Activity 9b

1. There are a number of ways in which the representative nature of parliament affects the ability of parliament to make law including:

• the influence of the majority – for example, members of parliament must keep the majority in their electorates happy in order to keep their vote andwin the next election; therefore laws will be made that are consistent with the values and beliefs of the majority of voters.
• the protection of rights and values– for example,parliament will hopefully pass laws that protect human rights that voters think are important, becauserepresentative government means members of parliament need each to retain a majority vote in her or hiselectorate in order to stay in office.
• efficient and comprehensive law-making– for example, the representative nature of parliament allows it to be an efficient law-maker, that takes into account a widerange of competing perspectives on law; representatives are each asked to look for the most appealing ‘synthesis’of all the different views in their electorate and the supporters of their party.
• the accessibility of parliament– for example,the public can become involved in parliament’slaw-making processes through signing and submitting petitions, lobbying local member of parliament or making a submission to theVictorian Law Reform Commissionwhen they review a particular law.

2. The task word ‘discuss’ require students to consider both sides of something. In this case, ‘discussing’ the ability of parliamentto make law in relation to its representative nature requires students to write about relevant factors enabling parliament and relevant factors limiting parliament. Responses will vary according to the arguments selected.

3. The task word ‘analyse’ requires features or concepts to be broken down and shown how they relate to each other. It may require both sides of the question to be addressed to some extent, and a clear opinion to be provided. In this case, a clear opinion on the way in which the representative nature of parliament affects the ability of parliament to make lawshould be given.

For example, in relation to the influence of the majority, the principle of representative government means that, in governing on behalf of the people who elected them, laws will probably be made that are consistent with the values and beliefs of the majority of voters – this is because members of parliament must keep the majority in their electorates happy in order to keep their vote and win the next election. However, a representative parliament does not mean the wishes of the majority will always be reflected in law. Sometimes the party that wins government did not win the majority of votes at the ballot box, and sometimes the Government follows its own agenda and hopes that the public will forget or change their minds before the next election.

4. The task word ‘evaluate’ require students to consider both sides of something, as well as express an opinion judging the relative strengths of the arguments. For example, a student might argue, based on evidence, that while the representative nature of parliament does limit the parliament from always being able to legislate, representative government does largelyenable the parliament to make law. In this case, ‘evaluating’ the ability of parliament to make law requires students to write about relevant factors enabling and limiting parliament in relation to the representative nature of parliament.

For example, in relation to the accessibility of parliament, the public can become involved in parliament’s law-making processes through signing and submitting petitions, lobbying local member of parliament or making a submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission when they review a particular law. However, the representative nature of parliament can actually stop parliament from legislating sometimes. For instance,the fear of voter backlash from vocal minorities or selfish and short-sighted majorities can prevent necessarylaw-reform on controversial matters