Describe the structure of bicameral parliament and the roles of the two houses, the Cabinet and the Crown.

What this dot point is asking

This dot point asks you to describe how parliament is built and to explain the role of each part, including the two houses, the Cabinet and the Crown.

A bicameral parliament

Bicameral means having two houses or chambers. The Commonwealth Parliament has the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). The Parliament of Tasmania has the House of Assembly (lower house) and the Legislative Council (upper house). Having two houses creates a built-in check: a bill must usually pass both before it can become law, so a second chamber can review and refine, or block, the work of the first.

The lower house

The lower house is the engine room of government. Members are elected from single or multi-member electorates roughly equal in population, so the lower house is often called the people's house. The political party or coalition that wins a majority of seats forms government, and its leader becomes Prime Minister or Premier. Most legislation, especially bills that raise or spend money (money bills), begins here. Because government is formed and held to account in the lower house, this is where responsible government mainly operates.

The upper house

The upper house is the house of review. Federally, the Senate also represents the states, with each state electing an equal number of senators regardless of population. The upper house examines, debates, amends and can reject bills passed by the lower house, providing a check on the government of the day. In Tasmania the Legislative Council is well known for its independence, since many of its members sit as independents rather than along party lines, which can make it a genuine reviewing chamber.

Cabinet and the executive

The Cabinet is the senior decision-making group of the executive government. It is made up of the Prime Minister or Premier and senior ministers, who are chosen from the members of parliament. Cabinet decides government policy and the legislative program, then takes those decisions to parliament. Under the convention of collective responsibility, ministers must publicly support Cabinet decisions or resign. Cabinet is not mentioned in the Constitution; it operates by convention, illustrating how much of the Westminster system runs on unwritten rules.

The Crown

The Crown is the formal head of the system. At the federal level the Queen or King is represented by the Governor-General; in Tasmania the monarch is represented by the Governor. The Crown's roles include giving royal assent so that a bill becomes an Act, opening and dissolving parliament, and commissioning the Prime Minister or Premier. By convention the Crown's representative almost always acts on the advice of ministers, so these powers are largely ceremonial. However, the Crown retains certain reserve powers, such as the power to appoint a Prime Minister, which can become significant in unusual circumstances. The most famous example is the 1975 dismissal, when the Governor-General dismissed the Prime Minister during a budget deadlock, a rare use of reserve power that remains controversial because it cut across the convention of acting on ministerial advice. The episode is a useful illustration that the Crown's role, while normally formal, retains a constitutional backstop.

For exam answers, explain that parliament is bicameral, set out the distinct roles of the lower and upper houses, describe how Cabinet drives the executive, and note the largely ceremonial but constitutionally important role of the Crown.