Government and Citizenship in Australia

This document discusses the Australian model of government and its suitability for institutional reform in Shangri-La. It explores the powers of the executive, legislature, and judiciary in Australia, as well as the division of powers between states and the central government. The advantages of this model include accommodation of regional preferences and diversity, closer interaction between leaders and citizens, and the ability to address local issues effectively. However, there are also potential risks, such as the possibility of placing majority wants over community needs and variations in tax systems between states.

Government and Citizenship in
Australia
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Table of Contents
Australian Federal government might be a suitable model for institutional reform in Shangri-La........3
Key advantages of the Australian model in Shangri-La..........................................................................6
Possible gaps or risks in the model from Shangri-La’s perspective........................................................7
References.............................................................................................................................................9
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Australian Federal government might be a suitable model for
institutional reform in Shangri-La
The executives represented by Queen of Australia have powers that can be exercised as per
the circumstances. The queen of Australia has a lot of power in the constitution as per the
written law but in reality, parliamentary convention limits the power which means the Queen
acts on the advice of the PM. The long term judicial appointments are being done to protect
the independence of courts. The public power is being divided by separation of powers in
Australia between three government branches that are the legislature (parliament in
Australia), the executive (head of the state, advisors and different agencies and departments)
and judiciary (the courts). The parliament makes rules and regulations which should be
followed by each and every one. The law is being implemented by the executive government
once it is passed. The courts apply and understand the law. If the government states that the
law is not acceptable then the parliament can deny to pass it. The court can invalidate the
unconstitutional law created by the parliament. The court can rule only on the matters
allowed by the constitution or law. Sometimes the government wants to pass legislation but it
may not be accepted by the parliament. People can complain about unconstitutional laws in
court. The process protects people from the abuse of power (Kearney and Glen, 2017).
Australia has upper houses central parliaments that represent the states. The Commonwealth
parliament controls fiscal in Australia. The local parliaments carry out their duties and have
overlapping powers of making law with the federal parliament. The federal system is being
established by the Australian constitution in which the legislative powers are seen to be
distributed between states and commonwealth. Some of the central features of the
government system are not depicted in the constitution but are relied on convention and
custom. The parliamentary government refers to an executive government that comes from
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the parliament and responsible government refers to the responsibility of the executive
government towards the parliament (Colebatch, 2015).
The constitution provides the legislative power to the parliament in order to make laws. The
parliament consists of two houses that are Senate and House of Representatives and Queen
represented by Governor General. The legislation is being passed by the parliament. The two
houses of parliament have to agree with the proposed law as they have equal powers, except
power, restrictions are there on the Senate for introducing financial legislation. The governor
general plays a significant role in the process of legislation. The parliament also allows the
executive government to spend money of people by agreeing with proposals of government
for expenditure. The parliament also provides membership to members of the executive
government and the political party after the general election with the support of maximum
members of the House of Representatives becomes the ruling party (Cook, Walsh and
Harwood, 2009).
The House composition also identifies who will create the official opposition. Most non-
government members can become the opposition party. The constitution explains that the
commonwealth’s executive power is vested in Queen and the governor general exercises it.
The senior ministers and Prime Minister have the executive powers. The Prime minister is
considered to be the head of the government and he or she is the elected leader of the party.
The Cabinet consists of Senior Ministers and considered to be the policy-making body. The
cabinet takes a decision on major legislative and policy proposals. Prime Minister selects
ministers and it can be up to 30. Around 19 Minister manages major departments and other
Ministers are responsible to manage particular areas. The Prime Minister appoints to 12
Senators and Members as the Parliamentary Secretaries. The governor general carries out the
ceremonial functions on behalf of Queen. The governor general can dismiss and appoints
executive councilors, dismiss and appoints a minister for administering public service
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agencies and departments, appoints judges, issue writs for elections, initiates expenditures of
government, converts the laws and propose amendments any legislation passed by parliament
house. The governor general can also act independently such as dissolve the representative
house in some situations (Sydenham and Meehan, 2010).
The Federal Executive Council provides ministerial and other advice to Governor General.
All Parliamentary Secretaries and Ministers become the members of the Executive Council.
The Governor General conducts the meetings of Council in order to ensure that the actions
are appropriately carried out. The Australian constitution has delegated the powers of Queen
to the Governor General. The only constitutional function of Queen is to appoint the
Governor General. The judicial has the power to examine the laws and regulations and
applying them to individual cases in federal and high courts. The constitution has established
a high court. The legislation of parliament has created other federal courts. The Governor
General appoints judges and acts on the advice of Cabinet and Prime Minister. The high
courts can also interpret the constitution and can rule a law to be unconstitutional. The
powers under the federal system are seen to be divided between the individual states and the
central government. The federal system of Australia is considered to be appropriate and
efficient. Shangri La should look into the federal system of Australia in order to create and
manage its constitutional structure. A systematic framework needs to be created in order to
ensure that all the legislation is appropriate and the works are carried out in a sequential
manner. The powers need to be divided as per the position within the structure and ensuring
that the power is not being misused. The main aim of the government is to implement rules
and regulations as per the needs and welfare of the people within the community (Ferres,
2012).
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Key advantages of the Australian model in Shangri-La
Rani Plantagenet has a concern about Shong people. They have been living in Shangri-La
from tens of millennia. They have their own laws and customs and a deep spiritual
attachment to the land and river. The population of Shangri-La is 6.5 million and only
450,000 are Shong. The settlement of Shangri-La had a catastrophic impact on the welfare of
the Shong and they have been driving from their traditional lands. Young people of Shong do
not have any job and have lost hope in their future. The advantage of the Australian model of
government is the accommodation of regional preference and diversity. This constitution can
provide flexibility in accommodating variations in social tastes, economic base, and attitudes.
This outlet for local views or minority has the effect of strengthening overall national unity.
The Australian model of government will allow the leaders to get close to their citizens and
this will helps them in providing a responsive solution to the citizens (Walters and Zeller,
2017).
The National Assembly is made up two chambers. One is the National Assembly with 200
members and the other is Cantos with 26 councilors. The Council of Cantons represents the
interest of the 26 regions of Shangri-La. At the regional level of government, each Canton is
administered by a Mayor elected by the local citizens and approved by Rani. Schools and
hospital and regional courts are being run by Canton but they have very limited power for
raising profit through levying local rates and cannot make their own law. The Australian
model of government will allow Shangri-La to divide the power between the national
government that is Rani Plantagenet and the state government that is Canton. As the common
citizens are close to the Canton, they have the opportunity for participating in the power-
sharing. This could also remove the burden of work from Rani Plantagenet and she does not
need to bother about the problems of a purely local nature. Rani would be able to devote her
full attention to the national importance as regional autonomy or provincial of the areas will
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become very effective. This will allow Canton to solve some of their own problems by
creating policies and laws. This form of government can make the government of Shangri-La
more efficient (Levey, 2014).
A local company has given permission by Rani for starting Shangri-La’s first mining
business. The crown land was being used for the mining which includes Shong burial ground.
Shong feels that the mining in the Kunlun Mountains should be stopped as it will cause
irreparable damage to a sacred site. The activist of Shong Bennie Nebo has brought a case on
appeal to High Court claiming that the mine breached title in the land in accordance with
Shong customary law. With the Australian model of government, citizens are allowed to
involve with their government in a variety of ways. With this form of government Shong will
be able to visit the local office directly for expressing their opinions without fear of judgment
(Macintyre and Simpson, 2009).
Possible gaps or risks in the model from Shangri-La’s perspective
The Shong had their own law and customs but those laws are not valid as Shangri-La is
moving towards a democratic form of government. If communities will be allowed to set
their own laws under a federalist structure then there is a high probability that Shong might
place the wants of the majority over the need of the entire community and this might
encourage salivary and segregation. The Australian model of government encourages local
communities to self-govern in the most efficient manner possible. This form of government is
considered to be a healthy way of keeping households safe no matter where they are in the
state. Sometime it could also be an issue like Rani has given permission to a company for
starting the first mining business in Shangri-La. But it is getting protested by Chong and also
filed a case in High Court (Moslam, 2018).
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According to the Australian form of government Canton of a particular region will be able to
create their own law and they might bring a law that can prevent mining in that particular
area. This might affect the growing economy of Shangri-La. Rani has been advised by her
finance minister for imposing and collection of taxes. On the other hand, Canton may create
their own lows reducing subsidy benefits for encouraging people to move to another state that
offers higher benefit. Other Canton might offer relaxation in tax to encourage companies for
placing their offices in one location. Basically, the tax system could be different in every state
and that might become an issue for Shangri-La (Mellor, 2010).
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References
Colebatch, H. (2015). Patrick Weller, executive government and the practice of governing in
Australia. Australian Journal of Political Science, 50(1), pp.35-41.
Cook, I., Walsh, M. and Harwood, J. (2009). Government & democracy in Australia. 3rd ed.
South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.
Ferres, K. (2012). Reading in Public : Irene Longman and Citizenship. Australian Literary
Studies, 23(2), pp.562-568.
Kearney, J. and Glen, M. (2017). The effects of citizenship and ethnicity on the education
pathways of Pacific youth in Australia. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 12(3),
pp.277-289.
Levey, G. (2014). Liberal nationalism and the Australian citizenship tests. Citizenship
Studies, 18(2), pp.175-189.
Macintyre, S. and Simpson, N. (2009). Consensus and division in Australian citizenship
education. Citizenship Studies, 13(2), pp.121-134.
Mellor, S. (2010). Insights from formal testing of civics and citizenship learning in
Australia. Citizenship Teaching and Learning, 6(1), pp.25-42.
Moslam, R. (2018). Bioenergy in Australia: Current Policies and Planning of the State and
Federal Government. SSRN Electronic Journal, 23(7), pp.233-238.
Sydenham, S. and Meehan, C. (2010). Democracy down under. 4th ed. Albert Park, Vic.:
Teaching Solutions.
Walters, R. and Zeller, B. (2017). A Comparative Study of Australia and Slovenia’s Private
International Laws and the Application of Citizenship and Residence. Liverpool Law Review,
38(3), pp.325-338.
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