Unit 3 Sac 1 Part C

Front 1

Legislative Process

Back 1

refers to the steps/stages used by Parliament to make a law

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Bill

Back 2

is a proposed law, which must be passed by both houses of parliament and recieve royal assent in order to become a law (opposite of an Act)

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Backbencher

Back 3

is one of the 150 members of Parliament without the portfolio (area of law to work in)

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Government or Public Bill

Back 4

has the approval of the cabinet and is most likely to be successful because it has the support of the government and it usually results from Government policy or reccomendations from Government departments for example financial bills such as the budget

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Private Member’s Bill

Back 5

is introduced without Cabinet support (usually by a government backbencher or member of the opposition) and is often unsuccessful because MPs will vote according to party policy

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Private bill

Back 6

affects only a small portion of the community for example Uniting Church Act or the Garry Webb Act this type of bill is usually passsed

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Cabinet

Back 7

consists of the Prime Minister and ministers (Federal level) or Premier and ministers (state level) has substantial resources, receives advice from many committees and decides on which legislation to introduce to parliament

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Drafting Legislation

Back 8

writing laws, process of framing the words of a proposed law in the form of a bill

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Parliamentary Counsel

Back 9

has the role of drafting legislation

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Minister

Back 10

is responsible for introducing the bill in Parliament or the relevant Government department will brief (advise) the parliamentary counsel on what is required

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Problems with drafting legislation

Back 11

are time constraints, legal terms, possible interpretations and advice given

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Time Constraints

Back 12

due to heavy workloads during parliamentary sitting time, process may be rushed and laws may be poorly drafted

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Legal Terms

Back 13

the legal meaning of certain words will differ from their everyday meaning which can cause confusion

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Possible Interpretations

Back 14

courts may interpret words and terms in a different way to their original intent which can lead to uncertainty or inconsistency

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Advice Given

Back 15

the minister or department briefing parliamentary counsel may not provide adequate, clear or accurate advice which may result in loopholes or omissions in the law.

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Key Stages in the Legislative Process

Back 16

1st reading
2nd reading
Consideration in detail
3rd reading
Second House (same stages are repeated as for the first house)
Royal Assent (approval from the Crown) and
Proclamation (published in the Government Gazette)

Front 17

1st Reading

Back 17

Formal introduction, Notice of intention, Title, Copies,
Contents made known, ‘Statement of compatibility’ before 2nd reading

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2nd Reading

Back 18

main purpose, Presents explanatory memorandum
General principles and reasons for and against, Opposition will respond, Government take turns to, end vote

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Consideration in Detail (in the lower house) or Committee of the Whole (in the upper house)

Back 19

not compulsory, not controversial skip, Deputy speaker proposes clauses, discussion, amendment, agreement, Speaker takes chair, deputy speaker adopts with/without amendment

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3rd Reading

Back 20

formally accept/reject Bill, agreement on amendments,
Maybe further debate, Vote, passed move on

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Second House

Back 21

goes through 4 stages second house, passed with/without amendments first house, passed identicle versions, not passed 'laide aside' or no action further taken

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Royal Assent and Proclamation

Back 22

crown from minister whose responsible for royal assent crown acts on advice from executive council, proclamation and publication in the Government Gazzette, no commencement date 28 days after

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Parliament as a Law-Making Body

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Strength, invetifate whole topic, comprehensive set of laws, expert information, however expensive, time-consuming, many issues, cant keep up changes in society, Strength, parliament elected, represents majority, however, conflicting views difficult discerning majority, popular, not necessarily most important, Strength, saves time and money, subordinate authorities quicker, however, subordinate authorities not elected, hard to represent majority, too many bodies, lack of debate, too much red tape,
Strength, arena for debate, reduces unjust laws, allows different views heard, more likely accepted, however, lengthy, expesive, opposition results not passed or watered down, Strength, in futuro, with the future in mind, provides predictability and consistency in law, however, difficult to forsee, laws become outdated, Conclusion, some weaknesses, strengths outweigh them, Parliament is effective