flanagan & O'Neill, 2010). It is important to understand why citizens vote the way they do in order to determine what may or may not be successful in regards to winning a majority government; factors that influence the voter’s choices include socio-demographic characteristics, beliefs and values, partisanship and confidence in political leaders. There is a great deal of debate surrounding which policies could increase voter based participation in democratic systems, but the most irrefutably successful policies would be those applied in systems of proportional representation ("Statistics by country," 2011). Voting is part of Canadian civic duty; unfortunately not all Canadians exercise their right to vote. Over the past 20 years the Canadian voter turnout has been on a steady decline, from 75.3% turnout in 1988, to 59.1% voter turnout in 2008. Even more specifically, the decrease in voters is a result of the younger generation not taking part in the electoral process ("Falling...
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...Australia is one of the several countries which has implemented compulsory voting into its system. But it wasn’t until 1924 when it became mandatory for all eligible voters to enrol and vote in federal elections, due to a decline of elector turnout caused by the First World War. According to the Australian Electoral Commission, during the 1925 election, the first election with mandatory voting, the participation of voters was noticed to have increased to 91%. In spite of this, does more turnout increase legitimacy? Having mandatory voting will not only increase outliers but will also violate our freedom to choose and can lead to poor leadership. Therefore, Australia must bring about voluntary voting back into its system. We as Australians...
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...AMENDMENT PROCESS OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION The procedure of amendment makes the Constitution of India neither totally rigid nor totally flexible, rather a curious mixture of both. Some provisions can be easily changed and for some others, special procedures are to be followed. Despite the fact that India is a federal state, the proposal for amending the constitution can be initiated only in the House of the Union Legislature and the State Legislatures have no such power. In case of ordinary legislation, if both houses of the Parliament disagree, a joint session is convened. But in case of amendment of bills, unless both the houses agree, it cannot materialize, as in such cases there is no provision for convening the joint session of both the Houses of the Parliament. In fact, there are three methods of amending the Constitution. But Article 368 of the constitution which lays down the procedure for amendment mentions two methods. 1) An amendment of the constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either house of Parliament and when a bill is passed in each house. i) By a majority of total membership of that house. ii) By a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that house present and voting, it shall be presented to the President who shall give his assent to the Bill and there upon the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the term of the Bill. Most of the provisions of the constitution...
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...2.5. The unemployment rate is 5.6% which is not too different then the US. The countries prominent religion is Protestant at 28% followed by Catholic at 25% in the U.S it is protestant at 58% and Catholic at 23%. So it seems more people in Australia have a defined religion than in the U.S. Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott was elected prime minister following his coalition’s victory in national election in 2013. Like Australia, the United States has a system of government that enshrines the idea of indirect democracy. Like Australia, the American system is based on principles of political equality, majority rule and the preservation of minority rights. The United States is the oldest continuing democracy in the world today and one of the first to embrace the idea of popular sovereignty. However, it is relatively unique in the world with its emphasis on ideas of personal liberty. According to http://australianpolitics.com the below items compare Australian politics to US politics. Similarities * Both are Federal systems (Federal and State governments). * Both have a parliament (called a congress in the US) composed of two houses – a House of Representatives and a Senate. * Both have a House that is...
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...Evaluate the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK and explain the electoral process. The electoral process in the UK is based on the 'first past the post' rule. This means that a candidate wins a constituency simply by gaining more votes than any other candidate. However, this does not necessarily mean that the successful candidate received the majority of votes. For example, should four candidates compete, their seat in The House of Commons could be won with as few as 26% of the overall votes cast. Similarly no government elected since nineteen-forty-five has secured over fifty percent of the national vote.1 These results arise because the British electoral system permits minority rule, not simply majoritarianism. The more candidates that stand and the more evenly balanced their support, the fewer votes are needed to win. Ultimately there will always be a mismatch between votes cast and seats won unless every voter supports one candidate, since there is only one seat to win. Each candidate must consent to nomination and must be supported by at least ten registered electors who live in the constituency. There are few prohibitions on candidacy but a potential Roles and responsibilities for climate change in Australia Paper released at the second meeting of the Select Council on Climate Change. Introduction Governments at all levels, businesses, households and the community each have important, complementary and differentiated roles in...
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...Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila Parliamentary: A Good Form of Government Aira C. Adao UC-48 Prof. Marvin Ignacio Politics and Governance January 20, 2015 I. Title: Parliamentary: A Good Form of Government II. Abstract HYPOTHESIS 1. What is Parliamentary Government? 2. What are the types of Parliamentary Government? 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Parliamentary System? 4. What countries are implementing Parliamentary System? 5. What is the difference between Parliamentary System and Presidential System? OBJECTIVES * To point out the good sides of the Parliamentary system. * To discuss the process of legislation of the Parliamentary Government. * To tackle the important topic about Parliamentary system. * To form a good information to the readers about the essence of Parliamentary system. SIGNIFICANCE * This term paper gives information to the reader about the system of Parliamentary Government. * This paper will benefit the ones who search information about the essence of Parliamentary system. III. Introduction Parliament, (from Old French: parlement; Latin: parliamentum) the original legislative assembly of England, Scotland, or Ireland and successively of Great Britain and the United Kingdom; legislatures in some countries that were once British colonies are also known as parliaments. The British Parliament, often referred to as the “Mother of Parliaments,” consists of the sovereign, the...
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...“American Voters” In the United States the voter turnout during elections has decreased over the last fifteen years. In 2012 the Bipartisan Policy Center compared voter turnout rates for the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, The BPC said “Despite an increase of over 8 million citizens in the eligible population, turnout declined from 131 million voters in 2008 to an estimated 126 million voters in 2012 when all ballots are tallied. Some 93 million eligible citizens did not vote.” Many Americans feel like their vote doesn’t count anyway, mainly citizens who are already disadvantaged. Australian professor of Politics Lisa Hill states in her article What We’ve Seen in Australia With Mandatory Voting that, “Places with mandatory voting also have less wealth inequality, lower levels of political corruption and higher levels of satisfaction with the way democracy is working than voluntary systems.” Critics say that implementing mandatory voting is against the constitution, and what we value the most, freedom. Furthermore, Hill states “ Is being required to vote a violation of autonomy? Sure, but so is mandatory taxation, jury duty and the requirement to educate our children. Yet these are all good ideas. Voting should be mandatory because as American citizens we live in a democratic society where everyone should have an opinion. Although, Americans value independence and the free-will to do whatever they choose if this was a communist country, we wouldn’t have a say on who ran the...
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...Mandatory? In the United States, voter turnout during elections has decreased over the last fifteen years. In 2012 the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) compared voter turnout rates, for the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, The BPC states “Despite an increase of over eight million citizens in the eligible population, turnout declined from 131 million voters in 2008 to an estimated 126 million voters in 2012 when all ballots are tallied. Some 93 million eligible citizens did not vote.” Many Americans feel like their vote doesn’t count anyway, mainly citizens who are already disadvantaged. Australian professor of Politics Lisa Hill states in her article What We’ve Seen in Australia With Mandatory Voting that, “Places with mandatory voting also have less wealth inequality, lower levels of political corruption and higher levels of satisfaction with the way democracy is working than voluntary systems.” Critics say that implementing mandatory voting is against the constitution, and what we value the most, freedom. Furthermore, Hill states “ Is being required to vote a violation of autonomy? Sure, but so is mandatory taxation, jury duty and the requirement to educate our children. Yet, these are all good ideas.” Voting should be mandatory because as American citizens we live in a democratic society where everyone should have an opinion. Although, Americans value independence and the free-will to do whatever they choose if this was a communist country, we wouldn’t have a say on who ran...
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...school, a college of further education, a training institution that awards trade qualifications, or a constituent part of a university. Etymology In ancient Rome a collegium was a club or society, a group of people living together under a common set of rules . Overview Higher education Within higher education, the term can be used to refer to: a constituent part of a collegiate university, for example King's College, Cambridge a college of further education, for example Belfast Metropolitan College a college of further education but also a constituent part of a federal university, for example King's College London, one of the founding colleges of University of London Secondary education In some national education systems, secondary schools may be called "colleges" or have "college" as part of their title. In Australia the term "college" is applied to any private or independent primary and, especially, secondary school as distinct from a state school. Melbourne Grammar School, Cranbrook School, Sydney and The King's School, Parramatta are considered colleges. There has also been a recent trend to rename or create government secondary schools as "colleges". In the state of Victoria, some state high schools are referred to as secondary colleges. Interestingly, the pre-eminent government secondary school for boys in Melbourne...
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...practices echo that of the British Political system, specifically the Westminster system. This is a result of Australia’s values reflecting religious tolerance, freedom of speech and association, and the rule of law. Although the Australian Political system shares many similarities with The British Westminster Political system, there are number of subtle differences at the same time. Australian politics operates as a multi-party system; there are two major parties, as a result of the coalition between the Liberal Party and National Party, and the Australian Labor Party. The leader of the elected party becomes the Prime Minister, and for the party to be in power it needs to have a majority in the House of Representatives in order to make and enact policies on behalf of their party and the country. Since the advancement of technology and the availability of television and radio, the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader have been identified by the public as the leader of their parties due to fact that they are the person that the public sees the most. As a result they have been key representatives of their party in order to get their message across in the shortest possible amount of time. Due to the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader being identified as the leader the achievements and failures of their political party fall heavily upon them. Thus many political spectators are seeing the “presidentialisation” of Australian politics. According to R.A.W. Rhodes, John Wanna...
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