Politics of Australia

Government

Australia is a federation and a constitutional monarchy, with a written Constitution governing the relationship between the national government (usually referred to as the Commonwealth) and the states. The powers of the Commonwealth are defined in the constitution, and the residual powers remain with the states. (See Australian Constitutional History.)

Australia is an independent nation within the Commonwealth of Nations. Queen Elizabeth II is the sovereign and since 1973 has been officially styled "Queen of Australia." The Queen is represented throughout Australia by a Governor-General, and in each state by a Governor. In the self-governing territories (except the Australian Capital Territory), the Queen is represented by an Administrator.

The Australian Parliament is bicameral, consisting of a 76-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. Twelve senators from each state and two from each territory are elected for six-year terms using proportional representation and the single transferable vote (known in Australia as "preferential voting": see Australian electoral system), with half elected every three years.

The members of the House of Representatives are elected by preferential voting from single-member constituencies allocated among the states and territories roughly in proportion to population. In ordinary legislation, the two chambers have co-ordinate powers, but all proposals for appropriating revenue or imposing taxes must be introduced in the House of Representatives. Under the prevailing Westminster system, the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that wins a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives is named Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet wield actual power and are responsible to the Parliament, of which they must be elected members. General elections are held at least once every three years. The Prime Minister has a discretion to advise the Governor-General to call an election for the House of Representatives at any time, but Senate elections can only be held within certain periods prescribed in the Constitution. The last general election was in November 2001, and the next must be held before April 2005.

States and Territories

Each state is headed by a Premier, who is the leader of the party with a majority or a working minority in the lower house of the state legislature. (see Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories). The sovereignty and jurisdiction of the states is guaranteed by the Constitution and cannot be infringed on by the Commonwealth, unless the Australian people decided at a referendum to change the Constutition.

Australia also has three self-governing territories, the Australian Capital Territory (where Canberra is located), the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island, with political systems similar to those of the states, although their legislatures exercise only those powers granted to them by Commonwealth legislation.

At the apex of the court system is the High Court of Australia. It has general appellate jurisdiction over all other federal and state courts and possesses the power of constitutional review.

Political system

Three political parties dominate the Australian political spectrum: the Liberal Party, a party of the centre-right which broadly represents the urban middle classes as well as many country people; the National Party of Australia (now known for electoral purposes as "The Nationals"), a conservative party which was set up (as the Country Party) to represent rural interests; and the Australian Labor Party (ALP), a centre-left party founded by the trade unions and broadly representing the urban working class, although it has a base of middle class support as well.

Minor parties include the Australian Democrats, a party of the middle class left, the Australian Greens, an environmentalist party, and the Pauline Hanson's One Nation, a right-wing anti-immigration party. The proportional representation system allows these parties to win seats in the Senate, but they have usually been unable to win seats in the House of Representatives (the Greens won a House seat at a 2002 by-election).

The Liberal Party/National Party coalition came to power in the March 1996 election, ending 13 years of ALP government and electing John Howard as Prime Minister. Re-elected in October 1998 and November 2001, the coalition now holds 82 seats (69 Liberal/13 National) in the House of Representatives, against 64 for the ALP and one for the Greens. There are three independents. In the Senate, the Liberal/National coalition holds 35 seats, against 28 for the ALP, seven for the Australian Democrats, two for the Greens, and one for One Nation. There are three Independents (of whom one is a defector from the ALP and one from the Democrats).

Lacking a majority in the Senate, the Liberal/National coalition has relied on negotiations with the smaller parties and independents to enact legislation. Howard's conservative coalition has moved quickly to reduce Australia's government deficit and the influence of organised labor, placing more emphasis on workplace-based collective bargaining for wages. The Howard government also has accelerated the pace of privatisation, beginning with the government-owned telecommunications corporation.

The Howard government has reversed the foreign policy of its ALP predecessor, placing renewed emphasis on relations with Australia's traditional allies, the United States and Britain and downgrading support for the United Nations. Both major supporters support maintaining good relations with regional powers such as China, Japan and Indonesia, though issues such as the independence of East Timor have sometimes made this difficult. Australia has become increasingly involved in the internal difficulties of its smaller neighbours, such as Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Nauru.

Political Data

Official name: Commonwealth of Australia

Government type: constitutional monarchy, federal parliamentary democracy

Capital: Canberra

Administrative divisions: Six states:

and two territories:

Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island. These are all either uninhabited or have very small populations. Norfolk Island is a dependency with its own legislature.

Establishment of the Commonwealth: 1 January 1901 (non-Australia sources frequently describe this date as marking Australia's "independence," but this is incorrect. There was no single date on which Australia became independent. Separation from Britain was a process which took place by slow stages over the course of the 20th century.)

National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January. Australia Day marks the founding of the first British settlement in Australia (Sydney), in 1788. It is sometimes referred to as "Invasion Day" by Australian Aboriginal people and their supporters. ANZAC Day (25 April) is regarded by many Australians as a more authentic national holiday.

National flag: See: Flag of Australia

National anthem: Advance Australia Fair

Constitution: Came into effect 1 January 1901

Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction, with reservations. The High Court of Australia, comprising the Chief Justice and six other justices, is appointed by the government.

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Elections: See Australian legislative election, 2001 and Australian legislative election, 2004

Political Parties:

Significant political parties (and their federal leaders):

Australian Democrats: Senator Andrew Bartlett

Australian Labor Party: Mark Latham

Australian Greens: Senator Bob Brown

Liberal Party of Australia: John Howard

National Party of Australia: John Anderson

Pauline Hanson's One Nation: (no clear leader)

(The Australian Greens do not formally have a leader. Brown is the party's senior elected official and is treated by the media and public as its leader. One Nation has largely disintegrated. Senator Len Harris is its only federal parliamentary reprentative, but does not appear to be formally its leader.)