Тема 2:Political system of Australia

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Political system of Australia

Australia is a constitutional monarchy, with the Queen of Great Britain at its head.

It consists of six states and two territories.

The queen is represented by the Governor General, who is appointed by the Australian government. The Governor General appoints members of the Executive Council, his advisory cabinet.

The main legislative body in the country is Federal Parliament. It consists of the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The members of the Senate are elected for a six-year term. There are ten senators from each state and two from each territory in the Senate. The House of Representatives is elected by general direct vote for a three-year term.

The executive power belongs to the queen and the government. It is headed by the Prime Minister. The ministers are chosen from members of Parliament and the Executive Council.

There are two major political parties in Australia: the Australian Labour party and a coalition of the Liberal and the Agrarian parties.

Till the 1930s Australia mostly depended upon Great Britain in its political affairs. But in 1931 Australia became fully independent from Great Britain.

The Australian Constitution took effect on January 1st 1901. There are six state-governments (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania), two self-governing territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory), and a national government (also called Commonwealth government).

The Commonwealth parliament can make laws about external affairs, interstate and international trade, defense and immigration. The state parliaments cannot make laws that are inconsistent with Commonwealth laws.

The national legislative power is divided between two chambers, or “Houses”: the House of Representatives and the Senate, both directly elected by the Australian people. The Australian government is formed by the party or coalition of parties that has the majority in the House of Representatives. Currently, Malcolm Turnbull is a Prime Minister.

In Australia, every citizen that has turned eighteen has to vote or he will have to pay a small penalty, resulting in a participation rate of more that 90%! Each citizen has to vote for the elections of the three “levels”: national, state or territorial, and local.

The states have two Houses each, except for Queensland, and the territories have one House. State parliaments and governments are responsible for: law and order, consumer affairs, health, education, forestry, public transports and main roads.

There are two main political forces in Australia. The political system in Australia is therefore a two-party system:

§ A coalition of the Liberal and National Parties (which has governed Australia for periods totaling more than 40 years)

§ The Australian Labor party (which has governed Australia for periods totaling 20 years).