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The politics of Australia has a mild two-party system, with two dominant political groupings in the Australian political system, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal/National Coalition. Federally, 17 of the 151 members of the lower house (Members of Parliament, or MPs) are not members of major parties, as well as 21 of the 76 members of ...
The Australian Constitution sets down the powers and responsibilities of many of the institutions of the Australian Commonwealth. However, the prime minister, the cabinet and the other principles of responsible government are not explicitly mentioned in the document, along with most of the realities of exercise of executive power.
The name of the government in the Constitution of Australia is the "Government of the Commonwealth". [15] This was the name used in many early federal government publications. [16] However, in 1965 Robert Menzies indicated his preference for the name "Australian Government" in order to prevent confusion with the new Commonwealth of Nations. [17]
The current federal government structure was established in 1901 by the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, 1901. The first three national elections resulted in minority governments. The world’s first ever Labor Party Prime Minister took office in Australia in 1904, though Labor governed in minority.
The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution , which establishes the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system .
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth [4] and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia.It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia (represented by the governor-general), the Senate (the upper house), and the House of Representatives (the lower house). [4]
The Liberal Party was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Australia Party. Historically the most successful political party in Australia’s history, the Liberal Party is now in opposition at a federal level, although it presently holds government in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania at a sub-national level.
The Liberal Party and the Australian Labor Party are not as easily generalised. In a strong seat, the elected party might win up to 80% of the two-party-preferred vote. In the 2004 federal election, the highest winning margin in a seat was 25.1%, [ 71 ] with most seats won by a margin of less than 10%.