ACTIVITY WORKBOOK (Secondary) PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY ONE a Quiz

INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK (Secondary) PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY ONE A Quiz

H ere is a quiz about the Parliament of Victoria. See how many of these questions you can answer now. Then answer them again after the visit, to see if you have increased your knowledge about the Parliament.

Who is the Premier?

What party is he/she in? Who is the leader of the Opposition? Which party is he/she in?

What is a Minister?

Name three Ministers.

What is a Shadow Minister?

Name three Shadow Ministers.

What is a backbencher?

What does Parliament do?

What are the two Houses of Parliament called?

Who are your State Members of Parliament? (you have 6)

What is your Electoral District?

What is your Electoral Region?

What are two important jobs your MPs do?

22 INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK ACTIVITY TWO PRE-VISIT The Vestibule

The Vestibule is the area just inside the front door of Parliament House.

1 Look at the motto in the Vestibule. Complete the missing words here:

“WE H RE NO______IS, THE PEOPLE ______, BUT IN THE ______OF COUNSELLORS THERE IS ______.” (You will be able to talk about what this means back in class.)

2 What do you think this motto means? Tick one of these: Adi v sors need to be careful about what they tell people to do If there are too many advisors people will be confused and will not be able to decide When there are a number of people giving advice then good decisions will be made

3 How is this motto a symbol for democracy?

4 How is it a symbol for representative government?

INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK 23 PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY THREE Meet Your MPs

There are three levels of government in Australia: COMMONWEALTH or F EDERAL – for laws that apply to all of Australia STATE – for laws that apply only to a State or Territory loCAL – for laws that apply only to a local area There is a chance that you will see Members of Parliament in Parliament House during sitting periods. Record this information for your six parliamentary representatives in the Victorian Parliament. FIND YOUR MPs!

Visit www.parliament.vic.gov.au

Under ‘Find a Member of Parliament’, type in your postcode...... Click ‘GO’...... Complete the details in the boxes on this and the next page....

You live in the EALECTOR L DISTRICT

of (mark this on the map on pages 26 and 27)

And your MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

H e/she is a member of the H e/she is in the Australian Labor Party Government Liberal Party of Australia Opposition The Nationals and is a Minister or is Shadow Minister an Independent Backbencher Presiding Officer

Look at the booklet INSIDE the Parliament of Victoria • Development of representative government in Victoria (page 5) • The three levels of government in Australia (page 11) • The Constitution of Victoria (page 13) • Representation in Parliament (page 21) • Voting (page 23)

24 INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY THREE Meet Your MPs

You live in the EALECTOR L REGION of (mark this on the map on pages 6 and 7)

And your MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL (you have 5) are:

He/she is a member of the: NAME Australian Labor Party liberal Party of Australia The Nationals The Greens or is an Independent

He/she is in the: and is a: Government Minister S hadow Minister Opposition Backbencher Presiding Officer

He/she is a member of the: NAME Australian Labor Party liberal Party of Australia The Nationals The Greens or is an Independent

He/she is in the: and is a: Government Minister S hadow Minister Opposition Backbencher Presiding Officer

He/she is a member of the: NAME Australian Labor Party liberal Party of Australia The Nationals The Gree ns or is an Independent

He/she is in the: and is a: Government Minister S hadow Minister Opposition Backbencher Presiding Officer

He/she is a member of the: NAME Australian Labor Party liberal Party of Australia The Nationals The Greens or is an Independent He/she is in the: and is a: Government Minister S hadow Minister Opposition Backbencher Presiding Officer

INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK 25 PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY FOUR Electorates

Mark (in green) the Electoral District where you live. You can find your electorate at www.vec.vic.gov.au.

Metropolitan Districts

YanYan YeanYean

YurokeYuroke

BroadmeadowsBroadmeadows Mill Park ThomastownThomastown

KeilorKeilor BundooraBundoora ElthamEltham Pascoe PrestonPreston NiddrieNiddrie NiddrieNiddrie Vale IvanhoeIvanhoeIvanhoe KororoitKororoit EssendonEssendon BrunswickBrunswick BulleenBulleen DerrimutDerrimut NorthcoteNorthcote WarrandyteWarrandyte DoncasterDoncaster FootscrayFootscray MelbourneMelbourne KewKew KilsythKilsyth RichmondRichmond BoxBox HillHill RichmondRichmond MitchamMitcham Albert HawthornHawthorn TarneitTarneit WilliamstownWilliamstown Park PrahranPrahran PrahranPrahran BurwoodBurwood ForestForest HillHill BayswaterBayswater MalvernMalvern AltonaAltona Mount CaulfieldCaulfield Waverley ScoresbyScoresby OakleighOakleigh BrightonBrighton Ferntree BentleighBentleigh ClaytonClayton Gully MulgraveMulgrave

SandringhamSandringham DandenongDandenong MordiallocMordialloc Narre Warren North

LyndhurstLyndhurstLyndhurst

Narre Warren Peninsula Map CCarrumCarrumarrum South LaraLara CarrumCarrum PolwarthPolwarth CranbourneCranbourne GeelongGeelong FrankstonFrankston BellarineBellarine FrankstonFrankston SouthSouth MorningtonMornington BarwonBarwon Swan HillSwan Hill HastingsHastings

NepeanNepean

The rest of Victoria can be found on the next page.

26 INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY FOUR Electorates

Regional/Rural Districts Frankston Frankston Frankston Frankston Frankston Frankston Frankston Frankston Gippsland East Gippsland East Gippsland East Gippsland East Gippsland East Gippsland East Gippsland East Gippsland East Gippsland East Benambra Benambra Benambra Benambra Benambra Benambra Benambra Benambra Benambra Morwell Morwell Morwell Morwell Morwell Morwell Morwell Morwell Morwell Benalla Benalla Benalla Benalla Benalla Benalla Benalla Benalla Gippsland South Gippsland South Gippsland South Gippsland South Gippsland South Gippsland South Gippsland South Gippsland South Narracan Narracan Narracan Narracan Narracan Benalla Narracan Narracan Narracan Gippsland South Narracan Murray Valley Murray Valley Murray Valley Murray Valley Murray Valley Murray Valley Murray Valley Murray Valley Gembrook Gembrook Gembrook Gembrook Gembrook Murray Valley Gembrook Gembrook Gembrook Gembrook Bass Bass Bass Bass Bass Bass Bass Bass Bass Evelyn Shepparton Shepparton Shepparton Monbulk Monbulk Monbulk Monbulk Shepparton Shepparton Monbulk Monbulk Shepparton Shepparton Shepparton Monbulk Monbulk Monbulk Shepparton Hastings Hastings Hastings Hastings Hastings Hastings Seymour Seymour Seymour Hastings Hastings Hastings Seymour Seymour Seymour Seymour Seymour Seymour SEE SEE SEE MAP MAP MAP SEE SEE MAP MAP SEE SEE SEE MAP MAP MAP INNER INNER INNER INNER INNER INNER INNER INNER SEE MAP INNER Nepean Nepean Nepean Nepean Nepean Nepean Nepean Nepean Nepean Mornington Mornington Mornington Mornington Mornington Mornington Mornington Mornington Mornington Rodney Rodney Rodney Rodney Rodney Rodney Rodney Rodney Rodney Geelong Geelong Geelong Geelong Geelong Geelong Geelong Geelong Geelong Macedon Macedon Macedon Macedon Macedon Macedon Macedon Macedon Macedon Melton Melton Melton Melton Melton Melton Melton Melton Lara Lara Lara Lara Lara Bellarine Bellarine Bellarine Lara Lara Lara Bellarine Bellarine Bellarine Bellarine Bellarine Bellarine Lara Melton East East East East East East East East East South South South South South South South South South Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Barwon Barwon Barwon Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Barwon Barwon Barwon Barwon Barwon Barwon West West West West West West West West Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo Bendigo East Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat West Ballarat Bendigo West West West West West West West West West Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Ballarat Polwarth Polwarth Polwarth Polwarth Polwarth Polwarth Polwarth Polwarth Ballarat Polwarth Swan Hill Swan Hill Swan Hill Swan Hill Swan Hill Swan Hill Swan Hill Swan Hill Ripon Ripon Ripon Ripon Ripon Ripon Ripon Ripon Swan Hill Ripon Mildura Mildura Mildura Lowan Lowan Lowan Mildura Mildura Mildura Lowan Lowan Mildura Mildura Mildura Lowan Lowan Lowan South-West Coast South-West Coast South-West Coast South-West Coast South-West Coast South-West Coast South-West Coast South-West Coast South-West Coast Lowan

The rest of Victoria can be found on the next page.

INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK 27 PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY FOUR Electorates

Mark (in red) the Electoral Region where you live. You can find your electorate at www.vec.vic.gov.au.

Metropolitan Regions Northern Metropolitan

Western Metropolitan

Eastern Metropolitan

Southern Metropolitan

South Eastern Metropolitan

The rest of Victoria can be found on the next page.

28 INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY FOUR Electorates

Regional/Rural Regions Eastern Victoria

See Map Inset Northern Victoria s s s s s s s s Western Victoria

INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK 29 POST-VISIT ACTIVITY FIVE The LA Chamber

The L egislative Assembly is the ‘L ower House’ of the Victorian Parliament. It is in this Chamber that the Government is formed.

1 Tick which of these activities Opening of session member interjecting and objects you saw in the Question Time mace Legislative Assembly during Member making a speech your visit:

Tick which of 2 these people associated with the Legislative Assembly you saw during your visit:

S peaker Deputy Speaker Premier Leader of the Opposition Ministers Shadow Ministers Backbenchers Your Member Clerk Serjeant-at-Arms Hansard reporter

THEN

Mark on the diagram where you would see each of these people in the Legislative Assembly.

3 Mark on the map where you would find these groups: • Australian Labor Party • Government • Liberal Party • Opposition And this object: • The Nationals • Press • Mace • Independents • Public

30 INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK POST-VISIT ACTIVITY FIVE The LA Chamber

4 If you saw a Question Time, record your observations of these aspects:

Who decides whose turn it is to ask a question?

Who asks the questions?

What sort of questions?

Who replies?

What sort of replies?

How do others respond to the question?

How do others respond to the answers?

What is the atmosphere of the session?

How was it reported in the media that night?

Look at the booklet Inside the Parliament of Victoria • People of Parliament (page 17) • How does Parliament work? (page 24) • Hansard–recording Parliament (page 30) See F act Sheet B2 • Question Time (access fact sheets at www.parliament.vic.gov.au/publications/fact-sheets)

INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK 31 POST-VISIT ACTIVITY SIX The LC Chamber

The L egislative Council is the ‘Upper House’ of the Victorian Parliament. It is a ‘House of Review’.

Tick which of these activities you saw in the Legislative Council 1 during your visit: Opening of session Question Time M ember making a speech M ember interjecting

Tick which of these people associated with the Legislative Council 2 you saw during your visit: G overnor President D eputy President M inisters S hadow Ministers Backbenchers Your Members of Parliament U sher of The Black Rod H ansard Reporter Clerk 3 Mark on the diagram on the next page where you would see each of those people in the Legislative Council. 4Mark on the diagram where you would find these groups: Australian Labor Party Liberal Party The Nationals The Greens Independents G overnment Opposition Press Public

And these objects: Black Rod G overnor’s chair

32 INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY SIX The LC Chamber

Look at Inside the Parliament of Victoria • How does Parliament work? (page 24)

INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK 33 PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY SEVEN Making the Law

O ne of the main functions of the Parliament is to make laws, or Acts of Parliament. Acts of Parliament are also called legislation, or statutes. When the proposed law is being debated, it is called a bill. A bill becomes an Act when it has received the Royal Assent–that is, it has been signed by the Governor.

L ook at the diagram on the next page. It shows how a bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

1 D ecide where on the chart you would draw lines across to separate these stages of the process: • Policy development stage–where the basic ideas about legislation are formed. • Draft legislation stage–where the ideas are put into parliamentary form. • Parliamentary debate and scrutiny stage–where the ideas and details in the bill are explained and debated. • Royal Assent stage–where the Governor signs the bill. • Enactment stage–where the bill actually comes into force as law, or an Act of Parliament.

2 If this process was being followed for a bill initiated in the Legislative Assembly, colour in red the parts of the process involving the Upper House, the Legislative Council, acting as a House of review.

3 The Commonwealth Parliament and all State Parliaments in Australia except Queensland, Northern Territory and ACT have a bicameral system–that is, two Houses of Parliament, one of which operates as a House of review. What might be the advantages and the disadvantages of having a separate House for this review process?

4 All Parliaments have a committee system. This involves selected Members of Parliament meeting to consider particular issues. Committees may be of one House or both (a Joint Committee), and involve Members from all parties and Independents. They often deliberate in a non-adversarial way–that is, the emphasis is on investigation rather than debate. What might be the advantages of having an active committee system?

L ook at the Committees section of Parliament of Victoria’s website to learn more about the operation of parliamentary committees and the issues currently being investigated by them. See www.parliament.vic.gov.au/committees.

5 Mark on the chart those parts of the process of making a law where the public has an influence. Do you think that people have enough opportunities to influence legislation? Should they?

Look at Inside the Parliament of Victoria • How does Parliament work?(page 24) • Parliamentary Committees (page 26) • How a law is made in Victoria (page 28)

34 INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK ACTIVITY SEVEN PRE-VISIT Making the Law

HOW A LAW IS MADE IN VICTORIA Political Parties Individuals Members of Parliament IDEA Pressure Groups Ministerial Advisers Media Public Service Public Opinion Political Parties Discussion Party Policy Third Parties and Government Opposition Independent Members

Public Service Minister Preparation of Bill Necessary administrative With the approval of the amendments Cabinet Premier, parliamentary counsel usually prepare bill Read submission Parliamentary Counsel Approve in principle Prepares draft bill Draft bill approved by minister’s Bill Committee Final Cabinet approval

Party Caucus Approval

A bill may originate in either the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council, the exception being that bills to spend government money or to raise taxes must be introduced in the Legislative Assembly

House of Origin Initiation (most bills are initiated in the Lower House) • Legislative Assembly: Minister/Member without notice • Legislative Council: Minister/Member with notice • Appropriation Bill: Minister on receipt of message from the Governor • Private Member’s Bill: Government backbencher, Opposition Member, Independent Member; such bills cannot include an appropriation provision

First Reading • Formal motion to bring in bill – a request of, and approval from, the House to proceed • Listed for Second Reading on a future day, the exception being appropriation or supply bills, which may be read on the same day

Second Reading • Minister’s (or Private Member’s) Second Reading speech; copies of the bill, usually with explanatory notes, circulated to all Members; if bill involves expenditure from the Consolidated Fund, a message from the Governor is required • Bill is debated in principle – that is, the general propositions of the bill, but not the detail in the clauses, are debated

Consideration in detail (Optional, may be dispensed with if House agrees) • Bill examined in detail, clause by clause; relevant amendments may be made. In the Legislative Council, this is called the ‘Committee of the Whole’ stage

Third Reading • Further debate, if necessary Bill Passes House Second House Procedure • A similar scrutiny procedure to that used in the House of origin is adopted. If the bill passes with amendments, those amendments are sent by message to the House of origin, and further messages flow between the two Houses accepting, rejecting or proposing modifications to the amendments. Each House must agree to any amendments in identical form before a bill can become law

Approval • When a bill has passed both Houses and any amendments have been agreed to by each, it will be prepared for Royal Assent

Clerk of Parliaments Certifies bill Governor Royal Assent Enactment On day specified in the Act OR, if Act so provides, on day proclaimed by the Governor in the Victorian Government Gazette

INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK 35 POST-VISIT ACTIVITY EIGHT Reflection

F rom what you have seen, decide if the following statements about Parliament are likely to be TRUE 1 or FEALS .

TRUE FALSE

MPs debate in Parliament. There are rules that MPs must follow. The only debate in Parliament is about proposed legislation. All MPs must be in the chamber when the House is sitting. There is a person in charge of the Parliament. One chamber is more important than the other. There is a third element to Parliament – the Crown. People can participate in Parliamentary debates. People can watch the proceedings.

STATEMENT The press is an important part of the proceedings.

F rom what you have seen, jot down two or three key words that you think of in response 2 to each of these questions. Then use these words as the basis of a discussion to develop more detailed answers after your visit.

KEY IDEAS ABOUT PARLIAMENT...your immediate impressions

What does Parliament House tell us about democracy in Victoria today?

What does Parliament House tell us about government in Victoria today?

What can we learn from a visit about what our MPs are doing?

Do we have a system that allows public participation in the process?

In what ways can the individual influence the law-makers?

36 INSIDE THE PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA ACTIVITY WORKBOOK