What is democracy?
Democracy means rule by the people. The word comes from the ancient Greek words ‘demos’ (the people) and ‘kratos’ (to rule). A democratic country has a system of government in which the people have the power to participate in decision-making.Each democracy is unique and works in different ways. In some democracies citizens help make decisions directly by voting on laws and policy proposals (direct democracy). In others, like Australia, citizens choose representatives to make decisions on their behalf (representative democracy). Source
Australia is a representative democracy. In this political system, eligible people vote for candidates to carry out the business of governing on their behalf. Australia’s system of government—its institutions and practices—reflect British and North American traditions combined in a way that is uniquely Australian. Source
MoADOPH in conjunction with the NAA presents 110 key documents that are the foundation of our nation. Source
In Australia, we have three levels of government: federal, state and local. The power is shared between each of the governments, but together they provide for our citizens. Let’s find out more about each level.
The Federal Government
The word ‘federal’ means all of Australia, that is, all the individual states in Australia join together to form a nation.
In 1901, the individual Australian states, or British colonies as they were known, decided that some things might work better if they worked on them together, rather than separately. This decision to join together was called the ‘Australian Federation’ and the union of all the states was then given the name of the ‘Commonwealth of Australia’. Source
Passport to Democracy: Be the change. Become an effective agent of change through civic action in a local community by learning a number of practical ways to take democratic action on issues.
