In Australia, responsible government is the phrase used to portray a political system based on the Westminster system The Westminster system is a parliamentary system of government developed in England, now a constituent country within the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British Parliament. The system is a series of procedures for operating a legislature. I…Westminster system
What does it mean to be a responsible government?
RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. The Westminster system is otherwise known as responsible government. The term should not be confused with “behaving responsibly”. It refers to the concept of a government being responsible and accountable to Parliament.
How is the Australian government accountable to the people?
A government is accountable and answerable to its parliament, and therefore parliament is accountable and answerable to the people. In Australia, governments, ministers and MPs are kept accountable by a number of methods. The public is able to scrutinise the government through these means:
What is the role of the federal government in Australia?
The Federal Government is also involved, mainly through funding, in many things largely carried out by the States, such as health, education, environmental issues, industrial relations, etc. Under the Australian Constitution, the States are responsible for everything not listed as a Federal responsibility.
How does the Australian government appoints the Governor General?
In Australia the federal government has no power over state legislation, for the governors are in no way responsible to the federal government. The premier, not the government, chooses who is to be governor, and the Queen makes the appointment on the premier™s advice.
What is it meant by responsible government?
Responsible government is the notion that the party that obtains the confidence of the lower house elected directly by the people is entitled to govern, and that governments are made and unmade in the lower house to which they are responsible.
What is a responsible government in 25 to 30 words?
Answer : responsible government is answerable to parliament as it has members who are always directly elected. Moreover, it is the principle of any democratic government. A responsible government cannot carry out functions as per its whims and fancies as it is directly responsible to the Parliament.
When was responsible government achieved in Australia?
This system was stopped in 1853, the colony (previously Van Diemen's Land) was renamed Tasmania, and representative institutions were introduced, culminating in responsible government in 1854.
What are two characteristics of responsible government?
Responsible government is known to be the commencement of a system of government which embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability. It is the principle of some democratic governments. There is a basic concept of bicameralism. It describes the degree of accountability towards the parliament.
Does Australia have a responsible government?
This is part of the principle of responsible government. It ensures the government is accountable to the Parliament. In Australia, the principle of responsible government works together with the principle of the separation of powers to guide the way in which law is made and managed.
What are the 3 levels of government in Australia responsible for?
The three levels are: federal Parliament—makes laws for the whole of Australia. 6 state and 2 mainland territory parliaments—make laws for their state or territory. over 500 local councils—make local laws (by-laws) for their region or district.
What is meant by responsible government in parliamentary form of democracy?
It means that the Council of Ministers has to work. with the legislature. It is for this reason that the parliamentary system is known. as responsible system of government.
Who is responsible for Australia's democracy?
HM Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia and formally the Australian head of state. The Governor-General represents her in Australia and is in effect the Australian head of state. All citizens over the age of 18 must vote in both federal and state government elections.
What is a responsible government class 8?
Answer: The government system in which the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers is responsible to the Legislature for all their actions and policies, is called a Responsible Government. In this system, the Council of Ministers has to take the Legislature into confidence during governance.
What is a responsible government class 10?
It means that the Council of Ministers has to work. with the legislature. It is for this reason that the parliamentary system is known. as responsible system of government.
Why is a responsible government important?
The key principle of a responsible government is that it needs the confidence of Parliament to create laws and taxation. The introduction of this system in British North America gave the colonists control of their own affairs. Canadians gradually gained control of their own political concerns.
What is accountable government class 10th?
accountable government is a government which is answerable or which is required to justify its actions or decisions . A democratic government is answerable to the people or to the parliament.
What is responsible government?
Responsible Government is the term used to describe a political system where the executive government, the Cabinet and Ministry, is drawn from, and accountable to, the legislative branch. In practice, this means that elections to the Parliament are the means by which we decide who shall govern.
How are governments held accountable?
Governments are held accountable to the people through elections, but in between elections the function of the parliament is to hold the government accountable. This is achieved through such things as parliamentary questions, debate on legislation and parliamentary committee investigations.
Why did Tony Abbott take office?
In 2013, Tony Abbott’s government took office because the Coalition parties won a comfortable majority of the seats in the House of Representatives.
Which house determines the composition of the government?
In Australia, as in Britain, Canada, New Zealand and other parliamentary systems, the election outcome in the lower house, the House of Representatives, determines the composition of the government.
Which party controlled the House of Representatives?
For example, for 6 years during Democratic Party President Bill Clinton’s term of office, the House of Representatives and the Senate were controlled by the Republican Party. In 2012, President Obama, a Democrat, faced a House controlled by the Republicans and a Senate controlled by the Democrats.
Is the United States a responsible country?
Note 1: the United States is not an example of Responsible Government. The President is elected separately from the Congress (the equivalent of the Australian Parliament) and it is possible for one political party to win the presidency without controlling the Congress.
United Kingdom
Let us look first at responsible government as Bagehot described it, though Bagehot in fact used the expression ‘responsible government’ rarely, usually referring to cabinet or parliamentary government.
Canada
On 29 March 1867 the British North America Bill finally passed the House of Commons. A Nova Scotian who was present in the gallery was critical of the utter indifference of most of the MPs and what he described as their lazy contempt for the bill. Yet a Canadian confederation was, on both sides of the Atlantic, felt to be urgent.
Australia
In 1867 the Australian continent was divided into six separate British colonies, five of them with some form of responsible government.
New Zealand
In 1867 New Zealand was a very young colony indeed, and a small one too. Its population was about 250 000 Europeans and 50000 Maoris. The number of Europeans had been sharply boosted by the discovery of gold in the South Island in 1861, though the gold did not last very long.
Which countries have responsible government?
Not all countries with responsible government require ministers to be members of parliament. The Netherlands, Sweden and Luxembourg have responsible government, but their constitutions bar ministers from being members of parliament.
What is the Westminster system of responsible government?
The Westminster system of responsible government, under which ministers must be members of the parliament, is seen by many people as the most developed and the most democratic.
When did Queen Victoria abolish the purchase of army commissions?
In 1871 Queen Victoria (acting on the advice of the government) used her prerogative to abolish the purchase of army commissions after the Lords had rejected the relevant bill, but such a use of the prerogative was very unusual.
Who was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1998?
In 1868 President Andrew Johnson escaped conviction by one vote and President Nixon resigned in 1974 rather than face impeachment. In December 1998 President Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ but was acquitted by the Senate in February 1999;
What is representative and responsible government?
The expression representative and responsible government is the also central to understanding the place of elections in our public life, and the ways in which the conduct of elections should take place. The phrase was referred to frequently by the founders who wrote the Constitution, and was well understood by all those working in, and commenting on, the governance culture of late 19 th century Britain and Australia.
What is the idea of responsibility?
The idea of responsibility stands in direct contrast to a monarchical form of government, in which the ministry is not answerable to Parliament. It also stands in contrast to systems of government where the executive, even if elected, has a fixed term of office, as in the United States and other presidential systems. In a system of responsible government the ministry may be dismissed at any time by the lower house of Parliament. The fact that the holding of office by the ministry is dependent on the ongoing confidence of the lower house gives crucial force to the idea of responsibility. In support of this relationship, the ministry is also continually subject to the scrutiny and criticism in the Parliament, through powers held by both the Senate as well as the House. (See Egan v Chadwick and Egan v Willis.)
What is the role of the Court in determining the validity of legislation?
On technical subjects, it is common for the Court to allow Parliament a wide range of discretion as to how to address a policy issue. In such cases the Court will be careful to distinguish the judicial task of determining the scope of Parliament’s powers from the question of what particular legislation makes an appropriate use of that power. The Court does not defer to Parliament in regard to the definition of Parliament’s scope of legislative power, only on the selection of legislative choices that fall within that scope.
What is the goal of the institutions of this system of government?
The institutions of this system of government developed with the goal of directly influencing the character and the conduct of the executive government.
What section of the Constitution gives effect to the purpose of self-government?
Sections 1, 7, 8, 13, 24, 25, 28 and 30 of the Constitution give effect to the purpose of self-government by providing for the fundamental features of representative government. As Isaacs J put it: “ [T]he Constitution is for the advancement of representative government”.
Which court case required that Parliament be elected by all of the people who are eligible to participate in that choosing?
Another line of judgements ( Roach (2010) and Rowe v AEC (2013)) have required that Parliament be elected by all of the people who are eligible to participate in that choosing. These rulings have given effect to that goal by placing limits on Parliament’s capacity to enact amending laws which hinder any of those people from participating.
When did the Court decide McCloy v NSW?
We saw this in 2015, when the Court decided a major case relating to state legislation governing political donations ( McCloy v NSW ).
What is responsible government?
The term should not be confused with “behaving responsibly”. It refers to the concept of a government being responsible and accountable to Parliament.
Who chooses the government?
The Government is chosen by the democratically elected Lower House. The Government requires the continuing support of a majority of members of that chamber to stay in office.
What is the head of state?
The head of state is an unelected person known as a constitutional monarch, who serves in a mostly ceremonial role.
What is the British system of government?
The British have a long, proud tradition of democracy; their political structure, known as the Westminster system, can trace its origins back centuries.
Which country has a second chamber of parliament?
The Westminster system varies from country to country, depending on local conditions and history; for example, Britain has a second chamber of Parliament, known as the House of Lords, whose members are either hereditary Lords or Lords appointed for life. By contrast, Australia has a second chamber of Parliament, known as the Senate, ...
Which party has the second largest number of seats in Parliament?
The party with the second largest number of seats in Parliament is the Opposition. It holds government to account for all of its actions. The British Westminster system has no constitution. It has evolved over centuries through traditions, customs and various legislation defining its role, structure and methods of operation.
What is the armed service?
A career public service which impartially serves the government of the day. The armed services are outside of politics and act on the instructions of the Government. The rule of law prevails, with an independent judiciary, subject to the Constitution.
What is representative government?
Representative government is a political system whereby the people choose a government, and, therefore, the government represents the people. This means that the elected government must act on the behalf of the views of its electors. In order to ensure that the government is constantly reflecting the interests of the people in its legislation, ...
What happens if a government becomes irresponsible?
Notably, if a government becomes irresponsible and los es the confidence of the people, it must resign. Similarly, if individual MPs do not act with integrity and responsibility, they also must resign.
What happens if the government fails to represent the views of their constituents?
If the government or members of parliament fail to represent the views of their constituents, they will likely not be re-elected. The way in which electorates are divided affects the operation of representative government in Australia.
Where are Parliamentary proceedings transcribed?
Parliamentary proceedings are transcribed in a book named ‘Hansard’, which is available online and in hard copy
Is a government accountable to its parliament?
A government is accountable and answerable to its parliament, and therefore parliament is accountable and answerable to the people. In Australia, governments, ministers and MPs are kept accountable by a number of methods.
What is the Australian government responsible for?
The Federal or Commonwealth Government is responsible for the conduct of national affairs. Its areas of responsibility are stated in the Australian Constitution and include defence and foreign affairs; trade, commerce and currency; immigration; postal services, telecommunications and broadcasting; air travel; most social services and pensions.
What is the Federal Government involved in?
The Federal Government is also involved, mainly through funding, in many things largely carried out by the States, such as health, education, environmental issues, industrial relations, etc.
Who Does What?
It is not always easy to know which government is responsible for which service. Although the Federal Government is probably better known to many of us, the everyday things we do usually have more to do with our State or Local Governments.
What is the power of local governments?
The power of local governments is controlled by Acts of State Parliament such as the Local Government Acts. Local Councils are concerned with matters close to our homes, such as building regulations and development, public health, local roads and footpaths, parks and playing fields, libraries, local environmental issues, waste disposal, ...
How many cities are there in Sydney?
Local Government areas vary greatly in size and character. The Sydney area is divided into about 35 cities, municipalities or shires, each with its own local council. The bigger country centres such as Bathurst or Albury have city or municipal councils.
What are the two types of government in Australia?
1. Parliamentary practiceŠAustralia. 2. Representative government and representationŠ Australia. 3. AustraliaŠPolitics and government. 4. CanadaŠPolitics and government. 5. Great BritainŠ Politics and government. 6. New ZealandŠPolitics and government. I. Australia. Parliament. Dept. of the Senate. II. Title.
Who said responsible government?
Let us look first at responsible government as Bagehot described it, though Bagehot in fact used the expression ‚responsible government™
How many MPs are there in the three territories?
The three territories each have one MP. The system is complicated by the constitutional requirement that no province shall have fewer MPs than it has senators, and the statutory requirement that no province will lose seats by a redistribution. The result has been a slow rise in the size of the House of Commons.
Is it difficult to codify the powers of the head of state?
The codification of the powers of the head of state would not be difficult. The codification should cover the circumstances in which a head of state is entitled to make personal decisions, and when he is obliged to act on ministerial advice, and how any disputes over the use of powers would be adjudicated.
