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Federal system of
government - division of powers between the
Commonwealth and the States. The third tier (local)
comes under the ambit of the States
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The Australian
Constitution provides the broad framework of the
political system. Is both a written and an unwritten
Constitution (conventions)
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At Commonwealth
level the Parliament consists of the
Governor-General and the two Houses - the Senate and
the House of Representatives
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Governor-General has
an important ceremonial role but real power (with a
few exceptions such as 1975 constitutional crisis)
is with the Prime Minister and the Ministry
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Legislation must be
passed by both Houses and they have similar powers.
Main exception to this is that money bills must
originate in the House of Representatives
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Both houses have
strong committee systems
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The House has 148
Members (preferential voting system with single
member electorates) and the Senate has 76 elected
representatives (proportional voting system with 12
Senators elected from each State and two from each
Territory)
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Elections are held
approximately every three years with the party or
parties with a majority of seats in the lower house
(House of Representatives) forming the government
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The Opposition plays
an important role in the system and aims to keep the
government of the day `on its toes'
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An important part of
the Australian system (at Commonwealth level
particularly) is the provision of staff and support
to Members and Senators so that are able to keep up
with, and be properly informed about, current
legislation and policy issues. All Members and
Senator have at least two or three personal
research/electorate staff; the Parliamentary Library
has 175 professional staff trained to meet the
research and information needs of Members and
Senators and the Chamber Departments provide a range
of support services. In the addition to this the
Party Secretariats provide assistance and support
and Members and Senators normally have a wide range
of contacts with community and interest groups. The
existence of a free and investigative media also
helps Members and Senators be informed
