18.3.1 The lawmaking process A parliament consists of the lawmakers at the state and federal levels of government. Most laws in Australia are made by our federal and state parliaments. These laws are called statute laws .Most Australian parliaments have a lower house and an upper house. Parliaments make laws by passing a bill through both houses. Sometimes the ideas for new laws come from the people within parliament or from government departments. Parliament also engages formal law reform bodies to investigate an area of law and make suggestions on how a law can be improved. Parliament can become aware of the need for change because of the actions of people within society. A law made by parliament is called legislation , a statute or an Act . Before any proposed law can become an Act of Parliament, it has to be debated and passed by both houses of parliament and then approved by the Crown . During the debate in parliament, the government explains why the law is needed and why it will be good for Australia. The opposition may try to argue why this is not the case. Let us see, step by step, how all of this might happen in federal parliament ( FIGURE2 ). 18.3.2 Executive law When parliament passes legislation, many clauses are general, lacking application details. The law delegates power to the relevant minister to create detailed rules and regulations for emerging situations. This is known as executive or delegated law. The minister also makes appointments to government roles, like ambassadors. These regulations need approval from the governor-general or state governor, and are called Governor- General in Council Regulations or Governor in Council Regulations. They must be tabled in parliament and can be revoked by a parliamentary majority vote. Ministers remain accountable to parliament and, by extension, to voters. 18.3.3 Secondary legislation Parliament is our main lawmaking body; however, it does not have the time or resources to make all the laws needed in society. As a result, state and Commonwealth parliaments delegate their lawmaking power to other bodies, known as subordinate authorities. Parliament will pass a parent or enabling Act that allows these bodies to make by-laws or regulations within their area of expertise. Some examples are: • Local councils make local laws about pet ownership, parking and rubbish removal. • VicRoads is a statutory body that makes laws about roads, driving licences, road safety initiatives and traffic. Similar bodies exist in other states. • Government departments, such as the Department of Education, oversee the provision of education services within each state and territory. Regulation and by-law made as a result of delegation of lawmaking power is checked by a parliamentary committee to ensure that it is within the scope of the enabling Act and consistent with other legislation. Any person who believes that any law is unjust can challenge the law in the courts.
TOPIC18 Laws and citizens 531
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