L &G

• Principles of Australia's System of Government:

  • Governments must protect the rights and freedoms of individuals
  • Governments must make laws that reflect the views and values of the people
  • Governments must be accountable to the people
  • Governments must not abuse their power
• The Federal Government is responsible for national affairs and areas such as defence, foreign affairs, trade, commerce, currency, immigration, postal services, telecommunications, broadcasting, air travel, most social services, and pensions
• The Federal Government is also involved in areas like health, education, environmental issues, and industrial relations through funding
• Major State responsibilities include schools, hospitals, conservation, environment, roads, railways, public transport, public works, agriculture, fishing, industrial relations, community services, sport, recreation, consumer affairs, police, prisons, and emergency services
• Each state has its own constitution outlining its system of government
• Local Councils deal with matters like building regulations, public health, local roads, parks, libraries, environmental issues, waste disposal, and community services
• Specific powers include areas like taxation, marriage, social security, and defence
• Residual powers are areas not covered in the Constitution, left to the states to make laws, and include urban planning, civil law, transport, and schools
• Parliament has the power to make and change laws
• Parliament is made up of representatives who are elected by the people of Australia, including MP’s and Senators
• Federal Parliament consists of the House of Representatives (green room), the Senate (red room) and the King
• The Judiciary is made up of the High Court of Australia and other federal courts
• The functions of the High Court are to:

  • Interpret and apply the law of Australia
  • Decide cases of special federal significance including challenges to the constitutional validity of laws
  • Hear appeals, by special leave, from Federal, State and Territory courts
• Democracy means rule by the people
• Australia is a Constitutional Monarchy:

  • A system of government in which a monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government
• Australia is also a Liberal Democracy:

  • A system of government that promotes the rights of individuals and groups with regard to political, legal and social representation
  • These rights may include freedom of speech, religion, press, the right to a fair trial (jury), and the right to petition the government
• The High Court's role is to make decisions about Australian law, interpret existing laws, decide how they should be understood and applied in practice, and deal with challenges to the Constitution
• The Purpose of the Constitution is to outline the Separation of Powers
• The Parliament (legislative branch) has the power to make and change laws
• The Executive branch has the power to put laws into action
• The Judiciary has the power to make judgments about the law
• The executive develops laws and policies
• Cabinet is a group within the executive government consisting of the Prime Minister and top-level ministers
• what is a representative democracy?

  A form of government where people elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
• Differences between Indonesia and Australia's government history:

  • Indonesia was formed as a republic while Australia was formed as a constitutional monarchy
  • Australia's head of state is the King, while Indonesia's head of state is the president
• Similarities between Indonesia and Australia's government history:

  • Both consist of a separation of powers, lower and upper house
  • Both are representative democracies
  • Both created a Constitution
• Definition of Freedom: the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants
• Populism

  • Definition: a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established ‘elite’ groups
• Structural bias stems from certain structures (customs, reporting routines, commercial pressures, etc.) that operate within the news
• Media bias refers to the media exhibiting an unjustifiable favoritism as they cover the news
• How to Spot Media Bias

  Ask questions like: What kind of information is it? Who and what are the sources cited and why should you believe them? What's the evidence and how was it vetted? Is the main point proven by the evidence? What's missing?
• Partisan bias involves media reports that are slanted in favor of a particular political party
• Biased news reports present viewers with an inaccurate, unbalanced, and/or unfair view of the world around them
• Direct action


  The use of actions such as strikes or protests as a way of trying to achieve political or other changes
• Direct action

  1. Civil disobedience: use of non-violent means to raise an issue, but with the deliberate refusal to obey laws or protocols set by governments

  2. Examples: draft dodging (burning draft cards), illegal leafleting, street sit-ins, breaking of protest permits, mass mobilisation to break business-as-usual mentality
• Rights under the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights


  • Freedom of speech
  • Association
  • Assembly
  • Religion
  • Movement
• A resilient democracy

  Allows its members to exercise freedoms
• The Franklin Dam protest exemplifies the balancing of passion for change in a resilient democracy
• Civic participation is the cornerstone of democracy and allows the people to have a voice in the decisions that affect them