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| Backbenchers | These
are elected representatives who do not become Ministers and do
not have portfolios. They sit in the seats, called benches,
behind the Ministers in the House. Therefore, they sit in the back benches. |
| constitution | A written document that sets out the rules for how a country or club or association will be governed, and the rights and responsibilities of its members |
| elect | To vote for |
| electorate | An area with a seat in parliament, for which the residents elect a person |
| Governor-General | The person who does the job of Head of State for the Queen because she does not live in Australia. |
| Head of State | A person who is the head of a country even though they may not be in charge of the government |
| Judiciary | In Australia,
power is spread between 3 groups so that no one group or person
can have all the power. Each group checks the power of the other
two. This is called the 'Separation of Powers'. The Australian
Constitution established groups to be responsible for these powers.
The groups are: The Legislature, which is the branch of government that makes laws. The Executive, which is the branch that executes (puts into use) the laws with the help of government departments. It also develops new rules to meet the needs of the community and provides specialist information for this purpose. The Judiciary, which consists of courts that interpret the laws and judge whether or not they have been broken. They settle arguments and decide on appropriate consequences for those who break the law. Just as the Commonwealth and State Parliaments share the governng of Australia, the courts share their work across Australia. |
| king | See monarch |
| law | A rule that affects how we live |
| Mace |
This is a symbol of the
Speaker's authority. At the start and end of each sitting of
Parliament, it is carried into the House of Representatives by
the Serjeant-at-Arms walking in front of the Speaker. The Mace
is placed on a rack at the end of a central table, with its crown
pointing to the Government seats. It stays there while the Speaker
is in the Chair, but if In the Senate, the symbol of
the President of the Senate's authority is the |
| monarch | A person who is not elected as head of state, but who inherits the position from a parent or family member. |
| parliament | A group of people elected to make laws. The Australian Parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. |
| Political party | An organised
group of people who have similar ideas and values, similar beliefs
about how a country or state should be run, and who work towards
getting their members elected to parliament. Political parties
are necessary in a democracy because in a democracy people vote
for someone to represent (speak for them) in parliament. Political
parties select candidates to stand for election, and bring to
the public's attention the issues they are most concerned about.
In countries that are not democracies, only one party is allowed, which is the one that controls the government. |
| queen | See monarch |
| Shadow ministers | The
Political Party that wins the second largest number of seats
in the House of Representatives is called The Opposition. The
Leader of the Opposition has a number of people who take up similar portfolios to those of Ministers. Their job is to keep a check on what Ministers do or say, and to know about the issues in their portfolio. Because they 'shadow' what the Minister is doing, each is called a Shadow Minister. |
| Trade union | An organisation of employees who band together to protect their rights. |
| vote | Citizens over 18 years of age are given a paper called a ballot paper and they mark the paper to choose the person they want to elect to parliament |