representative and responsible government

[Albeno69]

what is the difference between representative and responsible government?

[mypurpleundercracka]

REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
-Characterises the views of the majority of people
-Holds regular elections and consists of representation of the people elected by the public
-If it does not represent the needs of the majority it is likely to be voted out of office at the next election, e.g. Howard government 07

RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
-Refers to the governments accountability to its voters
-Under this principle ministers are responsible to parliament and therefore the people
-Under ministerial accountability ministers can be called up in parliament to explain the actions of their department
-Other MP’s can question ministers about their and their department’s activities
-Ministers must act with integrity and responsibility or resign, e.g. Tony Stewart (minister of small business in NSW, caught harassing a staff member → offered to resign)

*If the government loses the support of the lower house it MUST resign. Hence, government is responsible to parliament and parliament is responsible to the people

[Albeno69]

REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
-Characterises the views of the majority of people
-Holds regular elections and consists of representation of the people elected by the public
-If it does not represent the needs of the majority it is likely to be voted out of office at the next election, e.g. Howard government 07

RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
-Refers to the governments accountability to its voters
-Under this principle ministers are responsible to parliament and therefore the people
-Under ministerial accountability ministers can be called up in parliament to explain the actions of their department
-Other MP’s can question ministers about their and their department’s activities
-Ministers must act with integrity and responsibility or resign, e.g. Tony Stewart (minister of small business in NSW, caught harassing a staff member → offered to resign)

*If the government loses the support of the lower house it MUST resign. Hence, government is responsible to parliament and parliament is responsible to the people

but isnt accountability to voters and views of majority of people the same thing?

[spaciiey]

well, yes and no. the information that's been given is correct. it can be worded more simply though -- a representative government is one that reflects the view of the majority of the population. a responsible government is made of ministers who are accountable for their actions. they overlap, but they aren't the same, if that makes sense?

[Christiano]

Shouldn't the word used be 'voters', not population, people or citizens, as a large minority are not Australian citizens or are under the legal age to vote.

[spaciiey]

if you wanted to be correct down to the last little thing, then you could say 'voters'. i believe i said 'people' in my exam though. i dont remember the exact wording -- i need to dig up my old legal notes. it's been a little while since i've done legal.

[Albeno69]

well, yes and no. the information that's been given is correct. it can be worded more simply though -- a representative government is one that reflects the view of the majority of the population. a responsible government is made of ministers who are accountable for their actions. they overlap, but they aren't the same, if that makes sense?

yea thanks that simplfyed it.