The Government of Australia

http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/generationemigration/2011/11/24/destination-in-focus-australia/

Australia is a constitutional monarchy, where Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch. The country has a female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, born on the 29th of September 1961. She is the head of the Australian Labor Party, for which she is the first female leader. She was born in Wales, but since it is a part of the UK, she is still qualified to be Prime Minister of Australia. Gillard is Australia's 27th Prime Minister.

In Australia there is separation of powers, and the government is separated into three branches;

• The legislative branch: Like it is in the US, the legislative branch is divided between the Senate and the House of Representatives, but in Australia, Queen Elizabeth II is represented as well. Their job is to write and propose laws.
• The executive branch: The heads of state are Queen Elizabeth II and the Governor-General of Australia(appointed at the advice of the Prime Minister). Even though they are not heads of state, the Prime Minister and the Ministers of State have a great deal of influence and control. The job of the executive branch is to do tasks assigned to them by the legislative branch, like to carry out laws.



http://www.focusnet.com.au/government

• The judicial branch: The High Court of Australia is the same as the Supreme Court in the US. The judges are appointed by the Governor-General. Their job is to Uphold the constitution of Australia.

The Australian government is more similar to the US government, than the government of the UK. This might seem weird, but the reason why the UK and the Australian governments are so different is because of their dissimilar traditions.

Scources:

• Australian government - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, last updated 2008"Australia´s System of Government". www.dfat.gov.au. http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/sys_gov.html.
• Thuesen, Nils Petter "Australia". www.snl.no. http://snl.no/Australia.
• Wikipedia. "Australia". www.wikipedia.com. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia.
• Wikipedia "Government of Australia". www.wikipedia.com. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Australia