A Guide to Government and Law in Australia John Hirst Discovering Democracy – A Guide to Government and Law in Australia was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs under the Discovering Democracy program. Published by Curriculum Corporation PO Box 177 Carlton South VIC 3053 Tel: (03) 9207 9600 Fax: (03) 9639 1616 Email:
[email protected] Website: http://www.curriculum.edu.au © Commonwealth of Australia, 1998 Available under licence from Curriculum Corporation. Discovering Democracy – A Guide to Government and Law in Australia is Commonwealth copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part by teachers for classroom use only. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and copyright should be addressed to Curriculum Corporation. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs. ISBN: 1 86366 431 9 SCIS cataloguing-in-publication data: 947160 Full bibliographic details are available from Curriculum Corporation. Series design by Philip Campbell Typesetting by The Modern Art Production Group Discovering Democracy logo design by Miller Street Studio Printed in Australia by Impact Printing Cover images: Members of the 1998 Constitutional Convention, Old Parliament House, Canberra. Courtesy AUSPIC Detail from Members of the Australasian Federation Conference, Melbourne, 1890. Courtesy National Library of Australia Other cover photography by John Gollings and Philip Campbell Preface In 1999 a new program of civics and citizenship education, Discovering Democracy, will be operating in Australian schools. This book is designed for Australian citizens of all sorts as a painless introduction to the government and law of their country.