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Voting In Australia

Decent Essays

Political, Legal, and Ethical Environment
Australia has a federal system of government and under that system the powers are divided between a central government and individual states. Power is divided between the Commonwealth Federal Government and the six state governments. Australian Parliament consists of the Queen (which is represented by the Governor-General), the Senate, and the House of Representatives. There are three arms to the government of Australia—the legislature (Parliament), the executive branch (the Australian Government), and the judiciary branch (legal arm of the federal government). The Parliament of Australia is made up of a total of 226 people who are elected to the Senate and House of Representatives. The office …show more content…

That basically means you are required to vote if you are an eligible Australian citizen (eligible being of 18 years or older and be a legal Australian citizen). If you do not vote, you have to have a valid reason as to why you did not participate in voting, or pay a $20 fine. Then if you do not give a valid reason or pay the fine, then you may be referred to court. The Australian Electoral Commission helps to register voters in Australia to vote.
Political Risk In terms of political risk, Australia has a very low political risk. The AMB Country Risk Report gives an assessment on three categories of risk economic, political, and financial. According to the AMB Report (2015), “Australia’s legal system is very strong, stable and transparent with minimal corruption. The stable regulatory environment and fair treatment of foreign investors make the country a destination for foreign direct investment.” Based on the Regional Political Risk Index (2015), Australia has a number of 88 on the global scale as of April 2015. That ranking sets it to number 6 on the global scale. The Political Risk Index is based off different criteria such as turmoil, financial transfer, direct investment, export markets …show more content…

Thanks in part to microeconomic reforms in the 1980s, Australia has experienced two decades of continuous growth, low unemployment, controlled inflation, very low public debt, and a strong and stable financial system (Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013-2014). Australia has an efficient government sector, a flexible labor market, and a very competitive business sector (About Australia Pty Ltd, 2015). The four main components that make up the Australian market economy are trade, manufacturing, services, and finance. The services sector represents the largest part of the Australian economy, accounting for 75% of all jobs and nearly 70% of the overall GDP (Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency,

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