Студопедия

Главная страница Случайная страница

КАТЕГОРИИ:

АвтомобилиАстрономияБиологияГеографияДом и садДругие языкиДругоеИнформатикаИсторияКультураЛитератураЛогикаМатематикаМедицинаМеталлургияМеханикаОбразованиеОхрана трудаПедагогикаПолитикаПравоПсихологияРелигияРиторикаСоциологияСпортСтроительствоТехнологияТуризмФизикаФилософияФинансыХимияЧерчениеЭкологияЭкономикаЭлектроника






State and local government






 

Each Australian state has its own parliament, court system, head of government, and governor. A bicameral (двухпалатный) system of government exists in each state (except Queensland where the upper house was abolished in 1922). The heads of state governments are called premiers. The governor of each state represents the queen.

 

Local governments in Australia are responsible for such services as building local roads, maintaining public libraries, and collecting the residents' garbage.

 


Legislative (законодательная власть)

 

The federal Parliament has an upper and a lower house. The upper house is called the Senate and the lower house is called the House of Representatives. Most bills are introduced in the House. The Senate reviews bills passed by the House and can reject them.

 

The Australian Senate has 76 members. Each state elects 12 senators, and each mainland territory elects 2. Membership in the 148-member House of Representatives is divided among the states and mainland territories according to population. According to the Australian constitution, the House should have about twice as many members as the Senate. Senators are elected to six-year terms, and representatives to three-year terms. Elections for the House must be held at least every three years.

Parliament House on Capital Hill in Canberra

Voting

The Australian colonies inherited an electoral tradition from Britain that included limited franchise (ограниченное избирательное право) and public (открытое) and plural voting (множественное голосование - голосование одного избирателя в нескольких избирательных округах). Abuses such as bribery and intimidation (запугивание) of voters stimulated electoral reform. Australia pioneered reforms that underpin (поддерживать) the electoral practices of modern democracies.

 

In 1856, South Australia eliminated professional and property qualifications (имущественный ценз). In 1855 Victoria introduced the secret (тайное) ballot, which became known throughout the world as 'the Australian ballot'. The South Australian government was the first in the world to adopt adult male suffrage (всеобщее избирательное право) (1856), and the second--after New Zealand--to enfranchise (предоставлять избирательные права) women (1902). In the 1890s the colonies adopted the principle of one vote per person, stopping the practice of plural voting.

 

All Australians 18 years of age or older must vote in parliamentary and state elections (universal and compulsory suffrage). Since 1915, voting has been compulsory. Those who fail to vote in an election may be fined up to 50 dollars. Voter turnout exceeds 90%. The government adopted a preferential voting system in 1919: voters number the candidates in order of preference on the ballot.

Voting rights were granted to aborigines only in 1967.

Judiciary (судебная власть)

 

State courts are structured hierarchically. Magistrate's courts have jurisdiction over less serious offenses. District courts are presided over by judges who hear indictable felonies (преступление, преследуемое по обвинительному акту) and civil claims (гражданские иски) of less than 100, 000 dollars. The State supreme courts hear the most serious indictable offenses.

 

The more recently established federal court system includes the Family Court, dating from 1976, and responsible for settling disputes over marriage and offspring (дети); and the Federal Court, dedicated since 1977 to labor law, bankruptcy, and restrictive trade practices.

 

The final arbiter is the High Court of Australia, which seats a Chief Justice (председатель Верховного суда) and six Justices, now appointed to the age of 70. The High Court of Australia decides constitutional questions. Since its creation in 1903, the High Court of Australia has been responsible for interpreting the constitution. It also serves as the nation's court of final appeals.

 


Поделиться с друзьями:

mylektsii.su - Мои Лекции - 2015-2024 год. (0.005 сек.)Все материалы представленные на сайте исключительно с целью ознакомления читателями и не преследуют коммерческих целей или нарушение авторских прав Пожаловаться на материал