LLB101 WEEK 3 Tutorial Answers PDF

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WEEK 3 TUTORIALExercise 3 – WDGS discussion (prepare in advance!)(a) Categorise which arm of government each of the Walk Down George St venues belong. a. Old government house – legislative and executive b. Commonwealth law courts - judiciary c. QEII Courts – judiciary d. Magistrates Court - judiciar...

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LLB101 Introduction to Law

Tutorial Materials – week 3 WEEK 3 TUTORIAL

Exercise 3.1 – WDGS discussion (prepare in advance!) (a) Categorise which arm of government each of the Walk Down George St venues belong. a. Old government house – legislative and executive b. Commonwealth law courts - judiciary c. QEII Courts – judiciary d. Magistrates Court - judiciary e. Executive building – executive f. INNs of Court – judiciary g. Parliament house - legislative (b) A plaque on the Commonwealth Courts wall commemorates the birthplace of a significant legal person. Who is he, and what is he known for? a. Lord Atkins – known for the judgement in Donoghue v Stevenson Exercise 3.2 – Queensland Parliament and Executive (prepare in advance!) DOES COME UP IN THE MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUIZ Use the lecture material, and if needed, fact sheets from: https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/explore/education/Fact-sheets (a) When did the colony of Queensland come into existence? - 6th June 1859 – when it separated from New South Wales (b) Queensland’s first parliamentary elections were held in 1860. Who was eligible to vote? - European men over the age of 21 who owned or rented land for a certain amount of time. Military, women, indigenous people, recent migrants and police were not eligible to vote. - The number of votes granted to a person depended on the number of properties they owned (c) What electoral changes occurred in 1905? - The vote was granted to women in 1905, property qualification was abolished. Indigenous people and certain non-European groups were also still banned from voting. Voting for aboriginals was legalised in 1965, but it was not made compulsory. (d) What electoral changes occurred in 1973? - The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, coinciding with state and commonwealth changes. (e) What comprises the Parliament of Queensland? - The Queen and the Legislative Assembly. (f) What is unique about Queensland Parliament compared to other states? How did this come about? - It is the only unicameral state parliament in Australia. The parliament formerly had an upper house – the Legislative Council, and was bicameral, but this was abolished in 1922. It was abolished because the Legislative Assembly struggled to pass laws through the LC – over 800 bills were rejected – so they abolished it. - The reintroduction of the LC, as decreed in 1934, would require a constitution (g) What is Hansard? What sorts of information could you obtain from Hansard? - The records of proceedings/debates/bills/second readings/committee hearings/senate estimates/commissions of enquiry in commonwealth countries like the UK, Australia, Canada etc - Named after a printer from England who put together transcripts - It exists to maintain transparency and accountability for officials

LLB101 Introduction to Law

Tutorial Materials – week 3

(h) Are there any laws of the Queensland Parliament that can be overridden by the British Parliament? - No. The Australia Act 1986 (Cth) ensures that the UK cannot make laws for Australia  Section 1: No Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the commencement of this Act shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to the Commonwealth, to a State or to a Territory as part of the law of the Commonwealth, of the State or of the Territory.  Section 3: o The Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 shall not apply to any law made after the commencement of this Act by the Parliament of a State. o (2) No law and no provision of any law made after the commencement of this Act by the Parliament of a State shall be void or inoperative on the ground that it is repugnant to the law of England, or to the provisions of any existing or future Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or to any order, rule or regulation made under any such Act, and the powers of the Parliament of a State shall include the power to repeal or amend any such Act, order, rule or regulation in so far as it is part of the law of the State.  Section 8: An Act of the Parliament of a State that has been assented to by the Governor of the State shall not, after the commencement of this Act, be subject to disallowance by Her Majesty, nor shall its operation be suspended pending the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon. (i) What is the Executive Council? What is the role of the Governor with respect to the Executive Council? - The Executive Council is the council, composed of ministers and premiers, that helps to advise the Governor on how best to exercise executive powers - Governor asks for expert opinion on topics, seeking additional information before rejecting any advice. (j) What are some of the specific roles or functions of the Governor? (Look up any words you don’t understand.) - Appointed by the Queen as her representative on advice given by the Queensland Premier - Can exercise royal prerogative to grant mercy to offenders and pardon criminals. - Can give royal assent to bills in parliament - Can appoint/dismiss ministers - Governor can prorogue – they can discontinue a session of parliament without dissolving it. He can also dissolve or summon parliament - He can issue writs – legal written commands – in relation to an election, he signs the order that states when the next election is going to take place. - He can appoint ministers of the crown. - He opens parliament - Acts as a patron to charities and meets foreign dignitaries. - Money bills cannot pass unless they have been recommended by the Governor (k) What is the principle of Ministerial Responsibility? - It is a convention in Westminster governments that a cabinet member is ultimately responsible for the actions of their ministry or department. - Individual responsibility – responsible for their own actions, and the actions of their government ministry or department. - Collective responsibility – bound by the collective decisions made by the cabinet

LLB101 Introduction to Law

Tutorial Materials – week 3

Exercise 3.3 – Commonwealth Parliament and Executive (to be done in class) Locate the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Cth). This part of the tutorial will require you to access sections 51-57 and 61-64 of the Constitution. In groups of 2-3, do some research and answer the following questions: (a) Section 1 of the Constitution states that legislative power of the Commonwealth is vested in a Federal Parliament, consisting of the Queen, a Senate and a House of Representatives. How many members make up each house, and what parties do they represent? i) Senate: 76 members – 2 from each territory, 12 from each state a. Parties represented: Coalition, Labour, Greens, and other small parties and independents ii) House of Representatives: 150 members a. Parties Represented: Coalition, Labour, Greens, and other small parties and independents b. Come from electorates – each represent one electorate (b) Identify the provision, which gives the Federal Parliament exclusive power to make laws in respect of certain matters. i) Exclusive Powers: Exclusive federal powers are powers within a federal system of government that each constituent political unit is absolutely or conditionally prohibited from exercising. That is, either a constituent political unit may never exercise these powers, or may only do so with the consent of the federal government. a. Section that relates to exclusive powers: s52 of the Constitution ii) Concurrent Powers: Concurrent powers are powers of a federal system of government shared by both the federal government and each constituent political unit. These powers may be exercised simultaneously within the same territory, in relation to the same body of citizens, and regarding the same subject-matter. a. Section that relates to concurrent powers: s51 (c) In looking at the law-making process, are there any types of laws which cannot originate in the Senate? (Bonus: What very recent Act was initially argued to be in breach of this section of the Constitution?) i) Section 53: Bills appropriating revenue or moneys, or imposing taxation, shall not originate in the senate. (d) What provision is made for the situation when the House of Representatives passes legislation and the Senate rejects it? Research when these procedures last got used. i) Section 57 – Double/simultaneous dissolutions a. If the House of Representatives passes any proposed law, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, and if after an interval of three months the House of Representatives, in the same or the next session, again passes the proposed law with or without any amendments which have been made, suggested, or agreed to by the Senate, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, the Governor-General may dissolve the Senate and the House of Representatives simultaneously. But such dissolution shall not take place within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives by effluxion of time. ii) Number of double dissolutions: 7 iii) Last used: 2016

LLB101 Introduction to Law

Tutorial Materials – week 3

(e) In whom is executive power vested, and how is it exercised? i) Section 61 – The Governor-General, as the Queen’s representative ii) Section 62 – Executive Council established up to advise Governor General on executive powers. (f) Research how many members there are in the Federal Executive Council? How many members are in Cabinet? What is the difference between these bodies? i) Currently 42 members. ii) 7 ministers not in cabinet termed the “outer-ministry” iii) In reality the FEC includes all minister, but only the Prime Minister and Cabinet ‘get seats at the table’. DOUBLE DISSOLUTION, REFERENDUMS AND CONSTITUTION...