Who+is+in+charge?

=**__Who is in charge and what do they do?__**=

Australia is a constitutional monarchy. This means that we rule ourself, but have a monarch (king or queen) as our head of state. The monarch really has very little power - they can't make rules or decide what Australia will do with the money we collect from taxes. However, the monarch does have the power to sack the prime minister - but this has only ever happened once in Australia's history.

In early English history the monarch had absolute power - they could do whatever they wanted and everybody had to obey them. King John pushed his powers too far and was forced to signed a document called the Magna Carta which limited his powers and gave other nobles a say in how England was ruled. King Charles 1 decided to push the boundaries of his powers when he was king of England. Follow this link to see how well it worked for him: [|Parliament versus Monarch.] The governor-general is the monarch's representative in Australia. Currently the governor-general is an Australian citizen and is appointed by the government. Australia's early governor-generals were always English and were often minor royalty such as dukes and earls. The governor-general doesn't really have much power either, but they can recommend the monarch sacks the prime minister if they believe they are doing a bad job at governing the country.

The prime minister leads the parliament. The parliament makes the laws and decides how Australia will spend all of the tax money that is gathered.

To see how laws are made in Australia follow this link and play [|Pass the Bill.]

The Executive Government consists of the Cabinet and the Ministry led by the Prime Minister. The cabinet and the ministry are the senior members of the government who have important responsibilities and give the prime minister advice to help the prime minister to make decisions.

The Judiciary consists of Australia's judges. It is their job to interpret the law - that is, decide what our laws actually mean. The judges sentence people who are found guilty of committing crimes in court.

You can find out more about Australia's prime minister's [|here.] There is more information at the [|National Museum of Canberra.]

Who are the politicians in Victoria's Parliament? These are the people who run our state and make decisions that effect everyone in Victoria. You can find details for every member of Victoria's Parliament at this website, including both the Upper and Lower Houses and all political parties.They are listed in alphabetical order. [|Victoria's Members of Parliament]

If you want to find out who represents a particular electorate there is a simpler way of finding a member. On this website you can type in a town, suburb, city or postcode. Once you have done that click on search and the member will be shown. [|Electorates in Victoria]

You can answer the questions on pages 6, 7 and 9 of the Inside the Parliament of Victoria Activity Booklet using the two above links.

Interested in a range of facts about Parliament? Check out here and find out who has been suspended from Parliament the most times as well as many other facts. [|Selected Political Records for the Commonwealth]