| Question | Answer |
| Why do we need laws? | Social cohesion: having a community where people are able to live with each other in a peaceful manner. |
| Main function of the law: | To provide a framework in which the community can exist in freedom and harmony. |
| Function of law (1): | The law reflects community values: recognizes the political values of the community. The law reflects the social and moral values of the community and also refers the economic values. |
| Function of law (2): | The law establishes codes of conduct: To achieve peaceful and cooperative community. |
| Function of law (3): | The law resolves disputes: The law must establish ways to resolve disputes when they occur. These laws work with the cooperation of the courts and police. |
| Function of law (4): | The law provides for change: The law needs to be able to meet the changing needs of society. |
| Effective law: Known | Must be well known to the community. |
| Effective law: Understandable | Easily understood, clearly set out our rights and responsibilities. |
| Effective law: Acceptable | Must be acceptable to the community, must be accepted by the majority. If people don't accept the law they won't obey it. |
| Effective law: Stable | The law can't be constantly changing, if the law is always changing people could not be expected to know the law therefore unable to obey by it. |
| Effective law: Consistent | The law needs to be applied consistently. |
| Effective law: Enforced | The law must be capable of being enforced and effectively enforced. |
| Effective law: Accessible | Must be easy to gain access to the knowledge of the law. |
| Law-making powers: | The constitution established a division of power when the Commonwealth Government would look after issues of a national interest, while the state governments would deal with and administer important state issues. |
| Specific powers: | Under the constitution, the power of the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws is limited to matters that are specifically mentioned in the constitution . |
| Exclusive powers: | Some of the specific powers of the Commonwealth parliament listed in the constitution can only be used by the Commonwealth Parliament.
Example: currency, defense and immigration. |
| Concurrent powers: | Some law-making powers are shared between the commonwealth and state parliament. |
| Residual powers: | Powers that weren't given to the Commonwealth parliament at the time of federation and were left to the states.
Example: criminal and civil law, health and education |
| Australia's Parliament is based on.. | Britain's Westminster system. |
| The commonwealth parliament and victorian parliament are ........... parliaments
Which means what? | Bicameral
They both consist of the crown and two houses |
| Commonwealth parliament:
Lower house + how many members?
Upper house | Lower - House of representatives, 150 members
Upper - Senate |
| Victorian parliament:
Lower + how many members?
Upper house + how many members> | Lower - Legislative Assembly, 88 members
Upper - Legislative Council, 40 members |
| Legal Rules: | Enforced by law-making authorities
Example of this: Murder and theft |
| Non-legal Rules: | Enforced by teachers ect
Example: Wearing school hats at lunch |
