Back to the full dot-point answer
WAPolitics and LawQuick questions
Unit 3: Political and Legal Power
Quick questions on Parliament and the executive: WACE Year 12 Politics and Law
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the composition of Parliament?Show answer
The Commonwealth Parliament is bicameral and, under section 1 of the Constitution, consists of the King (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives currently has 151 members elected from single-member electorates using preferential voting. The Senate has 76 senators, 12 from each state and 2 from each territory, elected by proportional representation. The House is where government is formed; the Senate is primarily a house of review and a states' house.
What is responsible government?Show answer
Responsible government is the convention that the executive is responsible to Parliament. The party or coalition that commands a majority in the House of Representatives forms government, and its leader becomes Prime Minister. Ministers must be members of Parliament (section 64 requires a minister to gain a seat within three months). This means the people who run the executive sit inside the legislature.
What is the Senate as a check on the executive?Show answer
Because government is formed in the House, the executive usually controls the lower house through party discipline. The Senate is therefore the more important check. When the government does not hold a Senate majority, it must negotiate with the opposition and crossbench to pass legislation, which is the main parliamentary brake on executive power. Senate committees also scrutinise legislation, question ministers and public servants at estimates hearings, and inquire into government administration.
What are accountability beyond the houses?Show answer
Executive accountability is reinforced by question time, the tabling of documents, parliamentary committees, freedom of information laws, the Auditor-General and the Commonwealth Ombudsman. These mechanisms are how Parliament and independent bodies hold ministers to account between elections. Critics argue strong party discipline weakens the lower house as a check, which is why the Senate and external watchdogs carry much of the real accountability load.
Have a question we have not covered?
This dot-point answer is short enough that we have not extracted many short questions yet. Read the full dot-point answer or ask Mo, our study assistant, in the chat for follow ups.