Law and Government by Teacher Superstore

Law & eGovernment or eBo st r

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p courts and constitutions ok A study of crimes, u S in Australia.

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Written by Sharon Szczecinski. Illustrated by Elizabeth Buckley. © Ready-Ed Publications - 2006 Published by Ready-Ed Publications (2006) P.O. Box 276 Greenwood Western Australia 6024 Email: info@readyed.com.au Website: www.readyed.com.au

COPYRIGHT NOTICE Permission is granted for the purchaser to photocopy sufficient copies for non-commercial educational purposes. However, this permission is not transferable and applies only to the purchasing individual or institution.

ISBN 1 86397 665 5

Rationale Law and Government is aimed at upper primary and lower secondary school students. It aims to encourage students to think about issues relating to civics and citizenship and to develop an understanding of the key elements of Australia’s legal and political systems through awareness of their own rights and responsibilities.

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This book makes explicit the awareness students have of the linkages between rights and responsibilities for members of a specific community within a range of local contexts and throughout wider contexts such as local, state and federal governments. The fact sheets and activities cover a wide variety of topics including: The need for laws and governments; Crimes and punishments; The court system; Governments around the world;

Australia’s three-tier system government; © Re ady Eofd Publ i cat i ons Elections; •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• Australia’s constitution; United Nations as world government.

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All activities are outcomes based with links to the political and legal strands of the Society and Environment / HSIE / SOSE learning areas of the curriculum. Activities are designed to use a variety of learning strategies including Internet research and critical thinking.

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Internet References

For ease of use, all websites referred to in this book can easily be accessed through the Law and Government book WWW links page at: www.readyed.com.au/urls/laws

Accessing this site saves students from typing in complicated addresses and also allows us to update any links that may move or disappear from the World Wide Web altogether. This page is regularly updated so check the site frequently. If you wish to report a broken link please email fixlink@readyed.com.au

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Contents Rationale .................................................................... 2 Links To Student Outcome Statements ..................... 4

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Relevant Websites ................................................... 5-6 Fact Sheet: Who Needs Laws Anyway? .................. 7

Activity: Controlling Our Behaviour ....................... 8

Fact Sheet: Where Did Our Laws Come From? ... 10

Activity: Press Conference .................................... 11

Activity: Aboriginal Australian Laws ...................... 12 Fact Sheet: Making Laws ....................................... 13 Activity: Creating a Law ......................................... 14

Activity: From Democracy to Dictatorship .......... 33 Activity: Political Power ........................................ 34 Activity: Federation ............................................... 35

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Activity: Box Office Blockbuster ............................. 9

Activity: Democracy Ancient Greek Style ............ 32

Fact Sheet: Government in Australia .................... 36 Activity: Newswatch ............................................. 37 Activity: Thinking Local 1 ...................................... 38 Activity: Thinking Local 2 ...................................... 39 Activity: State Government 1 ................................ 40

Fact Sheet: Types of Laws: Criminal And Civil ...... 16

Activity: Mapping the State ................................... 42

Activity: Legal Link ................................................ 17

Fact Sheet: Federal Government .......................... 43

Activity: Newspaper Study .................................... 18

Activity: Jobs in Parliament .................................... 44

Activity: Unsolved Crimes .................................... 19

Activity: Getting Elected 1 .................................... 45

Activity: Wacky World Laws ................................. 20

Activity: Getting Elected 2 .................................... 46

Fact Sheet: Crime and Punishment – The Police .. 21

Activity: Student Council Elections ....................... 47

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Activity: Rights and Responsibilities ....................... 22

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Activity: State Government 2 ................................ 41

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Activity: Laws In Australia ...................................... 15

Activity: The Governor-General ........................... 48

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Activity: On The Beat ........................................... 23 Fact Sheet: Enforcing The Law – The Courts ....... 24

Activity: Courts Around The Country ................... 25

Activity: Doing Your Duty ...................................... 26 Activity: International Law 1 ................................. 27 Activity: International Law 2 ................................. 28 Fact Sheet: What Is a Government? ...................... 29 Activity: Calling Out Around The World .............. 30

Fact Sheet: Prime Ministers ................................... 49 Activity: Prime Ministerial Awards ......................... 50 Activity: A Day in the Life of a Politician ............... 51

Activity: Our Constitution 1 ................................. 52 Activity: Our Constitution 2 ................................. 53 Fact Sheet: World Government – The United Nations . 54 Activity: Do We Need the United Nations? ......... 55 Activity: Governing the World .............................. 56 Activity: Design an Educational Centre ................ 57

Activity: Who’s In Charge? .................................... 31 PAGE 3

Curriculum Links Links to Student Outcome Statements The activities contained in Law and Government address the following strands and outcomes. NATIONAL CURRICULUM (ACT/TAS/NT) STUDIES OF SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT Natural and Social Systems - Political and Legal Systems 2.14 Identifies reasons why groups and communities have rules. 3.14 Illustrates the linkages between rights and responsibilities or members of a community. 4.14 Describes how laws and rules are made.

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Communication, Investigation and Participation 3.16 Frames questions and identifies sources of information. 3.17 Presents information to explore a key idea.

NEW SOUTH WALES

VICTORIA

STUDIES OF SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT Natural and Social Systems Level 3 Learning Outcomes • Illustrates the linkages between rights and responsibilities for members of a community. Level 4 Learning Outcomes • Recognises how rules and laws are made.

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HUMAN SOCIETY & ITS ENVIRONMENT Social Systems and Structures – Roles, Rights and Responsibilities SSS3.8 Explains the structure, roles, responsibilities and decision-making processes of State and Federal governments and explains why Australians value fairness and socially just principles.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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HUMAN SOCIETY & ITS ENVIRONMENT Social Systems 2.12 Describes and participates in decision making processes and interprets the effects of decisions on people. 3.10 Describes example of forms and structures of Australian and other governments over time in terms of how they impact on people’s lives. 4.10 Analyses differences between political, legal and social systems and people’s rights and responsibilities, using personal and other examples. SOCIETY & ENVIRONMENT Natural and Social Systems - Political and Legal Systems NSS 2.2 The student understands that groups and communities interact according to rules. NSS 3.2 The student understands that members of groups and communities have rights and accompanying responsibilities. NSS 4.2 The student understands that rules and laws result from decisions about rights and responsibilities.

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Investigation, Communication and Participation Active Citizenship ICP 3.1, ICP 3.2, ICP 3.3 Democratic Process; Social Justice

QUEENSLAND

STUDIES OF SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT Systems, Resources and Power SRP 2.4 Students analyse information about their own and others’ rights and responsibilities in various settings. SRP 3.4 Students describe simply the basic principles of democracy and citizenship from ancient to modern times. SRP 3.5 Students explain the values associated with familiar rules and laws. SRP 4.3 Students enact democratic processes in familiar settings using knowledge of representative government. SRP 4.4 Students present comparisons of government and citizenship in pre- and post-Federation Australia.

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Relevant Websites General References www.readed.com.au/urls/laws – All websites listed below are linked from this main index page.

LAW

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Law Council of Australia www.lawcouncil.asn.au

Australian Law Online www.law.gov.au Francis Burt Law Education Centre francisburt.lawsocietywa.asn.au Department of Justice www.justice.wa.gov.au/portal/server.pt

Australian Government www.australia.gov.au Prime Minister’s Office www.pm.gov.au

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Law Stuff www.lawstuff.org.au

GOVERNMENT

Parliament of Australia www.aph.gov.au

Australian Electoral Commission www.aec.gov.au Australia’s Prime Ministers primeministers.naa.gov.au

© ReadyEdPu b l i c a t i o n s Civics and Citizenship www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce Supreme Court of Australia www.supremecourt.wa.gov.au • f orr evi ew pur p osesofoAustralian nl y•States Parliaments Federal Court of Australia www.federalcourt.gov.au

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Family Court of Australia www.familycourt.gov.au Australian Federal Police www.afp.gov.au/afp/page

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and Territories

Australian Capital Territory www.legassembly.act.gov.au

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High Court of Australia www.hcourt.gov.au

New South Wales www.parliament.nsw.gov.au Northern Territory www.nt.gov.au/lant

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Australian Institute of Criminology www.aic.gov.au

National Crime Prevention Program www.ag.gov.au/www/ncpHome.nsf National Institute of Forensic Science www.nifs.com.au/home.html Crime Stoppers Australia www.crimestoppers.com.au

Queensland www.parliament.qld.gov.au South Australia www.parliament.sa.gov.au Victoria www.parliament.vic.gov.au

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Western Australia www.parliament.wa.gov.au www.hreoc.gov.au United Nations www.un.org/english

Tasmania www.parliament.tas.gov.au PAGE 5

Fact Sheet

Who Needs Laws Anyway?

Imagine the scene: You’ve just arrived home from school – first your Mum tells you off because you’re a bit late, then she mentions it’s your turn to help with the dinner preparation and then you remember the big maths assignment that’s due tomorrow. So many rules, you think, who makes them and why do we need them anyway? Wouldn’t it be great to get home when you wanted, play computer games all afternoon and not worry about any rules anyone tried to enforce? You probably wouldn’t have to go to school; you could stay up all night if you felt like it and your weekends would be totally job-free. Sound good?

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Well, it would be good if you also liked a world where there is no protection from murder or assault, where anyone could steal your stuff and get away with it and no one actually ran the country! Rules and laws are important to the operation of society. In fact, rules, laws and customs have controlled most of the school day you have had so far.

Customs:

Laws:

Sometimes our behaviour is based on our usual way of doing something. We act not because there are rules or laws that control us, but because it is expected of us. For example, there is no rule or law that says in Australia you must eat with a knife and fork – some people do, some people instead eat with chopsticks. What we do is our custom.

Whilst rules apply to certain groups of people laws apply to everyone. Laws are made by the government and are important to everyone in society. Laws protect people, their property and their rights and freedoms. People who live in society have rights but they also have responsibilities. Rights can be taken away from people if they do not show responsibility.

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Rules:

Anarchy:

Rules are more formal than customs and usually apply to a certain group of people. They could be said to be a more dominant custom. Schools, classrooms, sporting associations and families are all likely to have rules that apply to the members of that particular group. If you play football or netball, for example, there are rules that apply to how the game is played. Every player must play by the rules or accept the game’s penalties.

Anarchists are people who believe that there is no need for government or laws. Anarchists believe individuals would do the right thing without any laws.

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Controlling Our Behaviour Read the Who Needs Laws Anyway? Fact Sheet and then complete the table below. CUSTOMS

Definition in your words

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LAWS

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Who does the control apply to?

RULES

Two examples

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Z List one additional rule that you think each group would want to have.

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X List all of the groups who would be interested in the school rules.

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[ Explain why these rules are different to laws.

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Y List five rules you would consider to be essential for the school.

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N THE BACK OF THIS SHEET

\ List two laws that you think the school would have to comply with. ] Explain why you believe rules and laws are necessary for the running of the school. PAGE 7

Box Office Blockbuster 1

Our government and law system had to start somewhere. Imagine what life would be like without any laws – we would need to work out which laws were needed to control society.

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You might have heard of the Y2K virus or millennium bug. In 1999 people were worried about a possible computer error which might occur as the year turned from 1999 to 2000. Thinking it was the year 00 many computers might wipe out all information from 1900 onwards. Luckily this didn’t happen – imagine the chaos! Banks could be pouring money from automatic teller machines, traffic lights would jam, prisoners would be accidentally unlocked from their prison cells … it would be as if the world we know never existed. Governments would need to be established and rules and laws would need to be made for a very different society – what a great script for a movie. Imagine you are a scriptwriter. You know that the Y2K computer virus would make a fantastic disaster movie – not only would there be chaos when the virus hit but then afterwards everything on Earth would have to be set up again with new governments and laws. Now you just need to convince a movie producer to make your film. Write an outline of your script idea in the storyboard on Page 9. Complete the character chart below, listing a few options for the actors you would like to see in the roles.

Main characters and actors to play them:

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Character 1

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_____________________________________________________________________ Character 2

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_____________________________________________________________________ Character 3

_____________________________________________________________________ Character 4

____________________________________________________ Character 5 ____________________________________________________ PAGE 8

Box Office Blockbuster 2 Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Scene 5

Scene 6

Scene 7

Scene 8

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STORYBOARD

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o c . ‘Lawsc introduced’ ‘Government’ e her r o t s super ESTABLISHING GOVERNMENTS AND LAWS

What rules and laws need to be made for a society very different to the one we know? ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

What type of government will need to be established? ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

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Fact Sheet

Where Did Our Laws Come From? From the time you could talk you would have been aware of rules and laws. In fact even when you were a baby there were probably rules that you couldn’t throw food from your high chair! Where did our rules and laws come from? Many civilisations realised that for there to be order they needed to make laws based on what was important to them. According to the Bible, for example, the Ten Commandments were written on stone and handed to the Jewish Holy man, Moses, as laws for the Jewish people to follow.

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The ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome also had legal codes for their citizens to follow. Draco drew up the earliest Greek legal code in 621 BC. These laws were very harsh and even today, extremely severe laws are known as Draconian.

Between 100BC and 400AD the Roman Empire was a significant part of the world and laws were drawn up to deal with people living both in Rome and under the Roman Empire but in other parts of the world. It was the Romans who started the belief that people are innocent until proven guilty. The area that is now known as the Middle East contained the ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia. It is these people who are believed to be amongst the first to draw up codes of law. The oldest written set of laws is the Code of Hammurabi written by King Hammurabi of Babylonia (which is now Iraq). These laws – there were more than 280 of them – were carved in stone and placed throughout the city so that people would know about them. The laws dealt with issues like private property, business and family relations, work and personal injury. The punishments for breaking the code were very severe – this is where the saying “an eye for an eye” comes from.

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Australian Laws

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When European settlers arrived in Australia in 1788 the many groups of Aboriginal people living here already had a well-established system of laws. The rules of behaviour that Aboriginal people were expected to live by were handed down from generation to generation through stories and ceremonies that came from the Dreaming. Often different groups of people had different laws. Some of the types of laws in Aboriginal society included how people should behave towards each other, how the land should be cared for and who could marry whom. There are still some places in Australia where Aboriginal laws exist and in some cases judges have allowed traditional law to be applied to court cases. When Europeans arrived in Australia they brought with them many of their traditions from their home country so now much of Australia’s legal and parliamentary system is similar to that in the United Kingdom.

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Press Conference

The laws we have today have developed for the type of society we have now. In the past laws were made to suit the people and society of the time. Read the Fact Sheet on Page 10. 1234567890123456789012 Imagine you are Hammurabi, King of Babylonia. There has been a great deal of crime in your kingdom and you have just released your code to deal with the issues. Some of your most controversial laws are causing you bad press, resulting in you calling a press conference to face your critics. You need to convince the people that your laws are in the best interests of society and that the laws will prevent the strong harming the weak.

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Read each of the laws below and outline the reason why you have made this law.

If a noble destroys the eye of a member of the aristocracy (government), they shall destroy his eye. _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

If a man has knocked out the teeth of his equal, his own teeth shall be knocked out.

If a man has knocked out the teeth of a plebeian (common person), he shall pay a fine.

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_______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

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If anyone breaks into a house to steal, he shall be put to death.

_______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

If a slave tries to leave his master, his master will cut off the slave’s ear.

_______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

Think Tank: All of the laws refer to males. Why do you believe this is? Do you think the laws would also apply to females? PAGE 1 1

Aboriginal Australian Laws

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Imagine you are an Aboriginal Australian elder. You have been invited to talk to a local school about how Aboriginal laws worked when you were a child. The form below has been given to you as a guide to what to say. Conduct some research and then fill in the form in preparation for your talk.

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_____________________________ _____________________________

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Y What system of society did Aboriginal law work through?

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_____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________

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\ Do you believe traditional Aboriginal law and modern Australian law can exist together in society? Explain.

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TRADITIONAL ABORIGINAL LAW

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[ What were the consequences of law breaking in Aboriginal society?

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X What was the basis of Aboriginal law?

Z What is the difference between traditional Aboriginal law and modern Australian law?

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Making Laws

Fact Sheet

Every citizen is required to obey a number of laws. Not only are there local laws and laws that apply to a particular state or territory in which a person lives, but there are also national (or federal) laws and international laws. Who makes them all up?

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Originally laws were made from something known as precedent. If a case came to court (say for a theft) then the next time a similar case came along the previous judgement would be examined. Decisions in similar cases would then be continually developed. This is known as common law. If the circumstances of a case were different then the decision may be different and the new decision would become a precedent for the next similar case.

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X The draft of a new law is called a bill. The first step to making a new law is for it to get read out in the lower house of parliament.

Y At the second reading it gets read out again in more detail.

ÂŠ ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons Z At the committee stage members of Statute law is the most common way parliament get s to discuss the billâ&#x20AC;˘ and â&#x20AC;˘laws f o r ev i ew ur p o s e o n l y of making inr Australia today. This p suggest changes.

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Sometimes cases may come before the court where parliaments have not made any laws so court cases are decided according to common law. In matters where there are laws, judges must follow those laws. If there is ever any conflict between the two types of law then statute law is followed.

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[ A third reading is given following any changes and then members of parliament get to vote for or against the bill.

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type of law is made in parliaments by governments who have been elected by the people.

\ Once the bill is approved in the lower house it goes to the upper house and once it is approved it goes to the governor (or Governor-General) for signing and then becomes law.

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Most proposals for new laws (called bills) can usually be made by either house of parliament (with some exceptions).

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Creating a Law

Politicians are not the only people who get to have their say on new laws. Often the idea for a new law has come from the general population – there may have been a problem in the community, for example, that can best be settled by a new law. 123456789012345678901

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Longers school or ehours only solution t

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Imagine this newspaper article has just been published in your state newspaper. In pairs read the article and complete the questions, which follow:

Following a recent community forum, it has been proposed that school hours change so schools are open from 8am until 6pm. Community leaders met to discuss the growing problem of students going home to empty houses while parents are at work. One member of the forum was quoted as saying:

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“Kids getting into trouble is all because of boredom. Parents are still at work and kids have nothing to do. If schools are open longer then students could stay at school and play sport or do other activities.” Another member said: “Kids could do their homework and teachers could help them.”

The community forum has said it wants to get politicians to make a new law about school hours which prevents kids from going home unless there is an adult home to supervise them.

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___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

NEW LAWS

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___________________________________________________________________ Y The solution being proposed is to keep schools open longer. Suggest at least two other _________________________________________________________________ solutions.

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Z Are there any solutions that do not need new laws? Which ones?

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ [ If a new law is made to keep schools open longer what would be the advantages and disadvantages of this idea? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

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Laws in Australia

Using your research skills work in groups to find out about one recent law that has been introduced in your state or territory.

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X What is the name of the law? Y When was it introduced?

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_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

Z What is the law designed to do or protect?

_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

[ Who will be affected by the law?

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Write a television news report explaining the new law to the general public.

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Fact Sheet

Types of Laws – Criminal and Civil Civil Law r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Civil law doesn’t affect everyone. This type of law is between two people about a matter which affects only them. For example, a dispute between you and your neighbour about their barking dog could be dealt with in a court if the matter could not be settled any other way.

Criminal Law

Murder, burglary and physical assault are all examples of criminal acts and the law, which deals with them, is criminal law. Criminal law involves a situation in which a person has done something which is seen as a threat to the whole community. The government (also known as the “State”) takes responsibility for taking people accused of these crimes to court to answer for what they have done. When the accused appears in court it is said to be “‘the State versus the person”.

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There are examples of the law everyday in the print and electronic media. We see serious crimes, such as car theft and bashings, reported in the news regularly. These are very serious crimes but they are not the only crimes that are dealt with in court. Court cases involve either criminal or civil law.

The three main types of civil law are:

Contract law (toi do with © ReadyEdPu b l i c a t o ns agreements); •f orr evi ew pur p os es o l y• Family law (such asn births,

The law of tort (French for “wrong” and related to things like trespass or negligence).

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deaths, marriages and divorces); and

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The four main types of criminal law are:

Laws which protect property; Laws which protect people;

Laws which protect society; and Laws which protect the nation and legal system. 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345

PAGE 1 6

Legal Link

Read the Types of Laws – Criminal and Civil Fact Sheet.

Examine the list of crimes (offences) listed below and classify them into civil or criminal.

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A neighbour’s tree drops its leaves over your fence and causes your swimming pool to turn green.

A teenager joyriding in a stolen car crashes into a power pole.

[

Your parents sign a contract with a pay TV company and before the service is connected the company goes broke.

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A group of high school students breaks into a house and use it for a party.

]

Criminal

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons You buy a hamburger at a fast food place and when you get to rdiscover r evai e w puinr posesonl y• the• endf ofo it you dead cockroach it. A teenage computer genius hacks into a computer system, which has Australian defence secrets, and sells them on the Internet.

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Creative Writing

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Civil

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Choose one of the above scenarios and imagine you are involved. Write the opening paragraphs of a creative story. Choose either the victim of crime or the criminal’s point of view to write from.

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______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ PAGE 1 7

Newspaper Study

The print and electronic media, and newspapers in particular, are a good source of information about laws and offences. Use either your local newspaper or a State newspaper to find two articles about the law – one about a criminal offence and one that relates to a civil dispute. Read the article and underline any key ideas then cut the article out and fill in the details below.

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Criminal Law

X Name and date of newspaper: _______________________________

Y Headline of article:

Civil Law

X Name and date of newspaper:

_______________________________ Y Headline of article:

_______________________________

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_______________________________

Z Summarise what the offender is accused © ReadyEdP ubl i cat i ons of _______________________________ _______________________________ • f o r r e v i e w p u r p osesonl y• _______________________________ _______________________________

Z Summarise what the offender is accused of (i.e. what crime have they allegedly committed):

(i.e. what crime have they allegedly committed):

_______________________________

[ Give your opinion of the case. If the person has been found guilty do you agree with the decisions made?

_______________________________

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Unsolved Crimes

Technology like the Internet and TV are making it harder for people who commit crimes to get away with their offences. Crimestoppers is just one recent innovation, which uses the public to help identify criminals and bring them to justice. 1234567890123456789012 www.crimestoppers.com.au

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Y Select the state/territory that you live in and access the Crimestoppers statistics for your area.

How many calls were made to Crimestoppers?

_________________

How many arrests were made?

_________________

How many charges were laid?

_________________

How many rewards were paid?

_________________

What is the value of the goods recovered?

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Z Imagine you are the Police Commissioner for your state. Lately the government has said that Crimestoppers is expensive and it is thinking of getting rid of it. Write a two-minute speech to be presented to the government arguing in favour of keeping the Crimestoppers program running as part of crime prevention in your area. Write your draft notes below.

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X Visit

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____________________________________________________________________

SPEECH

____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ PAGE 1 9

Wacky World Laws 1

Laws are created to suit particular circumstances throughout the world. For example: In Singapore the sale of chewing gum was once banned to prevent it ending up on the streets;

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Greece has banned all electronic games;

In 2004 the state of Virginia in the USA made it illegal for anyone to wear their pants or jeans so low that their underpants showed. There are many laws that once existed because the society they were made for was different to today’s world. Some old laws still exist but many have been repealed (stopped).

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Visit the website below and use your Internet research skills to complete the following questions. www.dumblaws.com

List three past world laws that have been repealed and the country they are from.

• ________________________________________________________________

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List three current interesting laws and list where they are from.

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• ________________________________________________________________

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• ________________________________________________________________

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• ________________________________________________________________ Z

List any interesting laws from Australia.

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Wacky World Laws 2

CRITICAL THINKING: The Virginian underpants law described on Page 20 is one example of a very specific law that was created to address a problem in a particular community. Enough people must have been wearing their pants or jeans so low that a law had to be made about it!

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YOUR OPINION

What is your opinion of this law? Do you think laws should be made about things such as fashions, which may change? Write your opinion below.

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_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

YOUR RULE

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_________________________________________________________________

Think about your community at the moment. Perhaps there are issues at school or in your local area that annoy you and other people enough that you think there should be rules or laws made about them. If you had the opportunity of making either a new rule (remembering that rules only apply to certain groups of people like a school community) or a law (laws are for everyone) what would you suggest? Write your rule or law in the space below.

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PAGE 2 1

Fact Sheet

Crime and Punishment – The Police The government is responsible for making laws. This is known as the legislative function of government. This is one of three functions, or arms, that a government has. Laws exist to protect the community so it is important that they are carried out or enforced. This is known as the executive function of government. The main laws are carried out by the police. For some laws public servants (people who work for the government), such as health inspectors and rangers, ensure they are enforced.

r o e t s Bo r e pa crime has ok So what happens u once been committed or police have S reason to believe one has been committed?

Dependent upon the crime committed several courses of action may result: The offender could be issued with a caution (for example a minor traffic offence);

“James Halfwit, I am arresting you for spraying a bus stop with graffiti. You are not obliged to say anything but anything you do say may be used in evidence against you.”

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and why. The police may use words such as:

If the offender has been arrested and the police ask them to accompany them to the police station they are required to do so.

The courts can summons someone to appear in court (this is voluntary so is usually for minor offences); A warrant can be issued which allows the police to bring someone to court;

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The offender can be arrested.

What happens after the arrest?

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• fingerprinting; • photographing the alleged offender; • asking the person to empty their

pockets;

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An on-the-spot fine may be issued;

• conducting an interview. Usually the

interview is recorded. An arrest is the process of bringing someone into police custody so that they The two principles of our legal system can be charged with an offence. It can are: occur anywhere and a crime does not X It must be proved beyond reasonable need to have taken place (police just doubt that an offence was committed; need to have strong suspicion of a crime and being committed). Y Everyone is During the arrest the police will inform the presumed alleged offender that they are under arrest innocent until they are proven guilty.

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PAGE 2 2

Rights and Responsibilities

It is important that young people know both their rights and responsibilities in regards to the law. Read the Crime and Punishment – The Police Fact Sheet. Complete some additional research using the library or the Internet and find out as much as you can about juveniles and the law (use the structured overview below to help you). Once you have completed some research construct an information booklet designed to be given out to upper primary and lower secondary students.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Juveniles and the Law •MAIN IDEA

Rights •SUPPORTING IDEAS

•CATEGORIES

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JUVENILES AND THE LAW Teac he r

Responsibilities

•SUPPORTING IDEAS

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On The Beat

There is much more to the police service than just police officers seen in uniform on the streets and in patrol cars. Although these officers are very important to our protection and security there are also many other sections of the police that can be involved in any investigation. 1234567890123456789012

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Imagine you are a recruitment officer for the police force. Using the Internet and any other resources available to you find out about one specialised role (other than a uniformed officer) in the police service in your state. Complete the job description below.

Job title:

What special qualifications are needed?

______________________________

Section of police:

______________________________ ______________________________

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What are the pay and conditions of the role?

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What does this section do?

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RECRUITMENT

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______________________________

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What are the main responsibilities of this role?

______________________________

Why would this role be an interesting job?

______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

PAGE 2 4

Fact Sheet

Enforcing the Law – The Courts The third function of government is known as the judicial function. This involves the settling of disputes in courts. Not every dispute, however, comes before the formal

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courts of Australia. In addition to courts there are other bodies, which are designed to hear complaints and decide on issues, which are more minor. Some of these are: The small claims tribunal; The ombudsman.

If a case does get to court there are many different courts depending upon the seriousness of the crime. For example, someone who has sprayed graffiti on a wall is not likely to be dealt with in the same court as someone who has committed murder.

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The equal opportunity board; and

There are two levels of courts in Australia – the federal courts and those in the states and territories. The highest court in Australia is known as the high court. This court hears cases to do with the states and international law. Each state and territory has its own hierarchy of courts with the Supreme Court generally being the highest. As well as hearing more serious cases the higher courts in each state are also able to hear appeals from people who have already had their case heard in the lower courts. There are special courts dealing with, for example, family issues and juveniles.

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Courts Around The Country

Read the Enforcing the Law – The Courts Fact Sheet and access the website below: www.law.gov.au

Research your state or territory’s court system and complete the questions below.

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X What is the highest court? _______________________________

Y What is the name of the court that deals with divorces?

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Your state or territory: ___________________________________________________ \ In which court would someone accused of wilful murder be tried? _______________________________ ] Where would a 13-year-old accused of shoplifting be tried?

_______________________________ © ReadyEdPu bl i cat i ons Z What other issues does this court deal orr evi ew pu]r p o se son y• What other tribunals andl boards are there with? •f _______________________________ _______________________________

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_______________________________ _______________________________

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_______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________

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_______________________________

[ Is there a district court? What does it deal with? _______________________________

PAGE 2 6

in your state or territory?

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] If there is a virtual tour available of any of the courts, access it and then list some of the features below.

_______________________________

Doing Your Duty!

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You work for the Justice Department in your state, answering people’s questions about how the court system operates. Due to the fact that people do not seem to understand how jury duty works you have decided to produce a poster that will be sent to workplaces throughout the state. Fill in the details below and then construct your poster on a piece of blank paper.

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www.justice.qld.gov.au/courts/about/jurors.htm www.nt.gov.au/ntsc/jdfaq.html

Z Who is not eligible to be on a jury? ________________________________ ________________________________

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You might like to use these websites as starting points for your research:

________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

X What is a jury?

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________ Y What does a jury do in a court case?

_____________________________

________________________________

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Z What is jury duty?

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________________________________

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_____________________________

________________________________ ________________________________

________________________________

\ What are some other reasons that people can be excused? _____________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ PAGE 2 7

International Law 1

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 In addition to the national laws and those of the individual 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 states and territories, Australia is also required to abide by 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 international laws. International law is made up of the laws that 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 govern relations between nations. Examples include treaties, 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 agreements and customs. Laws are made about issues such as the environment, military 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 conflict, international trade and human rights. Often international organisations like the 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 United12345678901234567890123 Nations are involved. Some international laws are also Australian laws. 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 The Convention on the Rights of the Child is an 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 international treaty that recognises the human rights of 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 people up to the age of 18 years. Imagine you were able to 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 decide what should be in such a treaty. In pairs create your 12345678901234567890123 Your 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 own convention on the rights of the child in the box below. Task 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123

Treaty © ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• X Now compare your list with another pair. Z Now examine the actual convention by ________________________________

Are there any differences between your treaty and the United Nations one?

________________________________

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accessing the United Nations website at: www.un.org/english

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In the space below outline any differences between your treaties.

________________________________

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Y In your pairs list your arguments for why your treaty should be signed by all countries and made into a law.

________________________________

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________________________________

International Law 2

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X What is the name of the treaty? _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________

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Imagine you are able to interview an official from the United Nations organisation. Your aim is to find out about one other international treaty. Some treaties you might like to research are: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism; Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. Start with the United Nations organisation website at www.un.org/english then follow the links to International Law and the list of treaties. Complete the questions below to make a start on your research.

Z Who has signed this treaty? Is Australia a signatory? _______________________________ _______________________________

_______________________________ © ReadyEdPu bl i cat i ons _______________________________ _______________________________ •f orr evi ew pur p osesonl y• _______________________________ _______________________________

_______________________________

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Y What is the purpose of it? (e.g. to protect the rights of children.)

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[ Are there any countries that haven’t signed it? Why not?

_______________________________

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_______________________________ _______________________________

\ Do you think Australia has any laws, which are similar to the treaty?

_______________________________

PAGE 2 9

Fact Sheet

What is a Government? Nations need governments for many reasons. A government is a way of organising society to make decisions necessary for the people living in the society, for example, laws for people to live by. The main way in which governments are classified throughout the world is according to the amount of choice people have in making decisions and having a say over issues that affect them.

r o e t s Bo r e p Autocracy ok system Communist Democracyu S

Government type Democracy

Governments throughout the world Features

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There are three main types of governments:

Country example

Freedom of choice for people.

Australia

People select representatives to act for them in government.

United Kingdom

No choice for people.

North Korea

Autocracy

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Communist

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Usually one ruler makes all decisions. Only one political party. Members of the one political party make all decisions for the country.

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USA © Read y E darePconstitutional ubl i cat i ons Two main types monarchy and democratic republic. •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

People’s Republic of China

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PAGE 3 0

Calling Out Around the World!

Today many nations throughout the world claim to be democracies. Using an atlas and the map below identify and label: Five countries which are democracies Two countries which are autocracies Two communist nations

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You may also like to check out this website for information: www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

THE WORLD Tea

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Create a colour key with one colour for democracies, one for autocracies and one for communist nations.

democracies autocracies

communist nations PAGE 3 1

Who’s in Charge?

1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Parliaments throughout the world are 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 constantly changing. Choose three nations 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 you are interested in (not Australia) and use 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 the SBS World Guide at 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 www.theworldnews.com.au/Worldguide/index.php3 1234567890123456789012 Your 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Task to complete a profile of each nation. Use this page as a planning page and 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 then write your profiles up on another sheet of paper or on the computer. 1234567890123456789012

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\ How are members of parliament chosen? _______________________________

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X Name of country:

_______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________

Y Type of government: _______________________________

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[ Who is the head of government and what is their title? _______________________________ _______________________________

PAGE 3 2

] Explain the differences and similarities between this government and that of Australia.

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Z Who is the head of state and what is their title?

_______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________

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Democracy Ancient Greek Style

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12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 The Ancient Greeks invented democracies. The actual word democracy 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 comes from the Greek words – demos meaning “the people” and kratos 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 meaning “power”. Although the way in which democracy operates in Australia 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 today is quite different from that of Ancient Greece many of the ideas originally came from 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 there. Thousands of years ago Greece was made up of a number of city-states rather than being a 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 whole nation. Athens and Sparta were two of the most famous of these. Unlike some other parts of 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 Ancient Greece Athens was governed as a democracy by around 500 BC. People who were allowed 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 to have a say were known as citizens – to be a citizen you had to be male, free and born in Athens. 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 Athens was known as a direct democracy where all citizens were able to vote directly on all laws 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 and other major decisions. Many people were not allowed to be citizens – adult women, slaves, 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 children and people born outside of Athens. Without citizen status these people were not allowed 12345678901 12345678901 12345678901 to participate in the democratic process. 12345678901 12345678901 1234567890123456789012 12345678901 1234567890123456789012 12345678901 1234567890123456789012 The people of Athens achieved a great deal and left many legacies for 12345678901 1234567890123456789012 12345678901 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 the world but just what was it like to live in Ancient Athens? Imagine 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 you are the editor of a newspaper in Ancient Athens. Democracy has 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 been recently introduced and the city-state is flourishing. Complete 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 some research and then prepare the front page of a newspaper 1234567890123456789012 Your 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Task containing the latest news. Include at least three articles, which will give 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 an idea of what life would have been like. 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012

FRONT PAGE

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From Democracy to Dictatorship

Nazi Germany is probably the most recognised form of dictatorship in the world. The nation of Germany is a democracy now and was a democracy before the dictator Adolf Hitler came to power. In fact ordinary people voted for Hitler! Once Hitler took over complete control many aspects of life changed in Nazi Germany. For example:

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Laws no longer protected people and Hitler ruled by terror. A secret police force was set up to find out who opposed Hitler and get rid of them; The army was built up because Hitler knew that there would be wars with other countries;

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Hitler controlled people’s minds by controlling the radio and telling newspapers what they could print. All movie plots at the cinema had to fit in with Hitler’s ideas. Hitler also controlled what people could do in their time off by organising sport and holidays;

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The rights of many workers were taken away and several groups of workers (such as Jewish people, women and communists) lost their jobs; Young people were targeted and Hitler controlled what was taught in schools and universities. Hitler also took over all youth groups where boys learnt camping and military training and girls learnt cooking.

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Choose one of the characters below and write a letter to a friend in another country telling them what it is like to live in the dictatorship of Nazi Germany. You may want to do some further research.

A filmmaker © Rea dyEdPubl i cat i ons A 15-year-old boy involved in the Hitler Youth The editor of a newspaper •f orr ev i ew pu po eworking sonl y• A married woman whor wants tos keep A member of the Gestapo

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LETTER

____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

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Political Power!

The government of Nazi Germany dramatically changed how ordinary people lived their lives. One of the main effects of Hitler coming to power was the loss of many previous freedoms for the citizens of Nazi Germany.

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X Name of leader:

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1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Imagine a current political leader of Australia decided to change the system of 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 government and create a dictatorship. Your political leader could be from the 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 government or perhaps someone in the opposition hungry for power! 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Research your chosen political leader and build up a profile of their political career. 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 This website might help you: www.aph.gov.au/whoswho/index.htm 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Your 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Write a fictional story about the leader, their rise to power and ultimate dictatorship. Task 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Make sure your story shows how the lives of the central characters change as a 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 result of the change in type of government. Use the space below to plan your story. 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012

Z Central characters and their characteristics:

_______________________________

_______________________________ © ReadyEdPu bl i cat i ons _______________________________ •f orr evi ew pur p osesonl y• _______________________________

Y Timeline of their involvement in politics:

_______________________________

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_______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________

o c . che e r o t r s super [ Basic outline of story:

Federation

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Prior to 1901 Australia was a collection of six separate colonies each with their own governments. Australia’s present system of government came into being on 1 January 1901 with the joining together of the separate colonies. This process was known as Federation and the first federal government was elected in 1901. Federation was not achieved easily. Each colony wanted to keep some of their strength and power and compromise was difficult to reach. Some of the arguments for Federation included strength and protection against foreign threats, better trade between the states, and a stronger position for Australia in world affairs. On the other hand arguments against Federation included the concern that majority rule would favour the stronger states. Some of the key players in the achievement of Federation were:

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Henry Parkes – Often called the “Father of Federation” he made a famous speech in 1898 supporting federation;

Sir Edmund Barton – Played an important role in developing Australia’s constitution and was Australia’s first prime minister; and Alfred Deakin – A great supporter of Federation and served as prime minister of Australia three times.

Imagine Federation has not taken place but is being discussed today. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of your state or territory joining with the rest of Australia. What resources does your state have? How well would the people of the state fare if some decisions were to be made by a government in Canberra? In groups of four fill in the PMI (Plus, Minus and Interesting) chart below using the examples to help you.

We wouldn’t have to worry about defending our coastline, this would be done by the federal government.

Some of the profits from our mining industry would be shared with the nation.

We could have national sporting teams.

We already have a state government.

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Plus

Would our government lose some of its power? Would our state lose its identity?

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Think Tank: As a group decide whether it would be beneficial for your state to join the federation.

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Fact Sheet

Government in Australia There are three levels of government in Australia:

Federal

State

Local

Matters of importance to the nation as a whole are the responsibility of the national or federal government. This government is located in Canberra and the building itself is known as the parliament. The federal government is made up of two houses:

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The house of representatives (or lower house); and The senate (or upper house).

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Both houses have very different roles. Any parliament that is made up of two houses is known as a bicameral parliament. England and the USA also have two houses of parliament. In Australia the people elect each house. Each state and territory also has its own government, which deals with issues specifically relating to the state. Elections are generally held every four years and the people of the state elect politicians to represent them in government.

Many day-to-day issues are the responsibility of local government. A local government represents the residents of a local area. There are more than 800 councils throughout Australia. Your local government may be known as a shire, town or city.

Local government

State government

Federal government

•Taxation

•Libraries

•Hospitals

•Immigration

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•Police

•Trade

•Public transport

•Defence

•Footpaths

•Building approvals

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•Rubbish disposal

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Newswatch

The activities of governments at various levels are reported every day in the media. Items to do with the federal government are often the most publicised, for example, an announcement of new laws to do with the workplace or the federal treasurer announcing tax cuts. State governments are also regularly reported – they might comment on a budget surplus or open a new rail line. 1234567890123456789012

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Local

State

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1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 X Watch the television news and/or read the daily newspaper on one day. 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Y Select at least 10 news items related to government. 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Z Classify each item as local, state or federal government. 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 [ Choose one item to summarise. In the space below summarise what 1234567890123456789012 Your 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 Task the item is about, which level of government it is and how it might 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012 affect you. 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012

Federal

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o c . c e her ___________________________________________________________ r o t s super ___________________________________________________________ News Item Summary

Thinking Local 1

Local governments look after the people in the local area and provide local services like parks, recreation centres and libraries. The laws of local government are known as by-laws. Each state and territory in Australia is divided up into areas with its own local government. There are more than 800 local government authorities across Australia. In Australia both the smallest and largest local government areas are found in the state of Western Australia. Each local government is further divided up into wards. Councillors are the representatives of the residents of their particular wards and are elected by the local people (citizens over 18 years old) for a term of two years. One of the councillors is then elected to become the leader (called a president in a shire and a mayor or lord mayor in a town or city).

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www.alga.asn.au/about/ and find the organisation that represents your state or territory in local government.

X Go to

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Y Use the site to find a link to your local shire, town or city. For example, the Shire of Beverley in Western Australia.

Z Once you have located your local government create an advertising flyer for your local area on another sheet of paper. Use the planning sheet below.

• Name of local government:

• Local of local area:

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• History of local area and local government in the area:

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• Interesting statistics of local area:

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_____________________________________________________________________

• Main activities of local area (e.g. farming, mining):

_____________________________________________________________________ • Services in the local area:

_____________________________________________________________________ • Current issues in the local area government (e.g. building a new recreation centre for residents):

_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ PAGE 3 9

Thinking Local 2

Imagine you are to interview a councillor in your local government shire or council. Prepare a list of questions, which would help you find out about the role of the local government, the services it provides and the role of the councillor.

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• Name of local government:

_____________________________________

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• Name of councillor to be interviewed: _____________________________________

1. ______________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________________ 4.

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5. ______________________________________________________________________ 6. ______________________________________________________________________

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7. ______________________________________________________________________ 8. ______________________________________________________________________ 9. ______________________________________________________________________ 10. ______________________________________________________________________

Challenge: Interview the local councillor and write up your interview. PAGE 4 0

State Government 1

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The states and territories of Australia have always had their own governments. Initially Australia was made up of separate colonies with separate governments. Before Australia joined together (federated) in 1901 the colonies all held their own elections for government and made different laws. In 1901 Australia became a federation of states (six states and two territories), which meant that although the states had control over some areas, a federal government controlled matters to do with Australia as a whole. In each state except for Queensland there are two houses of parliament – the lower house (or Legislative Assembly or House of Assembly) and the upper house (called the Legislative Council). The head of government in the states and territories is known as the Premier or Chief Minister. State governments receive funding to run the affairs of the state or territory from taxes on specific goods (such as petrol and alcohol), stamp duty, grants from the federal government and payroll taxes. Each year the premiers get together at a conference where the federal government allocates money. 1234567890123456789012 1234567890123456789012

Just as the councillors on your local government represent the interests of people in the local area, so too the members of a state government represent the people of the state or territory. Who are they? Use the website below to find a link to your state or territory government and find out who represents the people of your state.

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Deputy Premier

_______________________________________

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Premier

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Treasurer

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Leader of the Opposition

_______________________________________ _______________________________________

Minister for Sport and Recreation _______________________________________ Minister for Tourism

_______________________________________

Minister for Education

_______________________________________

Minister for the Environment

_______________________________________

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State Government 2

For both federal and state elections Australia (and the states and territories) is divided into electorates or areas. Citizens in each state or territory elect people from their electorate to represent them in parliament. These representatives then have the right to speak for, and make decisions on behalf of, the people in that electorate (similar to a student council, for example).

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Check the website below to find out which electorate you live in and then complete the flyer below.

www.curriculum.edu.au/democracy/otheroptions/elect.htm

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My electorate in (name of state or territory) ________________________ Name of the electorate:

___________________________________

© ReadyEdP ubl i cat i ons ___________________________________ Special features ofe myv electorate: ___________________________________ •f orr i ew pu r posesonl y• Names of suburbs and/or towns in the electorate:

___________________________________ ___________________________________

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Suburb or town:

___________________________________

Area of electorate (square kilometres): ___________________________________

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Number of electors:

___________________________________

Describe any changes in the electorate ___________________________________ boundaries over the years: ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Current member for the electorate:

___________________________________

Political party of current member:

___________________________________

On the back of this sheet, draw or paste an image of a MAP of the electorate boundaries. Check out the Australian Electoral Commission website for a map: www.aec.gov.au PAGE 4 2

Mapping the State

A mind-map is a useful strategy for classifying various pieces of information by category. Mind-mapping is a simple process that helps with skills such as thinking, summarising, remembering and creating. A mind-map is a diagram that uses a combination of words, lines, pictures and colour to make a map of main and connecting ideas. To make a mind-map it is helpful to:

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X In the centre of a page draw a coloured picture that can represent the main idea (in this case state government); Y Use pictures and words in your mind-map; Z Use lines to connect to other ideas; [ Use only a few words; \ Use lots of colour; ] Use a ‘freeflowing’ technique to get ideas down first – you can always edit later.

Some people have argued that state and territory governments are a waste of time and money and that we should only have two levels of government – federal and local. What do you think? What services do state governments provide and who would be responsible for those if the governments were abolished? What would be the advantages of getting rid of state governments? How would these affect local and federal governments? What concerns would this cause?

MIND-MAP

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© RIne a dy E da mind-map Pub l i c at i ons the space below create about state governments. When you have finished compare your map to another student and then discuss whether you think keep state governments or abolish •f orAustralia r evshould i ew pu r pos esthem. onl y•

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Fact Sheet

Federal Government

There are three parts to the federal government – The Queen (who is represented by the Governor-General in Australia) and the two houses of parliament, based in Canberra. THE TWO HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT ARE: The House of Representatives The Senate

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The House of Representatives is traditionally the more powerful of the two houses. The prime minister must come from this house and its most important role is to form the government. The government is formed by the political party with the majority of members in the House of Representatives. Usually proposals for laws start in this house and it is this house (the lower house) that is responsible for laws to do with taxation and spending money. The 150 members of the House of Representatives represent the people who live in their electorate and they often spend a large part of their time in their electorate dealing with local issues. Members are elected for a period of three years. The House of Representatives is always green in its decorations.

The Senate is sometimes known as the State’s House. When the idea of Federation (the joining of the colonies together) was proposed many of the smaller states were worried that their interests would be overlooked and their concerns not listened to. The Senate was established as a “State’s house” where each state would elect the same number of senators regardless of the size of their population. As political parties have grown over the years the role of the senate as a State’s house has changed with senators often voting according to the views of their political party rather than their state. The Senate also operates as a house of review for proposed laws (called bills). For a bill to become law it must be voted for by a majority in both houses. There are 76 senators (12 representing each of the six states and two senators representing each of the two territories). Members are elected for six-year terms. The Senate is always red in its decorations.

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OUR CONSTITUTION

The Australian Constitution is a set of rules by which Australia is governed. Under the constitution the federal government has more wide-ranging powers than the state and local governments.

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Jobs in Parliament!

There are many varied and interesting occupations in federal parliament. Some of these include: The prime minister Frontbenchers and backbenchers Members of parliament Ministers and shadow ministers Party whip 1234567890123456789012

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Choose one of the occupations above and write a newspaper job advertisement for the position, outlining the duties and responsibilities of the role. Include information like working hours and salary if you are able. The website below is a good starting point for information:

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President of the Senate The sergeant at arms The speaker The usher of the black rod

www.peo.gov.au

Occupation:________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

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Getting Elected 1

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Australia is known as a representative democracy. This means that representatives are chosen to run the country and represent citizens in matters to do with Australia. Elections in Australia are held every three years to elect the 150 members of the House of Representatives and half of the 76 senators. The constitution is the document that explains the rules for holding federal elections. Australia is one of very few places in the world where voting is compulsory for citizens 18 years of age and over. Once it has been decided that an election will be held the Governor-General must give the instruction for it to go ahead (known as issuing the writ). Once this has been done the Australian Electoral Commission trains people to conduct the election and ballot papers can be printed. Political parties begin trying to win the votes of citizens by campaigning. Elections for the House of Representatives use a preferential system to elect one member for each electorate. Citizens vote by writing a number beside every name on the ballot paper, one for their first preference and so on. In about 70 percent of the electorates in Australia one candidate wins more than half of the first preference votes and is declared the winner. If 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 this does not happen, there is another step in 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 Use the information 12345678901234567890123 the process. After the first count the person with 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 above and some further the lowest number of votes is eliminated and 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 research to complete a their second preferences are given to the 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 pictorial flow diagram of remaining candidates. This process continues 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 12345678901234567890123 Your the events involved in a 12345678901234567890123 until someone wins. 12345678901234567890123 Task

federal election

FLOW DIAGRAM

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Getting Elected 2

Use your flow diagram from Page 46 and any other information you have to write a short brochure for students about voting in Australia. Be sure to include as many pictures and diagrams as possible. Use the questions below to plan your brochure.

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When are federal elections held? ____________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________________

Who gets to vote? ________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Who is not allowed to vote? ________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons ______________________________________________________________________ •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• What are the steps in calling an election? ______________________________________

How do people enrol to vote? ______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

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What is a pre-poll postal vote? ______________________________________________

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Conduct some library or online research to find answers to these question: What is the penalty for not voting? What is a political party?

What are the main political parties in Australia? What part does the media play in elections in Australia? Where do people go to vote and what happens on polling day? How are votes counted?

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Student Council Elections

Imagine that you have been given the task of designing a democratically elected student council for your school. The council will work for students of the school in providing activities (e.g. a school disco) at each year level and across years. It will represent the students and put forward their opinions on issues such as uniforms and canteen food. Using what you know about the democratic process design your council design below.

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MEMBERSHIP OF THE COUNCIL (How many members will there be? Who will belong? What year groups will the council come from? Who is allowed to be a member? How long will the council be elected for?)

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VOTING RIGHTS (Who can vote for the council?)

______________________________________________________________________

VOTING METHODS (How will elections be held? Who will organise it? What system of voting will be used?)

______________________________________________________________________

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LEADERSHIP (Who will control the council?)

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___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

STRUCTURE (Will there be other positions within the council?)

____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ISSUES (What are some of the issues the council will deal with when it is elected?) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

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The Governor-General

The Governor-General is the Queen’s representative in Australia (with the Queen of England being Australia’s head of state). The GovernorGeneral is appointed by the crown (the Queen) on the advice of the Australian Prime Minister, usually for a term of five years. SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL ARE:

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Making sure that Australia is governed according to the rules in the constitution; Giving Royal Assent to bills that parliament has passed. Once the Governor-General signs a new bill then it becomes law; Opening a new parliament after an election; Dissolving parliament and beginning the election process; Acting as the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force; Welcoming official visitors such as presidents and Kings and Queens from foreign countries; and Representing Australia overseas. 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 Imagine you are a question writer for a TV quiz show. A special “Celebrate 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 Australia” show is to be shown and you have been asked to write 10 questions 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 and their answers to do with the office of the Governor-General. Use the 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 Your information above and any other research (such as the following link) to help you: 1234567890123456789 Task 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789 www.gg.gov.au/html/homepage.html 1234567890123456789 1234567890123456789

\ : ________________________ © R e a d y E d P u b l i cat i ons ___________________________________ ___________________________________ •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

ANSWER: __________________________________

___________________________________

QUESTION Y : ________________________

QUESTION ] : ________________________

___________________________________

ANSWER: __________________________________

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QUESTION X : ________________________

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QUESTION Z : ________________________

QUESTION X : ________________________

___________________________________

ANSWER: __________________________________

___________________________________

QUESTION [ : ________________________

QUESTION X : ________________________

___________________________________

ANSWER: __________________________________

___________________________________

Challenge: Put the quiz questions together and hold a class quiz. PAGE 4 9

Time in Office

Sir Edmund Barton, PC, GCMG, KC Political Party: Protectionist Party Alfred Deakin Political Party: Protectionist Party John Christian Watson Political Party: Australian Labor Party George Houstoun Reid (later Sir George), PC, KC Political Party: Free Trade Alfred Deakin Political Party: Protectionist Party Andrew Fisher Political Party: Australian Labor Party Alfred Deakin Political Party: Protectionist Party Andrew Fisher Political Party: Australian Labor Party Joseph Cook (later Sir Joseph) Political Party: Liberal Party of Australia Andrew Fisher Political Party: Australian Labor Party William Morris Hughes Political Party: Australian Labor Party; Nationalist Party from 1917 Stanley Melbourne Bruce, PC, CH, MC Political Party: Nationalist Party James Henry Scullin, PC Political Party: Australian Labor Party Joseph Aloysius Lyons, PC, CH Political Party: United Australia Party Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, PC, GCMG Political Party: Australian Country Party Robert Gordon Menzies, PC, KC Political Party: United Australia Party Arthur William Fadden (later Sir Arthur) Political Party: Country Party John Curtin, PC Political Party: Australian Labor Party Francis Michael Forde, PC Political Party: Australian Labor Party Joseph Benedict Chifley, PC Political Party: Australian Labor Party Robert Gordon Menzies (later Sir Robert), PC, KC Political Party: Liberal Party of Australia Harold Edward Holt, PC, CH Political Party: Liberal Party of Australia John McEwen (later Sir John), PC Political Party: Country Party John Grey Gorton, PC Political Party: Liberal Party of Australia William McMahon (later Sir William), PC, CH Political Party: Liberal Party of Australia Edward Gough Whitlam, QC Political Party: Australian Labor Party John Malcolm Fraser, PC, CH Political Party: Liberal Party of Australia Robert James Lee Hawke, AC Political Party: Australian Labor Party Paul John Keating Political Party: Australian Labor Party John Winston Howard Political Party: Liberal Party of Australia

2 years, 8 months, 24 days 1 January 1901 - 24 September 1903 7 months, 4 days 24 September 1903 - 27 April 1904 3 months, 21 days 27 April 1904 - 17 August 1904 10 months, 18 days 18 August 1904 - 5 July 1905 3 years, 4 months, 9 days 5 July 1905 - 13 November 1908 6 months, 21 days 13 November 1908 - 2 June 1909 10 months, 28 days 2 June 1909 - 29 April 1910 3 years, 1 month, 26 days 29 April 1910 - 24 June 1913 1 year, 2 months, 25 days 24 June 1913 - 17 September 1914 1 year, 1 month, 11 days 17 September 1914 - 27 October 1915 7 years, 3 months, 14 days 27 October 1915 - 9 February 1923 6 years, 8 months, 14 days 9 February 1923 - 22 October 1929 2 years, 2 months, 16 days 22 October 1929 - 6 January 1932 7 years, 3 months, 2 days 6 January 1932 - 7 April 1939 20 days 7 April 1939 - 26 April 1939 2 years, 4 months, 4 days 26 April 1939 - 29 August 1941 1 month, 9 days 29 August 1941 - 7 October 1941 3 years, 8 months, 29 days 7 October 1941 - 5 July 1945 8 days 6 July 1945 - 13 July 1945 4 years, 5 months, 7 days 13 July 1945 - 19 December 1949 16 years, 1 month, 8 days 19 December 1949 - 26 January 1966 1 year, 10 months, 23 days 26 January 1966 - 19 December 1967 23 days 19 December 1967 - 10 January 1968 3 years, 2 months 10 January 1968 - 10 March 1971 1 year, 8 months, 25 days 10 March 1971 - 5 December 1972 2 years, 11 months, 7 days 5 December 1972 - 11 November 1975 7 years, 4 months 11 November 1975 - 11 March 1983 8 years, 9 months, 10 days 11 March 1983 - 20 December 1991 4 years, 2 months, 20 days 20 December 1991 - 11 March 1996 10 years 11 March 1996 - 2007 * At Publication

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Prime Ministers of Australia

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Prime Ministerial Awards

To celebrate Australia Day a national newspaper is proposing awards for past and current prime ministers. Australia has had many worthy prime ministers, but who would you choose for the award below?

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Use the list of prime ministers and the following website: primeministers.naa.gov.au Be sure to justify your reasoning.

Prime Minister

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A Day in the Life of a Politician

Politicians are elected to represent the people of Australia but what does this actually mean they do from day to day? Use any research methods you can to prepare a diary entry for a day in the life of a politician. Use the guidelines below to help you.

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LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT (local, state or federal) and ELECTORATE:

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POLITICIAN’S NAME: _________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

PARTY OF POLITICIAN: _______________________________________________________

WHAT DOES THE POLITICIAN STAND FOR? ______________________________________

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons ____________________________________________________________________________ •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• ____________________________________________________________________________

QUALITIES OF THE POLITICIAN: ________________________________________________

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DIARY ENTRY: ________________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

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Our Constitution 1

When Australia became a federation in 1901 it needed to have a constitution or set of rules, which stated exactly how Australia would be governed. Australia’s constitution is a large and complex document containing eight chapters with 128 sections. The constitution describes how parliament is made up, how it works, how power is divided and things such as the role of the High Court of Australia. One of the more controversial sections of the constitution is that which lists the areas in which the federal government can make laws. The constitution can only be changed by a referendum, which is a vote by citizens aged 18 and over. A majority of voters in a majority of states have to vote YES for the constitution to be changed.

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You have been asked to design a constitution for either your school council or a sporting team or club you belong to. Think about what your constitution will need to cover and how many sections there will need to be (a separate section for each type of rule) and then complete the details below.

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SECTION 1 e.g. The name of the organisation __________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

SECTION 2 e.g. Who will be allowed to join the organisation? ______________________

© ReadyEdPubl i cat i ons SECTION 3 e.g. Who will be in charge of the organisation? ________________________ •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

SECTION 4 ____________________________________________________________

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SECTION 5 ____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

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SECTION 6 ____________________________________________________________

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SECTION 7 ____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ SECTION 8 ____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ SECTION 9 ____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ SECTION 10 ___________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

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Our Constitution 2

The constitution is a complex document and it is written in very formal language, however, it clearly states the powers of both the federal and state governments in many areas.

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Use the link to the Australian Constitution document and then in groups of four try to work out what the constitution has to say about these things and then put them into your own words.

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www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/chapter5.htm

X What does the constitution say about laws made by the states?

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Y What does the constitution say about the states making their own navy and army?

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[ What does the constitution say about the states and religion?

\ What does the constitution say about the states and prison?

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Z What about the manufacturing of money such as coins and notes?

Fact Sheet

World Government – The United Nations In recent times the world has become much smaller. High-speed aircraft transport, mobile phone technology and the development of the Internet are just some of the new innovations that have sped up communication for people around the world and encouraged country-to-country interconnections. We are all linked to other people and places through things like the food we eat, the music we listen to and the TV programs we watch. In Australia we are lucky enough to live in a country, which is considered to have many advantages especially compared to other places in the world. Not all citizens are so lucky.

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The United Nations is an international organisation that in some senses acts as the government of the world. The purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world together to work for peace and development for all people. There are currently 191 members of the United Nations. They meet in the General Assembly, which is the closest thing to a world parliament. The United Nations headquarters is in New York City but the land and buildings are international territory. The United Nations has its own flag and postage stamps and six official languages are used (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). The United Nations European headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. THE AIMS OF THE UNITED NATIONS ARE:

The United Nations has many different sections and a number of different international roles. One of these roles is world peacekeeping. The Security Council (like a special committee) of the United Nations is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council acts as a mediator and tries to resolve disputes by peaceful means first. If this is not possible and countries have broken out into fighting then it can issue ceasefire orders or send in peacekeeping forces. The Council has 15 members – five, which are permanent and ten which are elected for a period of two years.

lives, to eliminate poverty, disease and illiteracy in the world, to step destruction of the environment and to encourage respect for the rights and responsibilities of others; and

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To be a centre that helps nations achieve these aims.

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Do We Need the United Nations?

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Nations

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Read the World Government –The United Nations Fact Sheet and then in groups debate the merits of the United Nations organisation. Do you think it is important for there to be an organisation that can act as a type of world government? How successful has the United Nations been (you might need to do some further research)? Could governments of the world sort out their own problems without the United Nations? Brainstorm your thoughts below first.

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Governing the World

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Read the World Government – The United Nations Fact Sheet and then access the United Nations website at www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/index.html

r o e t s Bo r e p o Maintaining peace in the u k Looking after the environment world S

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In the space below create an up-to-date fact sheet of what the United Nations is currently doing in some of its different roles:

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Looking after human rights

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Design an Educational Centre

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You are the curator of a new educational centre designed to teach students all about law and government. Your role is to design the exhibits and interactive activities that students will do when they visit the centre. Using everything you have learnt about law and government design your centre using the guidelines below.

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X Name of your centre:

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Y Summary of your centre’s features:

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\ Explain one main activity students will participate in and which will help them to understand about law.

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________________________________ © ReadyEdPu bl i cat i ons ________________________________ ]p Explain one main activity students will •f orr evi ew pur o s e s o n l y • participate in and which will help them to ________________________________

Z List the main exhibits you will have to explain about Australia’s system of law:

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[ List the main exhibits you will have to explain about Australia’s system of government:

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understand about law.

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] Explain any handouts students will take away with them for future reference. ________________________________

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Glossary

ANARCHY A situation where there is no government or laws.

AUTOCRACY An autocracy is a government in which the people have no say and there is usually one dominant ruler who makes all decisions. BILL A proposal for a new law. Presented in parliament for discussion.

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ARREST An arrest is the process of bringing someone into police custody so that they can be charged with an offence.

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CRIMINAL LAW A type of law where the accused person is seen to have done something against the whole community or ‘state’. There are four types of criminal law – laws which protect property, laws which protect people, laws, which protect society and laws, which protect the nation and legal system. CUSTOMS A custom is our usual way of doing something. For example, eating with a knife and fork.

DEMOCRACY © ReadyEdPu bl i cat i ons A democracy is a type of government in which the people have equal political rights CIVIL LAW • f o r r e v i e w p u r p osesonl y• and freedom of choice. This type of law does not affect everyone

COMMON LAW A type of law made by using the results of other similar cases (known as precedent).

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ELECTION Process by which people are able to vote for representatives in government.

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and is usually a dispute between several people or ‘parties’. There are three main types of civil law – contract law, family law and the law of tort.

ELECTORATE Area in which a group of electors live. Each electorate is represented by a member of parliament.

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COMMUNIST SYSTEM A communist system of government is one in which the ‘State’ predominantly owns most aspects of the means of production. Usually there is only one political party and often the people have little choice in electing government. CONSTITUTION The Australian constitution is a set of rules by which Australia is governed.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT This part of government is responsible for making sure that laws are carried out or ‘enforced’. FEDERATION The joining together of the separate colonies of Australia. This took place in 1901.

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GOVERNOR-GENERAL The Governor-General is the Queen’s representative in Australia.

JUDICIAL FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT This part of government is responsible for settling disputes through the courts and other bodies.

RULE A rule is a more dominant custom. Usually applies to a certain group of people, for example AFL rules apply to people who play AFL football.

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The house of representatives is the lower house in federal parliament. Bills are introduced here and the Prime Minister must come from this house.

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REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY Type of government system in which representatives are chosen to represent the people in matters to do with the country.

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HIGH COURT The high court is the highest court in Australia.

SENATE The senate is the upper house (or State’s house) in federal parliament.

LAWS Made by the government and apply to everyone. Laws protect people, their property, rights and freedoms.

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LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY The lower house of a two-chamber parliament.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL The upper house in state/territory parliament (except for Queensland).

REFERENDUM A vote by citizens aged 18 and over for an issue other than the electing of representatives.

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LEGISLATIVE FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT The part of government that is responsible for making laws.

UNITED NATIONS An international organisation that works to ensure the stability and peace of the world.