The Greens were the only party to refer to being representatives of the whole planet. One Green argued that most politicians want to make Australia a better place, whereas the Greens want to make the planet a better place. One independent saw their role as reflecting what the electorate thinks, and they often represent views and advocates for constituents that they may not agree with. They argued that major party parliamentarians often try and convince constituents who they do not agree with that they are wrong, as they are as much party representatives within the electorate as representatives of that electorate.
While representatives will have strong views and opinions on certain issues, interest and pressure groups, party leaders and colleagues, lobbyists, and the media are also influential in opinion formation and change. Furthermore, as Stilborn observes, the opinions and interests of constituencies are often processed through interest groups that have greater influence than individual constituents. Advances in mass and electronic communication and the use of polling also means that traditional face-to-face contact with constituents becomes less necessary.
Yet at the same time, if a parliamentarian identifies as a representative of a constituency, they will probably still consider direct communication with constituents as paramount. Survey respondents were asked which method they find most reliable in determining what their constituents think, with the collated responses presented in Figures 25a and 25b. Figure 25a: The primary method current parliamentarians use to find out what their constituents think.
Figure 25b: The primary method former parliamentarians used to find out what their constituents thought. Another interviewee supported this claim, stating that the best speeches are made in the party room rather than in the parliament. However, this parliamentarian maintained that some things need to be said behind the scenes. Many interviewees and survey respondents, particularly former parliamentarians, were critical of stronger party discipline.
A conservative parliamentarian was critical of the centralisation of power in the executive and the threats to the independence of the parliament and the Senate as institutions. Parliamentarians cede power to the party, which cedes power to the leader.
They argued that true conservatives should be prepared to cross the floor. They blamed Labor for caucusing and binding members, which was electorally successful and thus the Liberals imitated. One House interviewee argued that as much as you are representing your electorates view to the party, you have stood as a party candidate, so voters expect that you will be voting with the party.
One interviewee advised that while being conscious of preselection panels in a survival sense, if you carve a niche you will retain preselection, even if your views are not completely supported by the party. Figure 26a: Proportions of current parliamentarians according to approximate percentage of time spent on party business. Figure 26b: Proportions of former parliamentarians according to approximate percentage of time spent on party business.
For most respondents, party business takes up 10 per cent or less of their time, with only minor differences between the two groups. The only discernible difference is that a higher proportion of Senate respondents spend more than 10 per cent of their time on party business, which is consistent with the earlier finding that some Senate respondents identify as primarily party representatives. Many minor party interviewees argued that while they held more regular and in-depth party room meetings than the major parties, that they actually spent less time arguing about a common position than in the major parties.
As the Greens currently have no lower house representation, they often work on certain issues with the independent crossbench. However, being independent or in a minor party can help to leverage gains from both sides of politics, regardless of which side is in government.
Knopf, New York, , p. HF Pitkin, The concept of representation , op. S Dovi, The good representative , op. Australian Parliament House is currently closed to the public. Burke writes: Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile interests, which interests each must maintain, as an agent and advocate, against other agents and advocates; but Parliament is a deliberative assembly of one nation, with one interest, that of the whole—where not local prejudices ought to guide, but the general good, resulting from the general reason of the whole.
Local, national or party interests? Dovi argues that: A good democratic representative is not likely to be approved by, or even appreciated by, every one of her constituents, let alone by all citizens.
Figure 24a: Who or what current parliamentarians think they primarily represent There was more variation in the responses of former senators and members, with larger proportions of respondents seeing themselves as parliamentarians-at-large and national representatives, and representing an ideology or philosophy. Figure 24b: Who or what former parliamentarians thought they primarily represented One interviewee saw Senate representation as also representing the government or opposition by ensuring that the government gets it right through inquiries and policy and expenditure reviews.
The practice of representation One independent saw their role as reflecting what the electorate thinks, and they often represent views and advocates for constituents that they may not agree with. The Senate makes only limited use of its right to scrutinize the work of the Government.
Both chambers together constitute the States-General the Parliament. The Government is obliged to provide both chambers with the necessary information, so as to enable Parliament to scrutinise the work of the Government properly.
This obligation is laid down in the Constitution. NGOs fulfill a number of important functions, including informing people about matters of public interest, providing them with channels through which they can speak to their political representatives between elections, and holding the government to account when it breaks the law.
The freedom of NGOs to carry out these functions and the freedom of people to associate with NGOs are vital components of liberal representative democracy. That said, representative democracy is not without its drawbacks. It necessarily concentrates power in the hands of a few people, thereby giving them ultimate control over the form and substance of our laws.
Could legislation be crafted in a way that gives special benefits to representatives, their family or friends? Elected representatives are also difficult to reign in between elections, meaning they could pass laws that make us unhappy, or unfairly favor themselves or others, and we could have to wait years to hold them to account for it.
Most of us would agree that democracy, while not perfect, is the fairest system of government. It tends to do the best job of protecting the values most of us hold, like equality, human rights, and equal application of the law.
And representative democracy is probably the best form of democracy to achieve this. Citizens still maintain ultimate control over their government through elections, during which they can choose the people and parties that represent them. Representative democracy gives people the advantages of democracy — having a say in the way they are governed, and choosing the people who govern them — without the onus of needing to study each law or policy initiative themselves.
Most of us have neither the time nor the inclination to do this. This means we maintain control over the direction of our country and what laws we live under. A few puppies may have to suffer through some uncomfortable photoshoots, but the drawbacks of representative democracy are far fewer than those of other systems of government.
And it does the best job of safeguarding our rights and values so that we are able to build and enjoy safe and free societies. A system of government in which citizens elect representatives who propose and vote on legislation or policy initiatives. But it delegates the responsibility of being expert on law and policy so citizens can go about their daily lives or choose not to pay much attention to the details. Pretty rosy. Representative democracy is now the established form of democracy in the world, and the system of government most people live under.
Liberties Liberties.
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