The Australian parliament

The Australian parliament is quite good at holding the current administration accountable. This is due to the fact that many things must be approved in the house of the assembly before any given government may carry out a particular mission. In addition, the parliament can restrain a government through a number of institutions that are often in charge of doing so. Some of the participants are chosen from the elected members of the representatives in the legislative assembly. Such people often form the executive members who help the prime minister in the day to day running and control of the activities of a government.

The essay will first, therefore, focus on the basic principles of a liberal democracy in Australia that would inform of the power separation. The constitution has also been highlighted which forms the second topic to justify the effectiveness of parliament's role in holding the government.Further, the federal system, the role of the legislature and the Australian political executive have also been explained to give a more precise description of the Australian parliament being accountable for the government of the day as discussed below.

Australia’s Liberal Democracy

The Australian prime minister is usually the leader of the executive in the parliament, therefore, has the powers which he uses to determine most of the policies of the government. Liberal democracy places certain limits to some of the powers that are accorded to the leader of the executive. Liberal democracy considers certain critical principles in the reducing the powers that are usually given to the Australian prime minister. Such principles include, the rule of law being the only way through which any particular government can exercise its authority (Lockie et al., 2006, 30).

Another principle is that there is a need for a very strong private market sector within the economy. Further, there should be a general acceptance of the rights and liberties of citizens within the country. The people are granted the right to select their leaders of their choice through voting in a general election as outlined in the constitution. The elected members represent the citizens and make significant decisions on their behalf. They have to, therefore, respect their rights and freedoms. Liberalism on the other hand advocates for the separation of powers between the executives and the legislature such that the legislature would be in charge of checking the government of the day.This is to ensure that it works in a manner that respects and upholds the fundamental rights of the individuals who elected them(Lockie et al., 2006, 30). Liberal democracy, therefore, combines some safeguards and representative democracy that aims at limiting government power using the rule of law, constitution, and fragmentation of power. According to Lockie et al., (2006, 30), a form of democracy is therefore formulated that helps in the minimization of certain risks that majority rule usually puts on the rights and liberties of individuals within the nation.

The Australian constitution

The constitution of Australia describes the roles of the various institutions of the government such as the legislature, executive, and judiciary. It, therefore, dwells on the separations of the power of the arms of the government. According to the constitution, the executive is the charge of administering the laws that are made by the legislature. The parliament, on the other hand, is responsible for making of the laws that guide the decisions that are to be made on behalf of the citizens by any executive member of the government (Thomas, 2009, 380).

The judiciary is then tasked with the interpretation of the laws. The allocation of the powers to different government activity is what is referred to as the separation of power. Such a separation of powers helps in the limitation of powers of the government.The minimisation of power is attained through setting up of the powers and laws that govern the three institutions. Also, the relationships that exist between both the federal and state government are defined explicitly. The constitution also provides for the selection of the members of the executive to be appointed by the prime minister who is chosen for the members of the legislature who are the elected members of the parliament (Thomas, 2009, 380). However such members must be vetted by the legislature and approved before assuming the various positions within the government. This, therefore, limits the powers of the government.

Federalism

The federalism offers a good political system for Australia. It is usually based on the principle of division of sovereignty between the territorial and national governments (Brown, 2006, 30). Every level of the government is granted autonomy to make laws relating to certain vital policies. The federal government is also composed of the three institutions which include the parliament, executive, and judiciary. The parliament is composed of the queen who is represented by the governor general and the two houses.

The houses are the house of representatives and the Senate. The parliament is usually responsible for passing various legislations which the executive government has to abide by. Further, the legislature provides the authority to the government to spend money meant for the public through the approval of the proposals made about the taxation and expenditure by the government (Brown, 2006, 30). Apart from that the parliament of the federal decides on who becomes the chief official opposition leader hence they can hold the government of the day (Brown, 2006, 30).

Legislature

Australia uses a parliamentary system of government.The legislature is responsible for making of laws in the two houses of the Australian parliament. The parliament has some functions that it uses in the holding hence limiting the powers of the government. Such duties include the provision for the formation of the government and a thorough scrutiny of every action done by the government hence it offers some checks and balances on the powers granted to the executives (Sterck, 2007, 200). It, therefore, holds any government of the day accountable. Often the legislature verifies the different actions of the government using specific procedures which involve questions and answers. The procedures are conducted during the question times, special debates and through censure motions which are coordinated and controlled by a specific set up a special committee (Sterck, 2007, 200).

Australia’s political executive

The checks and balances on the actions of the government are significant. The Australian executive is charged with the implementation of the laws that are made by the legislature. The executive members are usually appointed from the elected representatives of the parliament hence they form the government.The ministers and the cabinet members form the political executive and have different roles to perform to aid in the day to day running of a particular government (O'Malley, 2007, 20). However such tasks are restricted by the legislative members where they are usually interrogated during question times and censure motions on their administration of the various ministerial positions (O'Malley, 2007, 20). On some occasions, the questions mainly dwell on the usage of public funds in the provision of certain essential services to the citizens to ensure there are accountability and transparency within the government.

Conclusion

In summary, the parliament of Australia is capable of holding the government of the day. It usually uses some techniques. Such would include the constitution which allows for the separation of powers hence limiting the powers of the executive government. Other factors are democracy and liberalism which advocates for the respect of the rights and liberties of the citizens. Also, the federal system of parliament helps in holding the government through the approval of budgets on an expenditure of the government. Lastly, the legislature has particular roles which allow it to control the various activities of the government hence ensuring there are checks and balances within a government.



















































References

Brown, A.J., 2006. Federalism, regionalism and the reshaping of Australian governance. Federalism and regionalism in Australia. New approaches, new institutions, pp.11-32.

Lockie, S., Lawrence, G. and Cheshire, L., 2006. Reconfiguring rural resource governance: the legacy of neo-liberalism in Australia. Handbook of rural studies, pp.29-43.

O'Malley, E., 2007. The power of prime ministers: Results of an expert survey. International Political Science Review, 28(1), pp.7-27.

Sterck, M., 2007. The impact of performance budgeting on the role of the legislature: a four-country study. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 73(2), pp.189-203.

Thomas, P.G., 2009. Parliament scrutiny of government performance in Australia. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 68(4), pp.373-398.