Week 1: An intro to Australia’s Government

Welcome to AusPol101! This read is all about the foundations of Australia’s Government. Lower House, Upper House, Senate, Opposition - we have the TLDR on all the political buzzwords you might not understand. Read on!

The basic structure of our Government

Australia’s Federal Government is a constitutional monarchy. This is a form of Government  where a monarch (in Australia’s case, The Queen) shares power within the confines of a Constitution. In Australia, the Queen plays no role in general political affairs. The Governor General is known as the Queen's representative in Australia. The Governor-General’s role is  largely ceremonial, such as providing Royal Assent to bills (thereby becoming law) or  appointing new ministers. 

Australia’s national Parliament is bicameral. This means it is divided into two houses, the  House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). Parliament’s main job  is to make laws. To make a law, bills are typically proposed by a Government MP in the  House of Reps. To actually become law, the bill must receive a majority vote in identical  form between both houses. It is then given Royal Assent by the Governor-General, becoming  an Act of Parliament.  

The House of Representatives

The House of Representatives comprises 151 members, each representing an electoral  division (also known as a seat or electorate). Known as the “House of Government”, a party  must win 76 seats to form a majority Government. If a party wins the most seats, but it is  below the 76-seat threshold to form a majority, they are in minority Government. This  requires them to form a governing coalition with another party to be able to pass legislation 

and govern. This most recently happened in 2010, with Julia Gillard’s Labor governing in  partnership with the Australian Greens.

Government vs Opposition
The party that wins the second-most number of seats is The Opposition. MP’s and Senators from minor parties such as The Greens, One Nation and Independents (a blanket term referring to candidates who are not affiliated with a political party) are known as the Crossbench. The name originates from where the Crossbenchers sit in Parliament, in between the Government and Opposition. High profile Crossbenchers include Jacqui Lambie and Lidia Thorpe (Greens).

The Senate
The Senate holds 76 seats, with Senators serving six-year terms. Federal elections are generally held every three years. This means at any given election, not all Senate seats will be up for grabs. For example, in 2019, 40 of the 76 Senate seats were up for election. The Senate is also known as the “House of Review”. It gets this name because its primary role is as a check on the Government’s power. This is achieved in two ways.

What the Senate does

Firstly, through the Senate’s Committee structure. When a bill passes the House of Representatives, if it is deemed to require more detailed scrutiny, it can be referred to the relevant Senate Standing Committee comprised of Senators from across the political spectrum. These Senators oversee a thorough inquiry, concluding with a report advising on whether the bill should proceed, be amended, or be rejected. It is the Government’s decision whether this advice is followed or ignored.

Secondly, Senators are elected using proportional representation (more on this next week!).  In short, this ensures smaller parties are more likely to gain representation in the Senate,  forming the Senate Crossbench. As a result, the Government usually does not have a majority  in the Senate, requiring negotiation with Crossbenchers for bills to pass. This is known as  Crossbenchers having the balance of power.