'Parliament is the ultimate law making authority; as such there can be no weaknesses.'
Evaluate this statement regarding parliament's ability to make laws:
I disagree with the statement above suggesting that parliament is flawless and as such, has no weaknesses. Althought it is clear that parliament is an effective mechanism for law making in Australia, it is not perfect and like many other legal system, Australia's parliament has obvious faults.
One weakness of parliament is that members are concerned with being re-elected and as such, face high pressure from their electorate and political influence. In order to be retain their position, members must please the majority of their voters and make decisions they believe will reflect majority values and mirror the mores in society. Due to this reason, parliament may be very hesistant to pass legislation that are deemed too controversial such as same sex marriage and stem cell research due to the fear of isolating their voters and being seen as too radical. Despite this flaw, a strength of parliament is that they are democratically elected by their electorate. As such, they have a duty to represent the views of the people, make laws to meet the needs of society and be held accountable for their reaction. If this does not occur, the people have the power to demand members of parliament resign or not re-elect them for a second term.
Another clear flaw of parliament is that they don't often have time to efficiently pass legislation. Parliament only sit approximately 70 days per year and due to the lengthy stages require to pass bills, many effective potential pieces of legislation may not receive the opportunity to be passed and implemented. Due to this delay, when laws are passed by parliament, they may no longer be relevant, up to date or effective. In saying that, as the ultimate law making authority, parliament has been equipped with all necessary resources to make laws. Unlike courts which can only resolve disputes that come before them based on precedent, parliament has the ability to form committees in order to conduct further research to engage with community opinions or gather expert information. This ensures that laws passed by parliament are understood, well drafted and accepted by the community.
Delegated legislation, the ability for parliament to pass on some of their law making powers to subordinate authorities is another area of concern. When parliament equips these bodies with law making powers, often laws arising from these groups don't necessary reflect community values as members of subodinate authorities aren't democratically elected. Furthermore, having so many subordinate authorities (such as the number of local councils) means that laws made are often confusing and at times contradictory leading to confusion. On the other hand, parliament has the ability to make laws in futuro- for the future. This means that if parliament can foresee an issue or problem arising in society, it can be proactive in responding prior to any negative incidents taking place or a situation becoming worse. This can be seen in Queensland when the government re-acted to increasing bikie related crimes by introducing legislation to stem bikie groups.
Due to the structure of parliament, there can be situations whereby laws are passed due to the 'rubber stamp effect'. This occurs when the government in power also holds the majority in the Upper House (Senate). Bills proposed by government in the Lower House will likely pass due to the number of individuals supporting its passage in the Lower House. However, if the Senate was to also be dominated by government's party, rather that truly represent the States, laws made by passed through the Senate without adequate scrutiny and assessments such members will just likely vote in line with their party. Despite this flaw, parliament's method of passing laws provides a public arena for debate and scrutiny that is fundamental to a democratic system. The requirements needed for a bill to become law means that it must be public discussed and debated in the arena that is parliament. This ensures that the opposition, responsible for keeping parliament accountable approves of legislation that is passed ensuring our rights and values are protected and upheld.
Lastly, parliament cannot be expected to foresee all future circumstances resulting in laws being made retrospectively (after the fact). What what previously legal and accepted can now be deemed illegal due to new legislation introduced. An example of this would be the changes in Victorian legislation regarding legal abortions to allow women below 24 weeks gestation to obtain lawful abortions. In the past, there were uncertainty surround this law and what was potentially deemed illegal is now lawful. However, parliament is able to undertake research and consultations through various government funded independant research organisation. This allows parliament to gain feedback, knowledge and opinions from all areas of the community affected by the legislation. In 2004, prior to passing laws surrounding abortion, parliament utilised the Victorian Law Reform Commission to undertake research and publish papers which was used to determine the legalisation of abortion.
Overall it can be seen that clearly, parliament is not a perfect law making structure. However, despite these flaws, it is an effective system that has effectively served Australia's legal environment.
Evaluate this statement regarding parliament's ability to make laws:
I disagree with the statement above suggesting that parliament is flawless and as such, has no weaknesses. Althought it is clear that parliament is an effective mechanism for law making in Australia, it is not perfect and like many other legal system, Australia's parliament has obvious faults.
One weakness of parliament is that members are concerned with being re-elected and as such, face high pressure from their electorate and political influence. In order to be retain their position, members must please the majority of their voters and make decisions they believe will reflect majority values and mirror the mores in society. Due to this reason, parliament may be very hesistant to pass legislation that are deemed too controversial such as same sex marriage and stem cell research due to the fear of isolating their voters and being seen as too radical. Despite this flaw, a strength of parliament is that they are democratically elected by their electorate. As such, they have a duty to represent the views of the people, make laws to meet the needs of society and be held accountable for their reaction. If this does not occur, the people have the power to demand members of parliament resign or not re-elect them for a second term.
Another clear flaw of parliament is that they don't often have time to efficiently pass legislation. Parliament only sit approximately 70 days per year and due to the lengthy stages require to pass bills, many effective potential pieces of legislation may not receive the opportunity to be passed and implemented. Due to this delay, when laws are passed by parliament, they may no longer be relevant, up to date or effective. In saying that, as the ultimate law making authority, parliament has been equipped with all necessary resources to make laws. Unlike courts which can only resolve disputes that come before them based on precedent, parliament has the ability to form committees in order to conduct further research to engage with community opinions or gather expert information. This ensures that laws passed by parliament are understood, well drafted and accepted by the community.
Delegated legislation, the ability for parliament to pass on some of their law making powers to subordinate authorities is another area of concern. When parliament equips these bodies with law making powers, often laws arising from these groups don't necessary reflect community values as members of subodinate authorities aren't democratically elected. Furthermore, having so many subordinate authorities (such as the number of local councils) means that laws made are often confusing and at times contradictory leading to confusion. On the other hand, parliament has the ability to make laws in futuro- for the future. This means that if parliament can foresee an issue or problem arising in society, it can be proactive in responding prior to any negative incidents taking place or a situation becoming worse. This can be seen in Queensland when the government re-acted to increasing bikie related crimes by introducing legislation to stem bikie groups.
Due to the structure of parliament, there can be situations whereby laws are passed due to the 'rubber stamp effect'. This occurs when the government in power also holds the majority in the Upper House (Senate). Bills proposed by government in the Lower House will likely pass due to the number of individuals supporting its passage in the Lower House. However, if the Senate was to also be dominated by government's party, rather that truly represent the States, laws made by passed through the Senate without adequate scrutiny and assessments such members will just likely vote in line with their party. Despite this flaw, parliament's method of passing laws provides a public arena for debate and scrutiny that is fundamental to a democratic system. The requirements needed for a bill to become law means that it must be public discussed and debated in the arena that is parliament. This ensures that the opposition, responsible for keeping parliament accountable approves of legislation that is passed ensuring our rights and values are protected and upheld.
Lastly, parliament cannot be expected to foresee all future circumstances resulting in laws being made retrospectively (after the fact). What what previously legal and accepted can now be deemed illegal due to new legislation introduced. An example of this would be the changes in Victorian legislation regarding legal abortions to allow women below 24 weeks gestation to obtain lawful abortions. In the past, there were uncertainty surround this law and what was potentially deemed illegal is now lawful. However, parliament is able to undertake research and consultations through various government funded independant research organisation. This allows parliament to gain feedback, knowledge and opinions from all areas of the community affected by the legislation. In 2004, prior to passing laws surrounding abortion, parliament utilised the Victorian Law Reform Commission to undertake research and publish papers which was used to determine the legalisation of abortion.
Overall it can be seen that clearly, parliament is not a perfect law making structure. However, despite these flaws, it is an effective system that has effectively served Australia's legal environment.