Australia’s Federation
Australia’s political system is primarily founded on democratic and liberal principles. These principles are the freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the rule of law. These values are closely similar to those espoused in Australia’s ‘cousin’ nations of the Us, Canada and the United Kingdom. However, Australia’s political system is unique and is one of the most respected in the world.
The Australian Commonwealth was established on 1st January 1901. This day is commemorated as Federation Day because it is the day that the 6 somewhat autonomous colonies of Britain on the Australian continent came together to form the first 6 states of Australia. On the same day, the constitution of the federal government of Australia was established. The Commonwealth of Australia was established as a Constitutional Monarchy. ‘Constitutional’ because the Commonwealth Government was established with a written constitution, and ‘Monarchy’ because Australia’s Head of State was Queen Victoria.
This makes Australia one of the oldest continuous modern day democracies in the world. An amendment to the constitution can only take place through a referendum. Voting in Australia is mandatory. Persons that are eligible to vote but that do not participate in the vote must provide written explanation for their abstention or pay a fine.
Australia’s constitution clearly sets out the responsibilities of the three arms of government – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. The legislature sets out laws, the executive enforces the law and the judiciary interprets the law. The legislature is comprised of two houses – the Senate and the House of Representatives (or the Upper House and Lower House respectively). Any parliamentary legislation has to have the approval of both the upper and lower houses before it is passed as law. Each State has its own Upper and Lower Houses to pass laws that are not covered by the federal government.
Australia is also a constitutional monarchy, an aspect that has lingered on thanks to the country’s history as a British colony and the huge immigration of persons with Anglo-Saxon roots. The King or Queen is the head of state but with his or her powers now curtailed by the constitution. The current head of state is Queen Elizabeth II who is also the England monarch. Initially, the person and role of the Queen was derived from her role as the Queen of England. But the Australian constitution has now clearly defined her roles and responsibilities that are distinct from those of the Queen of England.
Though the Queen is the head of state, in reality she only plays a symbolic role. Her representative in Australia is the Governor General. The holder of the Governor General position is a nominee of the Prime Minister who is then appointed by the Queen. The Queen provides no input to the Governor General’s day to day tasks which include the appointment of judges, the establishment of state departments, the appointment of cabinet ministers and assenting to Bills.
A long held tradition though is that the Governor General only acts on the advice of the ministers. There are also State Governors whose appointment and responsibilities are similar to those of the Governor General but only at the state level.
The Constitution, the Monarch and the Governor-General
The Australian Constitution is the most important document in Australian government history. It established the Commonwealth government, defined its structure, powers and procedures, and defined the rights and obligations of the states in relation to the Commonwealth.
The Constitution was brought into existence through a British Act of Parliament, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. This Act granted permission to the six Australian colonies, which were still then subject to British law, to form their own Commonwealth government in accordance with the Constitution. The text of the Constitution (which was clause 9 of the Act) was written by representatives of the six colonies during a series of conventions in the 1890s, and accepted by a referendum in each colony.
Under the Constitution, the reigning British monarch is also the Australian monarch, and therefore Australia’s Head of State. The Constitution grants the monarch – currently Queen Elizabeth II – certain governing powers that place them above all other levels of the government. Because of the large distance between Australia and Britain, the monarch is permitted to appoint a Governor-General who can exercise the monarch’s powers in their absence.
The Federal System
The birth of our nation is often referred to as ‘federation’. This is because the Constitution created a ‘federal’ system of government.
Under a federal system, powers are divided between a central government and several regional governments. In Australia, power was divided between the Commonwealth Government and the governments of the six colonies, which were renamed ‘states’ by the Constitution.
Specific areas of legislative power (“heads of power”) were given to the Commonwealth Government, including:
- taxation
- defence
- foreign affairs
- postal and telecommunications services
A complete list of Commonwealth heads of power is at section 51 of the Constitution. The Commonwealth also has power to make laws for Australia’s territories (section 122).
The states retained legislative power over all other matters that occurred within their borders, including:
- police
- hospitals
- education
- public transport
The wording of the law has often created situations where both the Commonwealth and the states claim the authority to make laws over the same matter. See State and Territory Government for a discussion of the State-Commonwealth relationship and how these conflicts are resolved.
There are many political parties in Australia, the full list can be found here, but the largest ones are:
