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Government

Government of Australia

The Government of the Commonwealth of Australia is a federal democratic administrative authority of Australia. Australia’s system of government reflects both British and North American influences. Australia is governed by both the federal government and the state and territory governments. Queen Elizabeth II is Australia’s head of state under a constitutional monarchy. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth.

australia

what-type-of-government-does-australia-have

Governor-General Of The Government Of Australia

The Governor-General, representing the Monarch of Australia, is currently Queen Elizabeth II, in Australia. Governor General is appointed by the Queen, acting upon advice from the Prime Minister. The Governor-General is mandated with numerous head-of-state duties under the Constitution. He is the Commander-in-Chief of the country’s defense forces. The Governor-General gives assent to laws passed by Parliament and appoints high commissioners, ambassadors, federal judges, and ministers. The Governor-General also issues writs for elections, sets up royal commissions of inquiry, awards Australian honors, opens Parliament and welcomes visiting the head of states. The Governor-General mainly acts on advice from ministers, but he may forego this advice to utilize his/her reserve powers. These powers may include dismissing the Prime Minister if he acts unlawfully or in the event of Parliament’s loss of confidence, appointing the Prime Minister, refusal to dissolve the House of Representatives against the advice of the Prime Minister. The incumbent Governor General is Sir Peter Cosgrove who took office on March 28, 2014.

Federal Government Of Australia

The Federal government is mandated with specific areas of governance by the Constitution. These areas are defense, foreign matters, taxation, and postal and telecommunication services. The Federal government is comprised of the three arms of government, namely Legislature, Judiciary and Executive.

 

Legislature - The federal legislature is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each state and territory elect one member to the House of Representatives and 12 members from the states, and two from the territories are elected to the Senate. The legislature passes legislation, debates on matters concerning public policy and approves or disapproves government’s proposals on taxation and expenditure.

Judiciary - The High Court and Federal Courts make up the federal judicature. The High Court is mandated to interpret the Constitution, resolve legal disputes between the House of Representatives and Senate and to listen to Appeals from lower courts

Executive - Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The Prime Minister leads the party with the majority members in the government. The Prime Minister appoints Ministers, who takes care of their assigned departments. The Executive is in charge of policy making.

State Government Of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia has six states, namely Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, and Queensland. Each of these states has their own constitution, which provides for the legislature, judiciary, and executive divisions. Each state government self-governs on matters not controlled by the federal government and is headed by the Premier.

Territory Government Of Australia

Territories are regions not claimed by any of the states. Three territories have acquired a limited right to self-governance from the federal government. These territories are Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, and Norfolk Island. The rest of the territories are governed by the Commonwealth Law. These territories are Christmas Island, Jervis Bay Territory, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Australian Antarctic Territory, and Territory of Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands.

Local Governments

Local Governments or Local Council operate under the state or territory governments. The local government oversees numerous concerns such as waste collection and management, public recreation facilities, community safety, community health services, town planning, and maintenance of physical infrastructure.

THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS

 

The British Empire or the British Commonwealth of Nations, of which we form a part, is the greatest Empire the world has ever seen.

It consists of:

The United Kingdom which comprises (a) Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland); (b) Northern Ireland; (c) The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

The Self-Governing Dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Ceylon and Ghana. (India and Pakistan are in the unique position of being Republics within the Commonwealth.)

The Dominions are territories within the British Empire which enjoy full self-government or Dominion Status. In the words of the Balfour Declaration—The Dominions are "autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate, one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations."

(3)            Crown Colonies. These are the non-self-governing territories of the British Empire. They are administered by Governors appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. In the more advanced Crown Colonies the Governor is assisted by an Executive Council and a Legis­lative Council which may be wholly or partly elected and/
or wholly or partly nominated.

 

GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   UNITED   KINGDOM

The Government of the United Kingdom is vested in the Queen, and the Two Houses of Parliament—The House of Lords and the House of Commons.

 

The Queen: The Executive function of the Queen or Crown is really performed by the Ministry—the body of Ministers who act in the Queen's name. However, before a Bill becomes law it has to receive the Queen's approval or Royal Assent as it is called. By custom or convention once a Bill has passed through both Houses of Parliament the Queen never refuses to assent to it. The last occasion on which a Sovereign exercised the Veto was in 1707 when Queen Anne refused to assent to the Scotch Militia Bill.

 

The House of Lords:

The House of Lords or Upper House is comprised of:

The Lords Spiritual. These are the Archbishop of Canter­bury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester and twenty-one Senior Bishops. There are 26 Lords Spiritual.

The Lords Temporal, who comprise:

(a) English Peers; (b) Peers of Great Britain; (c) Peers of the United Kingdom; (d) Sixteen Scottish Representative Peers; (e) Twenty-eight Irish Peers elected for life.

(c)            Lords of Appeal in Ordinary: Seven Lords of Appeal in
ordinary, or Law Lords who are appointed to serve as
permanent Judges in the House of Lords Judicial Committee,
which is the Highest Appeal Court in the British Empire.

 

There are more than 800 members in the House of Lords. They are graded thus—Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts, Barons.

 

Since 1911 the House of Lords has no power to stop a Money Bill passed by the House of Commons, and since 1949 it has only a suspensive veto of one year over other Bills. In other words the Lords can delay any measure (other than a Money Bill) passed by the House of

Commons from becoming law for a period of one year.

 

The House of Commons is the third and most important Estate of the Realm. It is referred to as the Lower House although the House of Commons stands on the same floor as the House of Lords in the Parliament Buildings.

 

The members of the House of Commons are all elected on an almost universal franchise. Every person can exercise the vote (provided he or she is not legally disqualified) so long as that person is a British Subject who has attained the age of twenty-one, and has the necessary residence or business qualification.

 

The House of Commons consists at present of 630 members. These members are returned to Parliament as representatives of either Boroughs, or Counties.

 

Party Government. The real Government of Great Britain, however, is the party which has a majority in the House of Commons. There are three main Parties in Parliament—the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Party—and the Government is named after the Party which gains the most seats at a General Election. The present Government (in 1957) is the Conservative Government.

 

The Prime Minister. As soon as the results of a General Election have been declared Her Majesty sends for the leader of the Party which has a majority in the House of Commons and asks him to form a Government. This Party Leader henceforth becomes the Prime Minister.

 

The Ministry and Cabinet. The Prime Minister then selects about fifty or sixty persons from his own Party who are members of one or other of the Houses of Parliament and appoints them as Heads of the Chief Departments of State. The Queen makes these Ministers of State Privy Councillors if they are not so already, and they form what is known as the Ministry.

 

From this large body of Ministers the Prime Minister selects a small group representing the ablest and perhaps the most experienced members, and these, with himself as head, form the Cabinet. The Cabinet usually consists of between 20 and 22 members.

The following Ministers are usually in the Cabinet. The Lord

 

Chancellor, the First Lord of the Treasury, the eight Secretaries of State, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Lord President of the Privy Council.

 

The history of the Cabinet System is interesting.

From earliest times the Sovereigns of England had a body of trusted advisers who became known as PRIVY COUNCILLORS. When King Charles II came to the throne he found this large body of Privy Councilors too unwieldy. As he did not care to discuss important matters of state with so many Councilors he selected a few of his favourites from among them as his closest advisers and would consult them before presenting any matter to the Privy Council. These used to meet in the King's Cabinet, hence the name CABINET.

This action of the King was very unpopular and the Cabinet was contemptuously referred to as the CABAL, a word formed from the initial letters of the surnames of the King's favourites—Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, Lauderdale. Nevertheless the Cabinet system continued to grow.

George I and George II were Germans who succeeded to the throne of England. As they could not speak English they ceased to attend Cabinet Meetings and delegated the minister who commanded the respect of his colleagues to preside at the Cabinet Meetings in the King's stead. This PRIME MINISTER afterwards reported the decisions of the Cabinet to the King. From that time the Sovereign has never presided at a Cabinet Meeting and it has now become an established custom that he should not do so.

 

Government Pertaining to
 
 

Government of the people, for the people and by the people

democracy

Government by a Sovereign of uncontrolled authority

autocracy, despotism

Government by the nobility

aristocracy

Government by departments of state

bureaucracy

Government by a few

oligarchy

Government by the wealthy

plutocracy

Government by priests or ecclesiastics

hierarchy, hagiarchy, hagiocracy

Government by divine guidance

theocracy

Government of the church by bishops

episcopacy

Government by a military class

statocracy

Government by the worst citizens

kakistocracy

The right of self government

autonomy

The science of government

politics

Sweeping governmental changes

revolution


To decide a political question by the direct vote of the whole electorate

referendum

The period between two reigns

interregnum


One who governs a kingdom during the infancy, absence, or disability of the sovereign

regent

The wife or husband of a king or queen

consort

An official numbering of the population

census

Facts and figures

statistics

 
 

Government alphabetical

 
 
 

Government by the nobility

aristocracy

Government by a Sovereign of uncontrolled authority

autocracy, despotism

The right of self government

autonomy

Government by departments of state

bureaucracy

An official numbering of the population

census

The wife or husband of a king or queen

consort

Government of the people, for the people and by the people

democracy

Government of the church by bishops

episcopacy

Government by priests or ecclesiastics

hierarchy, hagiarchy, hagiocracy

The period between two reigns

interregnum


Government by the worst citizens

kakistocracy

Government by a few

oligarchy

Government by the wealthy

plutocracy

The science of government

politics

To decide a political question by the direct vote of the whole electorate

referendum

One who governs a kingdom during the infancy, absence, or disability of the sovereign

regent

Sweeping governmental changes

revolution


Facts and figures

statistics

Government by a military class

statocracy

Government by divine guidance

theocracy

CIVICS

Civics has been defined as the science of citizenship and municipal government. The Study of Civics in Schools is intended to help children to become " upright and useful members of the community in which they live, and worthy sons and daughters of the country to which they belong."

 

resources

Explanation for Student Compendium
File Includes
A shortened form of a word or phrase.
ANU - Australian National University
An acronym is a pronounceable word formed from the first letter (or first few letters) of each word in a phrase or title. Sometimes, the newly combined letters create a new word that becomes a part of everyday language. An example of this is the acronym radar. Also includes Mnemonics
a word naming an attribute of a noun, such as sweet, red, or technical. Adjectives are words that describe or modify other words * Priest = Sacerdotal

Types of animals, Sounds the make, Where do they live, Collective names of animals

Apes - gibber, Camel live in Australia, Sahara & Arabia, names = Bull - is called a heifer

a word opposite in meaning to another (e.g. bad - good ).

Opposites = Absent - present

Big_Words for small
Small word with big word alternative
Anger - Dudgeon * bold - Audacious

A feature or quality belonging typically to a person, place, or thing and serving to identify them

A partner in crime - accomplice

Words pertaining to the church

A passage between the pews in a church - Aisle

Similar sounding words with different meanings also Homonyms

Council, an administrative or advisory body, do not confuse with counsel, advice or guidance.

All about communication see also A History of Communication
All computer terms (ASCII, Binary, Unicode)

Names given to certain towns or countries includes facts about climate

Aberdeen - The Granite City The Torrid Zone has the hottest climate Zinc - Mexico, U.S.A., Spain

Words pertaining to death

Occurring after death - posthumous

A diminutive person is short and small. A diminutive wordis a "cute" version of a word or name: for example, "duckling" is a diminutive of "duck" and Billy is a diminutive form of the name William

Cask - casket   

Famous world discoveries of countries continents, includes Australian discoverers

Matthew Flinders -discovered Bass Strait. * Lord Robert Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts in 1908

Explanation of a word, words in literal expressions denote what they mean according to common or dictionary usage

Aloof -To keep to oneself and not mix with others.

Gender list of male female

Actor - Actress

Countries of the world and Geographical facts

The Circumference of the earth is approxinmately 24,800 miles.

List of gods and goddesses

War - Mars

Australian and UK government with words denoting government

Australian Government

Explains grammar syntax and verbs adjectives nouns etc.

Explains various uses of nouns verbs etc.

The art of living together includes senses, elements, cardinal numbers, cardinal virtues

THE ART OF LIVING - Consideration for the feelings of others

Alphabetical list of the most important inventions

Clock (pendulum) - Christian Huygens

List of kings and queens of Britain with facts and information

EGBERT 827 - 839

Practical list of  words explained in a sentence or phrase

A book in which the events of each day are recorded - Diary

Words pertaining to marriage included anniversary gifts

A hater of marriage - misogamist

Medical terms in use today

A disease confined to a particular district or place - endemic

Metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated

Sounds that things make, description of various venues or habitats, special calendar dates, Aussie slang words, Mnemonics

All Fools' Day - 1st April - Aussie slang - sounds that things make etc.

Names of persons or things, occupations, and a description of word meanings i.e. Terrestrial = Earth

Various names explained Bird of night - Owl

Words connected to nature

A four-footed animal - quadruped

a word or statement that expresses denial, disagreement, or refusal

That which cannot be pierced or penetrated - impenetrable

Explanation of nouns, COMMON Nouns, PROPER Nouns, COLLECTIVE  Nouns and ABSTRACT Nouns.

sit - seat (when to use Nouns)

Numbers of animals things i.e. A number of Cattle = herd

A number of fish taken in a net - catch, haul

a person or thing that is totally different from or the reverse of someone or something else.

Unable to read - il-literate

Special days, Aussies slang and any other items not covered in this list

Any other items that might be of interest

List of Patron Saints

St. George of England, St. Andrew of Scotland

Noctiphobia - Fear of the night

A list of places A place where bees are kept = apiary

A place where fishes are kept - aquarium

The case which is used to show possession is called the possessive case or genitive case. In case of nouns, an apostrophe is used to show it.

Is the case which denotes the owner or possessor

All Prefixes

List of various professions

The commander of a fleet - Admiral

Famous proverbs A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

A bad beginning makes a good ending.

Serious Quotes and some Witty funny one liners

Someone has glued my pack of cards together...I cannot deal with it!

Famous sayings

as a drowned rat. - as ancient as the sun—as the stars.

List of words used in Science or Art

An instrument for detecting earthquakes - seismograph

Explanation of scientific items like barometer

The science of land management - agronomics

The seven wonders of the ancient world with explanations

The Pyramids of Egypt

Words to use as a Simile which is a phrase that describes one thing in terms of another.  A simile usually begins with like or as.

Archates - a good friend * Belt = to hit below the belt

List of words or phrases that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another 

abandon....... desert, forsake, leave.

Understanding words, Incorrect Use of Words,

Thesaurus of Words
:
Thesaurus - abandon = abandoned, abandoning, abandonment, abandons affluent =having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value,words explained and incorrect use of words

The floor was dirt.  Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, hence the saying "dirt poor." 

Words used in war

Nations carrying on warfare - belligerents

Anniversary dates and wedding information

Words shown in noun or verb

strong - strengthen

Signs of the Zodiac

Please note there are some excellent links to assist with these pages

see at the end for the links for further information. 

Abbreviations divider Acronyms divider Animals divider Antonymns divider Big Words for Small Words divider Characteristics divider Church divider Countries Cities

divider Communication divider Death divider Diminutives divider Famous divider Figurative Expressions divider Gender divider Geographical divider Gods and Goddesses divider Government divider Grammar and Syntaxdivider  Human Relationships divider Inventions divider Kings and Queens divider Literary Sentences divider Marriage divider Medicaldivider Metaphors divider Miscellaneous divider Nouns divider Names divider Nature divider Negatives divider Numbers divider Opposites divider Patron Saints divider Places divider Possessive Case divider Phobiasdivider Professions divider Proverbs divider Prefixes divider Science & Arts divider Scientific Termsdivider Seven Wonders divider Similies divider Synonyms divider War Words divider Wedding divider Words to Verbs divider Other divider Home

 

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Page last updated 2nd March 2020