Loreto Mandeville Hall

Year 12 Politics

Parliament & The Executive

Note-taking guide

Reference: Politics In Australia, ed. By Rodney Smith, (third edition), chapters 7, 8 & 9.

Using This Note-Taking Guide

Being familiar with the Topic Outline is important. Familiarise yourself with the subheadings and dot points listed below. Your notes should be written using these subheadings. It is a good idea to start each section on a new page so you can add to your notes whilst we are studying the topic in class. These notes will form the basis of your exam preparation. Remember that the exam is set in accordance with the topic outline.

Throughout the topic, remember that you are aiming to achieve a number of things:

• To acquire a set of knowledge: key terms, concepts
• To develop a critical understanding of the relationship between theory and practice
• To develop your own arguments about the extent to which these political institutions operate effectively
• To be able to relate the topic to actual current events in Australian politics

Topic Outline:

In the Westminster system of government, the Executive and Parliament are two integral and connected institutions. The functions and powers of the Executive are outlined by the Australian Constitution and shaped by Westminster conventions. Although the Executive has an extensive political role outside Parliament, its members are drawn from Parliament and it depends on Parliament for its ongoing authority and legitimacy. In modern government, the power of the Executive has steadily increased.

Parliament, with its legislative and representative functions, is designed to act as a check and balance against executive authority and administrative power. Consequently, there is potential for conflict between the role of Parliament and the power of the Executive. This topic is concerned with the constitutional theory and institutional practice of the Executive and Parliament and with analysis of the workings of these two fundamental institutions in Australian federal democracy.

The study of Parliament and the Executive will include:

functions and procedures of Parliament (House of Representatives, Senate, Governor-General or equivalent)

• legislation, representation, formation and accountability of government
• question time, debates and committees
• conventions

role of key players

• government and opposition
• minor parties, independent backbenchers
• Speaker of the House/President of the Senate

parliamentary practice

• government and opposition tactics
• party discipline and Executive domination
• parliamentary reform

the Executive, Cabinet and Ministry

• composition, structure and functions of the Executive under the Westminster system
• selection and roles of Cabinet and Ministry
• operation of Cabinet and its committees
• ministerial accountability and responsibility
• conventions

the Prime Minister

• powers and responsibility
• relations with Cabinet, Ministry and political party
• styles of leadership

* * *

Note-Taking Guide – be aware that not everything is covered in your textbook. It is important to organise your notes around the headings listed above so as to ensure that all aspects of the topic have been covered.

(a) Read pp104-107 and note the main arguments about parliament:

· The “talking shop” argument that parliament is in decline (pp104-5)

· The argument that parliament is the “fulcrum” of the political system (pp104-5)

(b) Specifically:

· What does Haward says about the “golden age” of parliament? (p106)

· Why does he think form is confused with substance? (p106)

· What does Haward think are the great changes inside and outside parliament that have affected it? (p106)

· What is the “washminster mutation”? (p107)

(c) Roles of Parliament:

· Note Edmund Burke’s distinction between the roles of “delegate” and “representative” – can you think of any contemporary examples? (p107)

· What are the problems associated with parliament being a representative institution (p108)

(d) Members of Parliament:

• Note the conflicts MPs may experience between constituency interests, party discipline and ministerial responsibility, using the examples of Campbell and Punch (p108)

(e) Parliament In Operation:

• Note some of the more important statistics about the operation of Parliament, such as numbers of sitting days, legislation passed, etc. (pp109-110)

(f) Parliamentary Terms:

• There are many of these, but some of the more important are listed below. You can also consult the web site at http://vcepolitics.com/loreto - look under Year 11 Politics Worksheets for the list of 17 Parliament factsheets. You should also consult your Political Dictionary:
• 90 second Statements
• Private Members’ Business
• Question Time
• Grievances
• Government Business
• Adjournment
• Papers
• Ministerial Statements
• Matters of Public Importance (MPI)
• Standing Orders
• Notice Paper
• Petitions
• Parliamentary Committees
• Parliamentary Secretaries
• Urgency Debate
• Speaker

(g) Bicameralism:

• Make sure you understand the concept of bicameralism (pp111-12) and the difference between the English House of Lords and the American Senate.
• Note the powers of upper houses over legislation and government budgets.
• Check the mechanics of a Double Dissolution – Section 57 of the Constitution.

(h) Parliament and the Constitution:

Read the relevant sections of the Constitution that deal with Parliament.

Try to develop a list of arguments for and against adopting the British system of choosing the Speaker of the House. (p113)

(i) The Westminster System:

• Note the convention that underpins our political system and the formation of governments. (p113)
• Note the incidences of minority government in recent Australian political history. Victoria can be added to the list. (p114) Note the arguments about the influence of parliament under minority governments.

(j) Supply:

• Why is Supply important? (p114)
• Develop some arguments for and against the Senate’s power to delay or reject Supply bills.

(k) Parliament and Scrutiny:

• Read pages 114-21 and develop a list of occasions, devices and techniques which enable the Parliament to scrutinise the government. Some of these are:
• Question Time – explain why this is an important occasion. Discuss how the government may manipulate Question Time to its advantage. (p115)
• Debates and Censures – note some of the examples of ministers who have been dismissed or resigned as a result of parliamentary scrutiny. (p116)
• Parliamentary Committees – note the list of these on p117. You can check the web sites of House (http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/index.htm) or Senate (http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/index.htm) Committees and gain some insight into their work. Current examples of Committee work is very useful information for this topic.
• Note the history of Committees (p118)
• List the advantages Committees have brought, such as providing leadership experience and training for MPs. (p118)
• What factors influence the success of Committees? (p118)

(l) Parliament and Legislation:

• Note the legislative procedure for passage of a bill (p120) including key terms:
• First Reading
• Second Reading
• Committee of the Whole
• Amendments
• Referral to Committee
• Transmission to Other House
• Royal Assent
• Note some of the tactics the government may employ to maintain control of the legislative process: (p121)
• Gag
• Guillotine
• Legislation by media release
• ‘Skeletal’ bills and delegated legislation
• open-ended proclamation clauses
• Develop a list of some of the problems Parliament faces in dealing with legislation (p121):
• Expertise
• Conflicts of roles
• The “sausage machine” argument

(m) Cabinet:

• Note the definition and importance of Cabinet (p124), including the difference between the Executive and Legislative branches. (Consult http://www.pm.gov.au/portfolio/cabinet.htm for more information).
• How are ministers chosen? (p125)
• List some examples of Cabinet decisions that require legislation and decisions that don’t. Aim to add to this list throughout the year. (p125)
• Why is the government dependent on and assisted by the Public Service? (p125)
• Note the questions Page raises about modern Cabinets on p125. Aim to develop responses to these questions.

(n) Composition of Cabinet:

• Note how Labor and Liberal Prime Ministers choose their ministries, including key terms: (p126)
• Ministry
• Outer ministry
• Inner ministry
• Factions
• Caucus
• Note the formal and informal restraints on Labor and Liberal Prime Ministers in choosing their ministries. (p126)
• Note the arguments for and against having an inner and outer ministry (p128), such as unwieldiness and effectiveness.
• Note the ministerial structure adopted by the Hawke Government in 1987 (p129). Compare this to the structure of the Howard ministry (see http://www.pm.gov.au/portfolio/team.htm).

(o) The Work of Cabinet:

• Note the two main responsibilities of ministers:
• Developing government policy
• Administering government departments

and consider the possible conflicts that may arise. (p127)

• Explain why the Federal Budget process is important.
• Note information on Cabinet roles, meetings and secrecy. (p127)
• Note the statistics (pp127-8) on Cabinet meetings, papers and decisions to develop an idea of the workload of a minister.

(p) Cabinet Committees:

• Note the kind of cabinet committees adopted by the Hawke and Keating governments. (p130)
• What kind of factors influence the composition of these committees?
• Why is the Expenditure Review Committee so important? (p130)

(q) Power in Cabinet:

• Why have senior ministers become more important over the years?
• Note the reasons why the Prime Minister is of such importance in the Cabinet: (p131-2)
• Power to appoint and dismiss ministers
• Power to allocate portfolios
• Power to chair cabinet and control the agenda
• Role of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in coordinating and developing government policy
• Growth and function of ministerial staff
• Prime Minister’s office staff

(r) The Changing Balance of Power:

• Read this section (pp133-4). It may be difficult to follow, but persevere. This discussion will be covered in class.

(s) External Restraints on Executive Power:

• The government operates under the influence of a number of restrains, including Political Parties (hence that topic in your course), Parliament (ditto), the Constitution and conditions such as the state of the economy. Begin developing a list of these restraints as you see them occurring in current events.
• Individual Ministerial Responsibility (p135) – note some figures on ministerial dismissals and resignations in recent times.
• List the reasons why Parliament is not seen as sufficiently able to control ministers
• Collective Ministerial Responsibility (p136) – what are the conventions of this principle?
• Why might this principle be regarded as dead in Australia?
• Note the examples of Bury, Gorton and Shiel.
• How did Hawke and Keating ensure Cabinet solidarity was rarely broken?

(t) Conclusion:

• Read pages 137-8. These are the issues you will need to consider and form opinions on during the year.

Issues in the Parliament & Executive Topic:

If you consult the list of previous exam questions, both short answers and essays (available at http://vcepolitics.com/exam) you will get some idea of the issues involved with this topic.

Start thinking about these issues, developing some views about them and looking for current examples which will assist you to develop your views. This is the key to the assessment tasks and the end-of-year exam.

ends