Australia is a Democracy
Never before have there been so many democracies in the world or so many competitive elections conducted at national, subnational and region levels. Democracy is now prescribed as inseparable from good governance and an antidote to corruption. The key aspects of what makes Australia a democracy being the electoral role, Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), referendumsm, the rule of law
The separate colonies of Australia gained self-government during the nineteenth century and less than half a century later Australia became the first nation to vote itself into existence through popular referendum. How does Australia’s democracy in today’s modern age stack up on those early days of a fledgling democracy. The term democracy is a contested concept with many classifications. A government made up of the people for the people is the easiest definition to focus on. A democracy needs have these key elements of a political system for choosing the
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In a democracy, the rule of law defends the rights of citizens, upholds order, and bounds the power of government. All people are equal under the law. The rule of law. Martin Krygier, Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales, argues that there are four essential principles underlying the rule of law. They are universality of the scope of the law, clarity for all citizens, supportive and culturally appropriate institutions and an appropriate legal culture. (Yencken, D. 2008) Australia’s legal and political system meets these criteria. It is yet important to recognise that the rule of law significantly depends on legal precedent for its active upkeep. No government official may violate these limits. No ruler, minister, or political party can tell a judge how to decide a case. Office holders cannot use their power to enrich themselves. Independent courts and commissions punish corruption, no matter who is
The majority of countries set up relief programs and most underwent some sort of political upheaval, pushing them to the right. Many of the countries in Europe and Latin America that were democracies saw them overthrown by some form of dictatorship or authoritarian rule, most famously in Germany in 1933. The Dominion of Newfoundland gave up democracy voluntarily.
Australia and China are two very different countries with an almost polar opposite government structure, political systems and values. Australia is a constitutional monarchy whereas China is a single communist party state. It is arguable as to which system of government is more effective, considering it is involves other factors like social freedom, the quality of life and the economy. But comparing hand in hand, Australia’s system of government has proven to be more effective in all of these areas. Australia and China have many similarities yet differ greatly in political structure.
Democracy is the right for the people to be involved in the government and running the government. This Ideal allows everyone a chance to vote for their nations leaders and for laws to be passed and or established. The colonists did not have a democracy at first but over the years as they started to despise having a monarchy they established that the countries people should all have a fair say in the government. In order to get democracy they started their own government and broke away from england's monarchy. During this time a series of events occurred in order to gain this Ideal of Democracy.
The Australian constitution is a set of rules by which the country is governed, which came into effect on the 1st of January, 1901. The document describes the structure, roles and powers of the Federal Parliament, defining ways in which the State and Federal Parliaments share law-making powers. The roles of the Executive Government and the High Court are also included in the document, and additionally rights of Australian citizens (Parliamentary Education, 2015). Many believe that through the constitution, an economically stable, culturally diverse and democratic nation has been achieved. However, according to some, there are many aspects of the constitution which should be reformed in order to create a document more in tune with modern society
Rule of law is essentially the shared values of a people. Rule of law also means that no matter who you are Prime Minister, richest man/woman on the planet, or the most famous person alive the law is no different and that is where the whole concept of justice is blind comes
What is democracy? a) 2 definitions i) Like Aristotle’s thinking: “the rule of many.” Aka direct/participatory democracy. All/most people directly participate by holding office or creating policy ii) Representative democracy: most countries that are “democratic” are governed under a representative democracy (1) There are people in charge who fight for votes (2) also called the elitist theory of democracy (3) although it takes time, interest, experts for people to agree on policy, you can get reasonable decision making (4) participatory government can lead to bad decisions because people just follow what is popular at the time and what the popular opinion is 3. Is representative democracy best?
There a strong similarities between the Australian and the US systems of democratic government. However, the two systems are distinguished by a few key differences. Fundamentally, the two systems are similar in that they are both federal governments, having a second tier of state government. Both systems are bicameral parliaments in that they both have a House of Representatives and a Senate.
An Important Distinction Between Democracy and Republic It is important to keep in mind the difference between a Democracy and a Republic, as dissimilar forms of government. Understanding the difference is essential to comprehension of the fundamentals involved. It should be noted, in passing, that use of the word Democracy as meaning merely the popular type of government--that is, featuring genuinely free elections by the people periodically--is not helpful in discussing, as here, the difference between alternative and dissimilar forms of a popular government: a Democracy versus a Republic. This double meaning of Democracy--a popular-type government in general, as well as a specific form of popular government--needs to be made clear in any discussion, or writing, regarding this subject, for the sake of sound understanding.
Imagine if in today’s society only men got to decide on womens rights. Thats not fair? In my opinion this is similar to what the plebiscite is like, majority of the Australian population are heterosexual and only 1.2% of Australian adults identify as homosexual yet all Australians decide on the rights of gay and lesbian people.
The term, Democracy, stems from the Greek word ‘demokratia’ which means rule by the people and it wasn’t until around 500 BCE in Athens where the first examples of democracy originated. While Athens is widely regarded as the first historical example of a democratic system, some scholars believe that the Roman Empire’s republic system was more democratic than that of the Greek. As I will come to
“Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy,” said Benito Mussolini. By the time one enters the third grade they become aware of concept of democracy. Specifically in America, one is taught that they live in a democratic society. When asking what is democracy, the answer is never truly defiente. The answers given may be; a society where everyone votes, or by dictionary definition “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of the state; typically through elected representation.”
The law is an intriguing concept, evolving from society’s originalities and moral perspectives. By participating in the legal system, we may endeavour to formulate a link between our own unique beliefs and the world in which we live. Evidently, a just sense of legality is a potent prerequisite for change, enabling society to continue its quest for universal equality and justice. Aristotle once stated that "even when laws have been written down, they ought not to remain unaltered".
First of all, it is important to know the definition of democracy and its aspects. According to Peter Joyce (2005), the democratic government was initiated in the Greek city state of Athens in the fifth century B.C., so as a consequence, the word ‘democracy’ derived from two Greek words, demos (meaning ‘people’) and kratos (meaning ‘power’) , which means ‘government by the people’. Secondly, Giovanni Sartori (1997), a Political Science Researcher states that ‘democracy’ is an abbreviation that means Liberal Democracy. He distinguishes three aspects: democracy as a principle of legitimacy (power not derives
A democracy is a system of government that gives the people the power to govern. This can either be done directly, where citizens actively participate in the decision making of the country, or indirectly through elected representatives. The purpose of the democratic process is to protect the interests of all citizens of a country. In order to do so, every citizen in the country needs a medium through which to express his political opinion to defend his interests. This is the role of political parties.
Many people believe that the election plays the most important role in democracy. Because a free and fair election holds the government responsible and forces it to behave on voter's interest. However, some scholars find evidence that election itself is not enough to hold politicians responsible if the institutions are not shaping incentives in a correct way. In other words, the role of the election on democracy, whether it helps to serve the interest of the public or specific groups, depends on other political institutions. I