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EXPLORING CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP Through a visit to the national capital canberra UPPER PRIMARY Student Resource Book A classroom resource to support the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) program EXPLORING CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP Through a Visit to the National Capital, Canberra Upper Primary Student Resource Book A classroom resource to support the PACER program ISBN: 978-0-642-77926-7 (PDF) ISBN: 978-0-642-77927-4 (RTF) First published 2008 Second edition 2010 © 2010 This work is copyright. Permission is given by the Commonwealth for this booklet and CD-ROM to be copied without payment by educational institutions within Australia solely for educational purposes. Any other use will require written permission of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) and may require the written permission of other copyright owners. Copies should include this copyright statement or an appropriate acknowledgement. All other rights are reserved. Apart from any use permitted above or under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this booklet or CD-ROM may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, digital, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of DEEWR. To the best of DEEWR’s knowledge, copyright permission has been obtained for any non-Commonwealth material used in this booklet and for the use of such material for educational purposes. If you believe there has been an error or omission in any of the material, please contact DEEWR. For inquiries about reproduction or other uses of this publication, please contact the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations at www.deewr.gov.au/. Information is current at date of publication. Published by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Written and designed for publication by Ryebuck Media Pty Ltd. 31 Station St Malvern Vic 3144 www.ryebuckmedia.com.au A visit to my member of parliament Auspic Auspic 3 Resource page 1 A VISIT TO MY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT You will soon be on an excursion to the National Capital, Canberra. Canberra is where the Commonwealth Parliament meets to make laws — and you have people there who represent you. There is one person who has been elected to the House of Representatives from your area (called an ‘electorate’). There are 12 people there who have been elected to the Senate from your state, or two if you live in the Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory. You might see some of these people in the House of Representatives or the Senate and you might even meet one of them. Schools often get to meet their local member of the House of Representatives, so it’s a good idea to know something about him or her beforehand. Let’s find out a bit about your local member of the House of Representatives. Let’s also list some things for you to find out about him or her on your trip. The first thing we will find out about is where the members of the Commonwealth Parliament meet. 4 Resource page 2 A VISIT TO MY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT What are the two Houses of Commonwealth Parliament? Here is a photograph of the two Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament. Use the photographs to answer these questions. Auspic Auspic This is the: This is the: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 1 The House of Representatives has 150 members and the Senate has fewer than that. Label the photographs correctly as House of Representatives and Senate. 2 If each state has 12 representatives, and the two territories have 2 each, how many members of the Senate are there? 3 What is the main colour used in the House of Representatives? (You will find out more about this during your visit there.) 4 What is the main colour used in the Senate? (You will find out more about this during your visit there.) 5 Describe the way the seats are arranged in the two Houses. Why do you think they are arranged like this? 5 Resource page 3 A VISIT TO MY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT Parliament House and the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House The photographs on the previous page show the two houses of the parliament in the Commonwealth Parliament building. This building opened in 1988. The photographs below show the two houses of the parliament in Old Parliament House. This building was used between 1927 and 1988. Compare the photographs of the old and new parliaments to answer the questions below. Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House at Old Parliament Australian Democracy Museum of Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House at Old Parliament Australian Democracy Museum of This is the: This is the: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 1 Which is the House of Representatives, and which is the Senate? Label the photographs. 2 List some things that are similar, and some things that are different, between the old and the current parliament houses. One example of a similarity and one example of a difference have been done to help you. The old and the current parliament The old and the current parliament houses have these similarities houses have these differences They both have the same shape The new one looks bigger than the old one 6 Resource page 4 A VISIT TO MY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT How does the parliament work? On your excursion to Canberra you will visit Parliament House and the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. In the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House you will be able to sit in either the House of Representatives chamber or the Senate chamber. In Parliament House you will be able to see the House of Representatives chamber and the Senate chamber and sit in the area for visitors. Here are some questions to think about. Write down what you think the answer is now. After your visit you will be able to check and see if you would change this answer. Question My answer My answer after my visit today to Parliament House 1 Why do the members of parliament come together in those chambers? 2 Do you think they sit anywhere, or is there a rule about where people sit? 3 Why are the seats in the front a bit different from those behind them? 4 Who sits at the table? 5 Is there somebody in charge in the Chamber? Explain your answer. 6 Do you think there will be rules about when people can speak? Why or why not? 7 If there are rules, who would make sure they are followed, and how? 8 How do you think people vote at the end of a debate? 9 Do you think the representatives spend all their time in this room? Why or why not? 7 Resource page 5 A VISIT TO MY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT Who is my member of the Commonwealth Parliament? On your excursion to Canberra you might meet your member of the House of Representatives. Here are some questions about that person. Before your visit you will need to do some research to answer some of the questions. For some questions you will be able to find the answers during your visit. Before your visit find out this information: The name of my Commonwealth House of Representatives member is: He/she is a member of: Australian Labor Party Liberal Party National Party Independent Other He/she is a part of the: Government Opposition Other He/she is: Minister Backbencher Shadow minister Speaker The Commonwealth electorate in which my school is located is: It was named after: My Commonwealth member was first elected to parliament in: The main job that my Commonwealth member did before being elected to the parliament was: The office of my Commonwealth member where I can visit him/her if needed is: 8 Resource page 6 A VISIT TO MY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT Here is a photo I have found of my Commonwealth member of parliament: I think some qualities that a local member should have are: During my visit: The place where my Commonwealth member sits in the House of Representatives is: Parliamentary Education Office Some main jobs that my local Commonwealth member of parliament does as part of being a MP are: My MP is my representative. How does he/she represent me in parliament? 9 When did it happen? quiz State Library of South Australia B57605 10 Resource page 1 WHEN DID IT HAPPEN? QUIZ The Australia that we value today did not just happen. Lots of people contributed. Who are some of these people and what did they create that we enjoy today? And when did these events happen? Look at the collection of important people and events in Australian history on Resource Pages 2A and 2B. Your task is to cut them out and paste them in their correct place on Resource Page 3A and 3B. There are clues to help you. You will also find out more about some of these people and events during your excursion to the National Capital. For example, you might see a portrait of a person mentioned or see a copy of a special document on display. You might also see many of these events in their historical context if you watch the introductory film at the Electoral Education Centre. The people and events that you might see are marked with an asterisk (*) and with the place where they can be seen in brackets. Look out for them during your visit! 11 Resource page 2A WHEN DID IT HAPPEN? QUIZ Men get the vote — called ‘adult male suffrage’; this first happened in South Australia, over 150 years ago, and nearly 50 years before the first women gained the vote, also in South Australia.