Glossary of political terms and definitions
Describes members of parliament who are not ministers, shadow ministers or presiding officers.
CABINET
Describes the group of senior ministers who act as official advisers to the prime minister.
CAUCUS
A caucus is a meeting of members of a political party to discuss and agree on what direction to take. In Australia the term is used by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and refers to a meeting of its federal members.
COALITION
Two or more groups or parties that have joined together to form a government or opposition.
CONSTITUTION
The Constitution is the legal document upon which the Commonwealth of Australia began in 1901. Australia's six self-governed colonies wrote the Constitution in the 1890s. It is an agreement about what powers would be granted to the new federal Parliament of Australia and how they should be exercised. The Constitution remains largely unchanged today.
CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY
The way in which Australia is governed is known as a constitutional monarchy. Constitutional refers to the powers and procedures of the Australian government that are defined by a written document (the Constitution). Monarchy refers to our royal head of state.
DOUBLE DISSOLUTION
When parliament can't decide what to do with a policy, a prime minister can ask the governor-general to call a double dissolution. The Senate and the House of Representatives are then dismissed at the same time, in order for a federal election to take place.
FEDERATION
The ``birth'' of Australia as an independent nation on January 1, 1901, is often referred to as Federation, so called because the Constitution created a federal system of government.
FRONTBENCH
Members of parliament who are ministers or shadow ministers.
GOVERNMENT
Members of the political party that wins an election and has the majority of members in the House of Representatives. The party is called the government. The party's leader (the prime minister) selects fellow parliamentarians to be the ministers who run various departments, such as the Department of Defence. The Australian government is also referred to as the commonwealth or federal government.
GOVERNOR-GENERAL
The governor-general is the Queen's representative in Australia (currently Quentin Bryce). The governor-general's role is to protect the Constitution and to assist the progress of the federal parliament and government's work. This position holds the power to dismiss a prime minister in certain circumstances, and approve laws when they have been passed by the two houses of parliament.
HEAD OF STATE
The head of state in Australia is the head of the royal family in England. This king or queen of England (currently Queen Elizabeth II) is represented in Australia by the governor-general.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
One of the two houses of federal parliament. It comprises 150 members who are elected for a three-year term to represent the views of people in their electorate area. Each electorate has about the same number of registered voters, meaning states with larger populations have more electorates and therefore more representatives in the House.
HUNG PARLIAMENT
A hung parliament happens when no party has more than half the members of parliament in the House of Representatives. This means no party can pass laws without gaining support from other parties or independent members of the House.
LOWER HOUSE
Is used to describe the meeting room of the House of Representatives.
OPPOSITION
Refers to the political party that is resisting the government in power. Currently the Opposition is a Liberal Party/Nationals Coalition, with Tony Abbott serving as Opposition Leader.
PARLIAMENT
Parliament is the name given to the group comprising the Queen (represented by the governor-general), the Senate and the House of Representatives. They meet or have ``sittings'' regularly to make federal laws, authorise the government to spend public money, scrutinise government activities and provide a forum to debate national issues.
PARTY
Refers to a political party or group of politicians. Australian politics is dominated by four main parties _ the Australian Labor Party, Liberal Party, the Nationals and Australian Greens.
POLICY
This describes a plan or course of action that a political party intends to use to influence the decisions it makes. Policies typically cover areas such as education, health care and immigration.
PRIME MINISTER
The prime minister (currently Kevin Rudd) is the head of government, and therefore holds the most powerful political office in Australia. Despite being the top job in the country, the position of prime minister is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
SENATE
One of the two Houses of federal parliament. It comprises 76 senators, 12 from each of the six states and two each from the NT and the ACT. This structure ensures larger states can't use their majority in the House of Representatives to pass laws that disadvantage smaller states.
SPEAKER
Elected from among the 150 members, the speaker is spokesperson for the House of Representatives and chairs its meetings. The current Speaker is Anna Burke.
TREASURER
As with most organisations, a treasurer is needed to take care of financial responsibilities. The treasurer of Australia (currently Chris Bowen) is a minister who is appointed to deal with all of the country's expenses and revenue, as well as having a key role in deciding the economic policy of the government.
TURNCOAT
This term describes a person who rebels against their own political party, and switches to an opposing party.
UPPER HOUSE
The meeting room of the Senate.
CLASS DISCUSSION
Look through a copy of the Herald Sun or search heraldsun.com.au and find articles discussing politics. Find more words to add to the glossary and research the definitions.
WEBSITES AND SOURCES
ACTIVITIES