What is Parliament?
Discover the structure and key functions of the Australian Parliament with this short video. It introduces the Parliament’s roles of law-making, representing Australians, the formation of government and checking the work of the government.
Duration: 1 min 53 sec
Transcript
Vision |
Audio |
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Opening credits showing animated shapes with the words, Understand, Teach, Book, Connect. The Parliamentary Education Office logo. |
Music |
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Views of the outside of Australian Parliament House. The Senate at work. A member speaking in the House of Representatives. |
The Australian Parliament meets at Parliament House in Canberra to represent the people of Australia. This is the place where laws are made and where issues of national importance are debated and dealt with. |
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The House of Representatives at work. A government minister in a committee hearing. |
It’s where government is formed and where government is held accountable for its actions. |
| Animated graphic showing Parliament House, a silhouette of the King, the letters GG underlined by a laurel, a red U shape and a green U shape. | In Australia, the Parliament is made up of the monarch, represented by the Governor-General, and 2 houses of Parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives. |
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A polling place. People putting ballot papers into ballot boxes. Animated graphic showing Australia divided up into electorates of different shapes and sizes. Animated graphic showing Australia divided up into the 6 states and 2 territories. |
At election time, Australians vote to send a person from their local region, known as an electorate, to represent them in the House of Representatives. They also vote to send people from their state or territory to represent them in the Senate. |
| The House of Representatives. Animated graphic of the House of Representatives showing more than half the seats belonging to the government. | The party or coalition of parties with the support of a majority of members in the House of Representatives forms the government. |
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Graphic of a law. Graphic showing text of the law being changed, labelled 'bill'. Graphic showing a bill becoming a stack of bills. |
One of the most important things Parliament does is to make new laws or change existing ones. A proposal to change a law, or make a new one, is called a bill. Parliament considers over 100 bills each year. |
| A government minister introducing a bill in the House of Representatives. | Most are introduced by government ministers. |
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The Senate during Question Time. The House of Representatives during Question Time. A Senator and government department officials in a committee hearing. |
The actions of government are closely examined by the Parliament through processes such as Question Time and through the work of parliamentary committees. |
| Animated graphic showing numbers 1,2,3,4, then a map of Australia, a U-shape with more than half shaded, papers with a seal on them labelled 'law', and a magnifying glass over a U-shape with more than half shaded. |
In summary, Parliament has 4 main functions. It represents the people of Australia and it’s the place where government is formed. Parliament makes and changes laws and examines the work of the government. |
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The Parliamentary Education Office logo. |
Music |
Curriculum alignment
Year 6 AC9HS6K06
Year 7 AC9HC7K01
Year 8 AC9HC8K02