3. Federal, State and Local
On Jan 1, 1901 The
Commonwealth of
Australia was established
under Federation.
Australia was to be a
constitutional monarchy
with three levels of Govt
(Federal, State, Local)
In 1919, the NSW Govt
passed the Local
Government Act to outline
the rules they must follow
7. Powers within diïŹerent levels of government. Under the
Australian Constitution, the Commonwealth Government
was vested with speciïŹc powers while the states
retained general powers. In practice, the distribution of
powers has become increasingly centralised over time.
Division of Powers
11. Levels of Government Responsibility
Our collective wants
are satisïŹed by one of
three levels of
government.
While each level of
government
specialises in its area
of control, there is a
large degree of
interdependence.
19. Issues that Concern the Community
Price of Housing
Interest Rates
Access to Child Care
Employment Security
Tax Rates
Cost of Health Insurance
Environment Protection
Govt spending on services
Public Transport
HECS Fees
21. Action on Political Issues
As a member of a democracy, citizens have the
right to speak up about issues that concern them
Individuals have the right to protest and apply
pressure to governments in making decisions
22. Actions that can be taken include joining a political
party, taking individual action, becoming an
activist in an interest group and contacting the
media
Individual Action
24. A political party is an organisation of people with similar ideas
or philosophies
when voting, people will think about the issues that concern
them and vote for who they think will represent them best in
the political arena
Political Parties
25. a group of people who
campaign on a cause or
interest that they have in
common
examples include trade
unions, community based
groups or non-government
organisations (Get UP,
Australian Christian Lobby
Group)
Lobby Groups
28. Newspaper, television, radio and the Internet play an
important role in bringing issues to the publicâs attention
Politicians use the media to communicate to the public to
present new policies and their image of governing
The Media