Federation

Lesson 1

Before 1901, Australia was made up of six separate and self-governing British colonies. Federation was when these six colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjlj3KKKAlA

How did the idea of Federation emerge?

As the colonies became more established throughout the 19th century they began to develop stronger trade relations with each other. As telegraph lines and railway networks spread from border to border, communication and travel between colonies became easier and more common. These things led to a growing sense of fellowship amongst people living throughout Australia and together they became aware of being distinct, in some ways, from Britain.

In the middle of the century, the gold rush attracted many people to Australia who brought with them new ideas and awareness of changes taking place throughout the world. Some immigrants inspired discussions about democracy and nationhood in the Australian colonies. One theme discussed was the idea of federation: the act of joining the colonies together to form a single nation. Other countries like Canada and Italy had done this not long before.

One person who was enthusiastic about federation was Sir Henry Parkes, a New South Wales politician As the premier of that colony, Parkes used his influence to gain public support for the idea. Other premiers supported him, as did some newspapers. Organisations were formed to help bring about federation.

FederationReasons For: Reasons Against:

• Immigration• 1 large Defence force• Control rail & postal services• Stop having to pay tariffs on

goods bought in 1 colony and carried across border to another colony

• Economic – strong central government would help to overcome drought & depression

• Too expensive to set up and run – would make taxes higher

• Patriotism towards own colony

• Smaller colonies worried about being dominated by wealthy colonies

Referendum Results1898 Referendum

NSW NoVic YesSA YesTas Yes• QLD and WA did not vote• Even though 3 out of 4

accepted the constitution, it was considered not worth continuing unless the biggest colony could be persuaded to join.

• In January 1899 the Premiers of the colonies met and made seven changes to the constitution to make it more agreeable to NSW and QLD.

• There was an agreement that the new federal capital would be created in NSW in a place no closer to Sydney then 100 miles.

By 1900, it was clear that most people in the colonies were enthusiastic about federation. The British government agreed to it that year. The new nation, the Commonwealth of Australia came into being on 1st January, 1901.

How doesFederal Parliament

Work?

LESSON 2

What is Democracy?

Democracy means the rule of the people.

It is where everyone who is eligible to vote has a chance to have their say over who runs the country.

In a democracy, the government is elected by the people.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/world/united_nations/types_of_government/newsid_2151000/2151570.stm

Federal Parliamentary Democracy

Parliamentary Democracy - a political system in which the parliament selects the government - the prime minister along with the cabinet ministers - according to party strength as expressed in elections.

To be eligible to vote in the colony of New South Wales (Australia) in the 1840s you had to:

• be male • be over the age of 21 • rent or own property such as a farm, house, shop or land worth £200.

To be eligible to vote in Australia today you must:

• be over the age of 18 • be an Australian citizen • not be serving a gaol sentence of five years or more

• be officially registered on the electoral roll.

Look at Figure 1, which shows people in the colony of New South Wales in the 1840s. Use the information to work out which of the people shown would have been allowed to vote. Then work out which of these people would be allowed to vote today. Structure your answer so that you clearly indicate the people in two columns headed 'Australia in the 1840s' and 'Australia today'. Count the number of people in each column.

Australia in the 1840’s

Australia Today

Look at Figure 2. Working with a partner, write down why the situation depicted in the 1840s is undemocratic.

You could start like this:

'Today every citizen who is allowed to vote can also stand for election to parliament. In the past only property owners could stand. This was undemocratic because …'

Today every citizen who is allowed to vote can also stand for election to parliament. In the past only property owners could stand. This was undemocratic because

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ClickView

LESSON 3

Structure and

Responsibilitiesof

Government

http://www.peo.gov.au/multimedia/video/whatisParliament/transcript.html

Responsibilities ofLocal Government

• Libraries• Garbage Collection• Local Roads• Parks/Sporting Fields• Building Permits• Swimming Pools

• Funded through rates and grants from other levels of Government

Responsibilities ofState Government

• Education• Health• Justice• Consumer Affairs

• Forestry• Public Transport• Main Roads

Federal Parliament

• 2 houses – House of Representatives and Senate

• House of Representatives – 150 members elected by Australian people – elections must be held at least every 3 years

• Senate – 76 Senators, 12 from each state and 2 each from the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Half-Senate elections usually held at same time as House of Representatives elections.

House of Representatives• 150 members

• 50%+ support needed to form government

• 22 cabinet members (Ministers)

• Government formed by party or coalition that has majority in House of Representatives

• After last election in August 2010, neither of the 2 main political parties won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives.

• Government was formed after ALP reached an agreement with 3 independents and 1 minor party member.

• This is known as a ‘minority government’

Senate• 76 Senators

• 12 from each state, 2 each from ACT & NT

• Half-Senate elections every 3 years

LESSON 4

Preferential Voting

http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/education/education-prefslideshow.html

LESSON 5

Law-Making: Passage of a Bill through

Federal Parliament

http://www.peo.gov.au/kidsview/lawmaking/passthebill.html

http://www.peo.gov.au/multimedia/video/makingALaw/transcript.html

http://www.peo.gov.au/multimedia/video/theRolePlayInAction/transcript.html

LESSON 6• Assignment Work

• You need to complete 1 activity from those on the grid that are labelled “Mrs Major”