KJ-BITS+N+PIECES

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT UNIT

__Federation-__ when did this occur? when Australia was one continent with six colonies, before 1901. what did this mean for Australia's colonies? This means that every year the colonies had to vote. Explain the role of the Governor general. The Governor General is the queen's representative In Australia, and to protect the constitution. What is the constitution? The constitution explains and shows how the parliament is composed. Explain the meaning of federalism and bicameralism. Federalism is a federal principle or system of government. Bicameralism is something with two lawmaking groups. __Coat of arms-__ The coat of arms consists of a shield with the badges of each six Australian States. On the left side of the shield is a red kangaroo holding the corner of the shield and on the right side is an Emu. Under the shield is a scroll reading " Australia " and the whole thing is surrounded by wattle bushes. Commonwealth use the coat of arms to identify authority, also used for the Australian passport and on Australian cricketers caps. __The prime minister-__ Some tasks of the prime minister (pm) include, deciding when to call an election, Representing the government, calling political parties, going to official engagements and deciding when to introduce new laws. At any time the party can vote the prime minister out and replace him/her. __Voting and elections-__ You are legally allowed to vote at the age of 18. In the days of the first fleet only rich men were allowed to vote, these days they have ballot boxes where people put their "survey" into the correct colour and women and average paid men are also allowed to vote.Federal elections were not held on Saturdays until 1911. During the 1903 election was held on a Wednesday and polling booths were open from 8am to 7pm.To be elected as candidate you had to have the most votes on first count and you also had to be an Australian citizen. __ Three tiered system- __ Explain three levels of government in Australia. 1. Federal parliament 2. 6 state parliament, 2 territory parliament. 3. Over 650 local councils. Each level of government is run by a democratically elected council. They each share things like roads, environmental management and public health issues. Share and fund local activities. Name he title for the leaders of each level of government. Each level of government is run by a democratically elected council. How are decisions made and passed into law at a state and federal level? Passed down to each level of government and agreed to by the government and if needed is passed back and forth until a decision is made. __Australian Perspective-__ Democracy- is electing who WE would like to make Australia a better place and who we believe will make the right decisions for the country. Yes I do believe we have a fair system of government, because I believe Australia is becoming a better place and a safer country because of the laws the government is creating, and it is getting better every time a decision is made. __Political Parties-__ The greens- the logo is green because of the name. The nationals- Red,Green,Black,Yellow and blue, because of the Olympic colours. The democrats- Democrats are yellow,and green because it's the colours that represent Australia. ALP- the Australian Labour Party are red, white and blue because they are the colours on the Australian flag. Liberal- blue - Australian flag- there logo is like that because liberal is blue and they put the Australian flag on because it is Australia. __What would my ideal government look like?__ My ideal government Would only have one Leader to make all decisions, one prime minister to make a law very time it is needed.