Government

What is government?
‘Government’ means the actions of running a nation or state. It also means the group of people who govern.

‘Parliament’ is the place where laws are made, and is the meeting place of people who have been elected help govern a nation or state.

The system of parliament had its origins in Britain about 1000 years ago when King Alfred organised a council of powerful land owners and lords to help him raise taxes and make laws.

During the 1200s, the council expanded to include knights, who were poorer and owned less land, but who were important people in the community. The council became known by the French word parlement (discussion).

Still later parliament was divided into two sections: for lords and for knights, so creating two sections, an upper and a lower. Later still, the members of the lower house, the House of Commons, were elected, while the Lords sat in the House of Lords as part of their hereditary rights. This right has now been modified.

British House of Commons in the 18th century

Most monarchs these days are now expected to take the advice of the government and accept the laws made by the Parliament.

The British Parliament is located in Westminster, London, so this system of parliament with two houses is known as the Westminster system.

What a Government Must Have
There are different forms of government throughout the world, but whatever their beliefs, governments share the same elements:

•People must recognise the government has the authority to be in power. This is called legitimacy.
•Governments have the power to enforce the rules within the country. This is called sovereignty.
•Governments establish areas within which the rules apply. This is called jurisdiction.

Countries have a Head of State and a Head of Government. Some, like Australia, have a different person in each role. Some, like the United States, have one person to perform both roles.

A Head of State is someone who represents a country nationally and internationally. A Head of State is sometimes a monarch, meaning a king or queen. A monarch is not elected, but inherits the position from a parent or family member. A Head of State such as a president can be elected to the position or chosen by Parliament.

A Head of Government is the person who leads the government of a country.

In Australia, the Head of State is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth 2, who generally has a ceremonial role, while the actual running of the country is done by the elected Government. Because the Queen does not live in Australia and is not involved in the Government on a daily basis, she appoints a Governor-General to perform the duties of Head of State. The Governor-General usually acts only on the advice of Government Ministers. The Australian Governor-General is Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce.

The duties of the Governor-General include:

• approving, or ratifying, Acts of Parliament
• dissolving the House of Representatives, bringing about an election
• signing the order, called a Writ, to begin a Federal election
• pardoning or fining those who break Federal law
• swearing-in Government Ministers
• being commander-in-chief of the defence forces.

The British Houses of Parliament in London. The famous clock is called Big Ben

There are different forms of government around the world and through history.
Go here to read about some of them.

If you use any of this information in your own work acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Sydenham, S. & Thomas, R. Government [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2011)