Making Laws

Watch: How Laws are made

Overview

One of the main functions of Parliament is to make laws for the ‘peace, order and good government’ of the State. The Western Australian Parliament makes, modifies or repeals law by Acts of Parliament – often referred to as statutes or legislation. Bills (proposed laws) are passed by the two Houses and are given Royal Assent in the name of Her Majesty by the Governor and then become Acts of Parliament.

The normal flow of the legislative process is that a Bill is introduced into one of the two Houses by a minister or member, where it must pass through a number of stages before it is transmitted to the other House for concurrence. If agreed to by the other House, it is then given the Royal Assent by the Governor and converted, at that point, into an Act.

The Senate

76 Seats

http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Seating_Plan

The House of Representatives

150 Seats

Current Senate Composition: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Senators/Senate_composition

Western Australian Parliament

Parliament House, Perth: Home of the Western Australian Parliament

Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly is the lower House of the Parliament of Western Australia, and comprises 59 members elected from single member electoral districts by a system of preferential voting. The Legislative Assembly's six principal roles and functions are: 

• forming a government 
• approving the finance for government operations 
• scrutinising the government's performance 
• legislating 
• providing a forum for matters of public concern, and 
• representing the people of Western Australia 

Legislative Council

The Legislative Council is the upper House of the Parliament of Western Australia, and comprises 36 members elected from six multi-member regions by a system of preferential representation (proportional representation). Proportional representation is a voting system designed to ensure that the mix of successful candidates in a multi-member electorate reflects as closely as possible the proportional break-up of all the valid votes cast in an election. The Legislative Council’s principal roles and functions are:

• legislating, monitoring and reviewing government legislation, administration and expenditure 
• gathering information and publicising issues, by using committees, question time and through parliamentary debates on motions, Bills, and by petitions presented by members on behalf of members of the public. 

The Legislative Process

One of the functions of Parliament is to make laws. To make a law, Parliament enacts legislation which is also known as statutes or Acts of Parliament.
An Act of Parliament starts as a Bill in one of the Houses. A Bill is the draft of a proposed law. Most Bills deal with management of public affairs and the implementation of Government policy and are introduced by a Minister, but a member of either House is entitled to introduce a Private Member's Bill.

To become an Act, a Bill must pass through a number of formal stages. These are -

The Introduction and First Reading

A Minister or member of either House may introduce a Bill. This is usually agreed to without debate. Immediately after introduction, the Bill is "read" a first time; that is, the Clerk reads the title of the Bill.

The Second Reading

The member/Minister in charge of the Bill starts the second reading debate with a speech that explains the intended effect of the proposed legislation. All members are entitled to make one speech during that debate with the member/Minister in charge of the Bill having a right of reply in which the various arguments raised in debate are answered.
The Second Reading is the most important stage through which a Bill passes because the whole principle or policy of the Bill is at issue. At the end of the Second Reading the main vote on the Bill is taken.

Committee of the Whole House

When a Bill has passed the Second Reading, the House forms itself into a 'Committee', presided over by the Chairman of Committees.
The Bill is then dealt with clause by clause to ensure that when it becomes an Act, it will carry out Parliament's intention. At this stage, amendments can be moved to the clauses of the Bill. In some cases a Bill may be committed to the Committee of the Whole House more than once, mostly to tidy up amended clauses.

Referral to Other Committees

In the Legislative Council, Bills may be referred to an appropriate standing committee for its consideration and report to the Committee of the Whole House. This is a good example of how the Legislative Council performs its review function. Similarly, in the Legislative Assembly, Bills may be referred to a select committee or a legislation committee.
It is possible to bypass the Committee of the Whole House stage when a Bill is not controversial. In other words, if all Members of a House agree with the Bill, it need not be referred to the Committee of the Whole House and may proceed directly to the Third Reading.

The Third Reading

Once the House has dealt with the Bill in the Committee of the Whole House, the next stage is the Third Reading. Although this stage is mainly formal, the Bill is occasionally debated again when its subject matter is controversial.

Presentation to the Other House

The Bill is then sent to the other House where, following receipt by Message (a formal means of communication between the Houses) rather than introduction, the same procedure takes place.
Assent by the Governor.
Having passed through both Houses, the Bill is presented to the Governor, who assents to it in the name and on behalf of the Monarch. On assent, the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

Proclamation

Some Acts of Parliament specify that they, or portions of them, do not come into operation until they are proclaimed by order of the Governor (on the advice of the Executive Council). A notice of proclamation must be published in the Western Australian Government Gazette.
Disagreements between the Houses
If the two Houses cannot agree on amendments made to a Bill, each may appoint a number of members to meet and try to settle the difference. This procedure is known as a Conference of Managers. If the Conference of Managers fails to reach agreement, the Bill fails.

Financial (Money) Bills

Under section 46 of the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899, all Bills that involve expenditure of public moneys must originate in the Legislative Assembly. This is to ensure that management of public expenditure remains in the hands of the Government (which is formed from the party or coalition of parties having a majority in the Legislative Assembly). Although money Bills must originate in the Legislative Assembly, the Legislative Council can veto the Bills and may amend certain types of money Bills. The interpretation of section 46 has been the source of many disputes between the two Houses.

Common Law (Case Law)

Common Law refers to the laws created and refined by the reasoning and decisions of Judges in the High Court or the Supreme Court. There are advantages and disadvantages of this approach over statutory laws created by Parliament.
Read: http://lawgovpol.com/common-law-advantages-disadvantages/

Civil v Criminal Law

Essential difference between criminal and civil law, is that in Criminal cases, the government (e.g. The Commonwealth/ The Queen / The WA Government) is the one bringing the charges as a crime against the state, even though the victim might be a person. In Civil cases, the person who complains of being wronged (i.e. the victim) has to bring the charges, the government does not act on their behalf.

Criminal Law

• defined by legislation, enforced by the police and prosecuted by the state. 
• set clear and firm boundaries of conduct for individual behaviour in a society. 
• Laws with a strong range of sanctions or punishments, ranging from fines to imprisonment and, in some societies, execution. 

Offences against:

• the person, such as murder, attempted murder, assault and sexual assault. 
• property, such as theft, fraud, arson and vandalism. 
• morality, such as illegal drugs, prostitution, child pornography, bigamy and indecent exposure. 

Civil Law

• Is concerned with protecting the rights and property of individuals that are not necessarily protected by criminal laws. 
• Is usually initiated by an aggrieved party (such as the plaintiff), who takes legal action against those who they claim to have wronged them. 
• Is sometimes concerned with commercial or contractual disputes, such as unpaid monies, an unfulfilled contract or a breach of promise. 
• Is sometimes concerned with resolving family disputes, such as marital break-ups, divorce settlements, child custody arrangements and child maintenance. 
• Is sometimes concerned with examining personal suffering, such as psychological harm or loss of reputation, to find out if someone is liable and whether they should make restitution.