LESSON 12.4 How do state and territory parliaments work?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to:
• describe the structure of the federal and state/territory parliaments • analyse how state governments work with the federal government • evaluate the effectiveness of state parliament services.
Tune in Australian states and territories usually have two houses in parliament. Some only have one house. TABLE1 lists the names of each lower house and (if relevant) upper house in each state and territory.
TABLE1 The lower and upper house in each state and territory State or territory Lower house
Upper house
New South Wales South Australia
Legislative Assembly House of Assembly Legislative Assembly Legislative Assembly Legislative Assembly House of Assembly Legislative Assembly Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council Legislative Council Legislative Council No upper house No upper house Legislative Council Legislative Council No upper house
Victoria
Northern Territory
Queensland
Tasmania
Western Australia
Australian Capital Territory
1. Discuss how the lower and upper houses are similar or different in states and territories. Why do you think they have these names? 2. Suggest reasons why some states have two houses but one state and the two territories only have one house.
12.4.1 Eight separate parliaments When Australia became a federation, the states kept their old parliaments, which are still important. Australia now has eight parliaments: six for states and two for territories. The federal parliament can change laws for the territories but not for the states.
SkillBuilder discussion Investigating contemporary Civics and Citizenship issues 1. Look at FIGURE1 . Where is Tasmania’s Parliament House located? 2. What distinctive feature is seen in the design of the Northern Territory’s Parliament House? 3. Which state or territory in Australia has a bicameral parliament?
450 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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