Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................. 1 About This Book ..............................................................................................1 Foolish Assumptions .......................................................................................2 Conventions Used in This Book .....................................................................2 How This Book Is Organised ..........................................................................3 Part I: Politics: You’re in It ....................................................................3 Part II: The Australian System of Government ...................................3 Part III: Party Time! ................................................................................3 Part IV: Citizen Power! ...........................................................................4 Part V: The Part of Tens ........................................................................4 Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................4 Where to Go from Here ...................................................................................5 Part I: Politics: You’re in It ...........................................7 Chapter 1: Australian Politics: The Basics . 9 What Is Politics? .............................................................................................10 Compulsory Voting ........................................................................................11 A Lot of Government .....................................................................................11 Governing the nation ...........................................................................12 Governing the states ...........................................................................13 Administering the territories .............................................................13 Roads, rates and rubbish: Local government ..................................14 From Government to Politics .......................................................................14 Political parties ....................................................................................15 A two-party system? ............................................................................16 Interest groups: Fighting for causes and advancing interests .................17 Promotional interest groups ..............................................................18 Sectional interest groups ....................................................................18 Umbrellas and peaks ...........................................................................20 Understanding Politicians ............................................................................21 Who becomes a politician? .................................................................21 Heavy hitters: Interest group politicians ..........................................22 Politics: You Can’t Escape It .........................................................................22 Chapter 2: Hot Topics in Australia: The Political Debate . 23 Apathetic or Engaged? ..................................................................................24 Awareness of issues .............................................................................24 The ‘isms’ in politics............................................................................25 ffprelims.inddprelims.indd iixx 66/26/10/26/10 111:36:571:36:57 PPMM x Australian Politics For Dummies Things We Never Tire of Talking About ......................................................28 Tariffs .....................................................................................................29 The role of the unions .........................................................................29 Immigration ..........................................................................................31 Reconciliation .......................................................................................33 Women in politics ................................................................................35 Great and powerful friends .................................................................36 New Things We’re Talking About .................................................................37 The environment ..................................................................................37 Climate change and water ..................................................................39 The republic .........................................................................................40 Globalisation.........................................................................................41 Nation building .....................................................................................41 Complex Issues, Simple Choices .................................................................42 Part II: The Australian System of Government ..............43 Chapter 3: One Country, Many Rulebooks . 45 Australia Is a Federation ...............................................................................45 The Constitution and power-sharing ................................................46 The constitutions as rulebooks .........................................................46 The Path to Federation .................................................................................46 The constitutional conventions .........................................................47 The states came fi rst ...........................................................................47 The need for a national government .................................................49 Big States and Small States ...........................................................................52 A house for the states: The Senate ....................................................52 You get at least fi ve lower house seats if . ....................................53 Changing the Constitution ..................................................................54 The Australian System of Constitutional Government .............................55 The governors and the governor-general .........................................55 The Executive in Council ....................................................................57 Ministers of the Crown ........................................................................58 The parliament .....................................................................................58 The electors ..........................................................................................60 The courts.............................................................................................61 Australian Constitutionalism: More than the Written Word ....................63 Chapter 4: Westminster: Much More than Big Ben . 65 A Constitution without a (Written) Constitution .......................................66 What do conventions cover? ..............................................................66 The Crown.............................................................................................67 The parliament .....................................................................................68 The executive .......................................................................................70 ffprelims.inddprelims.indd x 66/26/10/26/10 111:36:571:36:57 PPMM Table of Contents xi Responsible Government .............................................................................72 Forming a Responsible Government .................................................72 Resign! Resign! ......................................................................................74 Collective Responsibility ....................................................................74 Ministerial Responsibility ...................................................................75 Westminster as Adversarial Politics ...........................................................76 The alternative prime minister ..........................................................76 The shadow ministry...........................................................................77 Westminster and Party Politics ...................................................................77 Tyranny of the executive? ...................................................................78 Winner takes all? ..................................................................................79 Westminster and Australia ...........................................................................79 Chapter 5: Washminster: The Australian Hybrid . 81 British or American? .....................................................................................82 American federalism: A model for Australia ....................................82 A Senate, a court and a written constitution: The American legacy .......................................................................83 Limits to Americanisation: Responsible Government.....................84 Responsible Government the Australian Way ...........................................84 Executive in Council or Cabinet? .......................................................85 The governor-general or the prime minister? ..................................85 What about the states? .......................................................................86 House of Representatives or the Senate? .........................................86