People and Parliament: What is responsible government?

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What is responsible government?

Photograph of the Legislative Assembly on the opening of the 55th Victorian Parliament

Work in small groups for these activities.

In a democracy the purpose of governments is to serve the best interests of the people.

Today people expect responsible governments to do certain things for the wellbeing of all citizens. This has not always been so.

Activity 1: Being responsible - what does it mean for you and for governments?

Think about the word 'responsible' and what it means to you. Make a list of times when you have to be responsible for someone or something. Also list times when others are responsible for you.

Ask:

What does someone mean when they say:

You are responsible for your actions.
You are a responsible person so you must act like one.
You have rights but you also have responsibilities.
If you do not act in a responsible way, you will have to take the consequences of your actions.
All care, no responsibility.

When people use the word 'responsible' to describe a form of government it has a slightly different meaning.

A responsible government must explain to the Parliament the decisions and laws it has made and how these decisions and laws have been put into practice. It means the government has to follow the rules and laws correctly even if those rules and laws do not always give the best result from your point of view.

In a system of responsible government the Lower House of the Parliament can vote the government out of office if it no longer has confidence in it. This happened in Victoria in 1870 when the Berry Government was dismissed.

Responsible governments are accountable for what they did (and did not do) at election time. At this time the citizens have their say - whether to keep the present government or vote for a new government.

In between elections there are a number of checks and balances to make sure the people's government is being responsible, that it is doing the right thing by the rules and laws of the country or state. You will learn more about these checks and balances later.

Activity 2: Introducing some key terms

When we look at how governments work, there are many words or terms that people use to describe different types of government.

Here are some of them:

Democracy
Government
Representative government
Responsible government
Self-government

Discuss what each of the five terms means to you. List your first ideas. Use these to prepare a draft definition of each term.

When you have finished this task, share these definitions with other groups in your class. Use these to decide upon a class definition for each term.

Now you can check your definitions by clicking on each term:

Introductory activities

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