in 1901. Political parties are groups of people who share similar ideas about how society should be organised and how the country should be run. Political parties: • choose candidates for elections • develop policies and promises that align with their ideas (or ideology). The two major parties in Australian politics are: • The Australian Labor Party (ALP) • The Liberal Party (which works with the National Party to form the Coalition). Smaller parties like the Greens, One Nation and independents can also win seats and sometimes hold the balance of power. See TABLE1 .
TABLE1 Australian political parties ALPLogo
LNPLogo
Greens Logo
One Nation Logo
SkillBuilder discussion Investigating contemporary Civics and Citizenship issues Discuss what each of the party logos reveals about that party’s values and their ideas.
12.2.2 How governments are formed In Australia, the government is the party or coalition of parties with the support of the majority of members in the House of Representatives. The government is responsible for coming up with a plan for how to run the country. They make policies, propose new laws and put new laws into action for Australia. Governments are voted in at an election. After an election: • The party or coalition that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives forms government. • Their leader becomes the Prime Minister. • The Prime Minister chooses ministers to run government departments. • Other parties form the Opposition. • If no party wins a majority, they must negotiate to form government. This leads to what is known as a ‘hung parliament’.
TOPIC12 Government and democracy 443
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