课88：澳大利亚政府

Lesson 88: Australian Government

LEVELS of GOVERNMENT 政府层面

Australia's political system is called a "constitutional monarchy". It has 4 levels of government. 澳大利亚的政治制度被称为“君主立宪制”。 它有四个级别的政府。

Highest Level: the Monarch (king or queen) of England. 最高层：英格兰的君主（国王或王后）。 The power of the Monarch is wielded locally by the Governor-General and Governors of the various States. 君主的权力由各州的总督和州长在当地行使。 The Monarch has the responsibility to grant "Royal Assent" to any new or changed Australian law. 君主有责任对任何新的或更改的澳大利亚法律授予“皇家同意”。

Usually, the Monarch is advised and guided by the Government, and the Governor-General's position is ceremonial. 通常情况下，君主是在政府的指导下进行的，总督的职位是礼仪性的。 However, in 1975 the Governor-General did use his power to dismiss the Government of Prime Minister Whitlam. 但是，总督在1975年确实利用其权力解散了惠特兰总理政府。

Second Level: Federal (also called Commonwealth) Government. This deals with national issues such as taxation, defence, federal policing, federal infrastructure, immigration and nursing homes. 第二层：联邦（也称为英联邦）政府。 这涉及国家问题，例如税收，国防，联邦警务，联邦基础设施，移民和疗养院。

The main Federal taxes are company tax, personal income tax and GST (goods and services tax). 联邦的主要税种是公司税，个人所得税和GST（商品和服务税）。

Third Level: State Government. 第三层：州政府。 Remember from Lesson 52 that Australia is divided into 8 regions called States or Territories. 请记住，在第52课中，澳大利亚分为8个地区，称为州或领地。 From west to east they are Western Australia (WA), Northern Territory (NT), South Australia (SA), Queensland (QLD), New South Wales (NSW), Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria (VIC) and Tasmania (TAS). 从西向东分别是西澳大利亚州（WA），北领地（NT），南澳大利亚（SA），昆士兰（QLD），新南威尔士州（NSW），澳大利亚首都领地（ACT），维多利亚（VIC）和塔斯马尼亚（ TAS）。

State governments manage health, education, state policing and local infrastructure. 州政府管理健康，教育，州治安和地方基础设施。 States also raise some taxes, such as "stamp duty", a tax on buying property. 州还提高了一些税收，例如“印花税”，这是一种购买房产的税。

Lowest Level: Local Government. 最低层：地方政府。 Each state or territory is divided into regions (shires and cities) that are locally administered through Councils. 每个州或地区都划分为通过理事会在本地进行管理的地区（郡和城市）。 John lives in Victoria, in the city of Melbourne, in the council area of Manningham. 约翰住在曼宁汉姆市议会区墨尔本市的维多利亚市。

Local government is responsible for local infrastructure and services such as garbage collection and recycling. 地方政府负责当地的基础设施和服务，例如垃圾收集和回收。 Councils collect taxes called "rates". 议会收取称为“费率”的税款。

DEMOCRACY 民主

The second, third and fourth levels of Government are multi-party democracies. 第二，第三和第四级政府是多党制民主国家。 That means that a number of groups of people ("parties") have an opportunity to rule Australia, according to a free vote of its citizens. 这意味着，根据其公民的自由投票权，许多人（“政党”）有机会统治澳大利亚。

The word "democracy" comes from the Greek words "demos" (people) and "kratos" (rule). “民主”一词来自希腊语“ demos”（人民）和“kratos”（规则）。 It is a system of decision-making in which all citizens have an equal share of power. 这是一种决策系统，其中所有公民享有平等的权力份额。

The idea of citizens freely electing their Government may seem strange to people who live under authoritarian administrations. 公民自由选举政府的想法对于生活在威权政府下的人们来说似乎很奇怪。 It has advantages and disadvantages. 它具有优点和缺点。 A famous English politician, Sir Winston Churchill, once said "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others". 英国著名政治家温斯顿·丘吉尔爵士曾经说过：“民主是最糟糕的政府形式，除了其他所有形式之外”。

Any citizen may "stand for election", that is, put their name forward as a "candidate" to be elected. 任何公民都可以“当选”，也就是说，将其名字列为要当选的“候选人”。 They may stand as a member of an existing party, or form their own party and stand as an "Independent". 他们可以代表现有政党，也可以组成自己的政党并作为“独立党”。

POLITICAL PARTIES 政党

There are three major political parties: Labor, Liberal and National. 共有三个主要政党：工党，自由党和国民党。 Note the spelling of Labor (not "Labour"). 请注意劳动的拼写（而不是“劳动”）。 The Labor Party is seen as "left of centre", which means that it advocates governing for social benefit. 工党被视为“中心左派”，这意味着它主张为社会利益而执政。 So its politics are "left-wing", but not "far-left" (= communist). 因此，它的政治是“左翼”，而不是“极左翼”（共产主义）。

The Liberal Party is seen as "right of centre", which means that it advocates for supporting businesses. 自由党被视为“中心权利”，这意味着它主张支持企业。 The success of these businesses generates social benefit by employing more workers, making larger profits and paying more tax. 这些企业的成功通过雇用更多的工人，赚取更大的利润和缴纳更多的税款而产生了社会效益。 The Liberal Party's politics are "right-wing", but not "far-right" (= fascist). 自由党的政治是“右翼”，而不是“极右翼”（法西斯主义）。

The National Party is also right-of-centre, with a focus on rural areas, meaning "primary production" businesses such as farming. 国民党也是中心权利，重点放在农村地区，这意味着农业等“初级生产”业务。 Liberal and National have an agreement to act as a single party, called the "Coalition". 自由党和国民党达成一项协议，作为一个政党，称为“联盟”。

There are many minor parties, of whom the Greens are the largest. 有许多次要政党，其中最大的是绿党。 Greens advocate for environmental policies, and policies that are further "left" than the Labor Party's. 绿党倡导环境政策，以及比工党更“左”的政策。

PUBLIC ATTITUDES 公众态度

Because the major parties are all close to the "sensible centre" of political thought, there is often little difference between them. 因为主要政党都接近政治思想的“明智中心”，所以它们之间通常没有什么区别。 This produces a lack of interest from the public. 这导致公众缺乏兴趣。 Some people have strong preferences for one party, but there is a large "floating" section of the population that can "swing" an election from one party to another. 有些人对一个政党有强烈的偏好，但是人口中有很大一部分“流动的”群体可以将选举从一个政党“摇摆”到另一个政党。

A common complaint is "they're as bad as each other, so it doesn't matter which party is in power". 常见的抱怨是“彼此之间一样糟糕，所以哪个政党执政无关紧要”。 Childish behaviour televised during Parliamentary debating sessions does nothing to improve the public's regard for "pollies". 在议会辩论期间电视转播的幼稚行为无助于提高公众对“政客”的重视。 These Lessons will have made that obvious! 这些教训将使这一点变得显而易见！ If voting was not compulsory, turnout at elections would probably be much lower than the usual 95%. 如果投票不是强制性的，那么选举的投票率可能会比通常的95％低很多。

CORRUPTION 腐败

You will hear people complain about "pollies with their snouts in the trough", but the level of corruption in Australia is low. 您会听到人们抱怨“低谷摆着鼻子”，但澳大利亚的腐败程度很低。 Perhaps the most common bad behaviour is "pork-barrelling". 也许最常见的不良行为是“猪肉打架”。 This involves diverting money to electorates which the ruling party holds by just a small percentage of votes, to persuade more citizens to vote for them in the next Election. 这涉及将钱挪给执政党仅一小部分选票的选民，以说服更多的公民在下届选举中为他们投票。 This can disadvantage electorates which need that money more. 这会使需要更多钱的选民处于不利地位。

Occasionally there are reports of politicians "rorting" (= using for personal gain) their expense accounts, or "forgetting" to declare gifts. 有时，有报告称政客“折磨”（=为个人利益而使用）他们的费用帐户，或“忘记”申报礼物。 Usually the Australian Media (= Press, TV and Radio), which operates without political interference, uncovers mis-doing and publishes full details of it, leading to apologies and repayments, and occasionally to sacking of the politician involved. 通常，在没有政治干预的情况下运作的澳大利亚媒体（=媒体，电视和广播）会发现不当行为，并发布有关行为的详细信息，导致道歉和还款，有时还导致涉及的政治人物被解雇。

STANDING for ELECTION (FEDERAL and STATE LEVELS) 参加选举（联邦和州级）

If a citizen wants to "stand for election", one way to do this is as a member of an existing Party, at either the Federal or State level. 如果一个公民想“当选”，做到这一点的一种方法是作为联邦或州一级现有党的成员。 The citizen needs to show service to that party and to deserve its support. 公民需要向该党提供服务并应得到其支持。 The citizen will take part in a "preselection" contest for the electorate in which they want to stand. 公民将参加他们想参加的选民的“预选”竞赛。

The second path to election is to stand as an "Independent" candidate. 选举的第二条道路是成为“独立”候选人。 Such candidates receive no Party support. 这样的候选人没有得到党的支持。

ELECTORATES 选举人

Australia has two sets of electorates, one for the Second level of government (Federal) and one for the Third level (State). 澳大利亚有两组选民，一组为第二级政府（联邦），另一组为第三级（州）。 Both cover the entire country. 两者都覆盖整个国家。

There are 151 Federal electorates and 409 State electorates. 有151个联邦选民和409个州选民。

Their boundaries and names and populations are different. 它们的边界，名称和人口是不同的。 For example, John's Federal electorate is Menzies and his State electorate is Ringwood. 例如，约翰的联邦选民是孟席斯，他的州选民是林伍德。 For somebody living in Box Hill, their Federal electorate is Chisholm and their State electorate is Box Hill. 对于住在博士山的人来说，他们的联邦选民是奇斯霍尔姆，州选民是博士山。

In an Election, each electorate elects one candidate, the person who receives the greatest number of votes, calculated by a complicated method of "distributing preferences". 在选举中，每个选民选出一个候选人，即通过复杂的“分配偏好”方法计算得出的得票最多的人。 Vote-counting is thoroughly supervised. 投票管理受到严格监督。

Following an Election, the party (or coalition of parties) that has the most elected politicians wins the right to form a Government. 选举后，拥有最多民选政治家的政党（或政党联盟）将获得组建政府的权利。 Up until 21 May 2022, this was the Coalition. On that date, a Federal Election resulted in a change of government to Labor. 直到 2022 年 5 月 21 日，这是联盟。 在那一天，联邦选举导致政府更替为工党。

The politician who leads the Governing party is called the "Prime Minister" (PM). Up until 21 May 2022, this was Scott Morrison. The Federal Election resulted in a change of PM to Anthony Albanese. 领导执政党的政治家被称为“总理”（PM）。 直到 2022 年 5 月 21 日，他都是斯科特·莫里森。 联邦选举导致总理换成了安东尼·艾博年 (Anthony Albanese)。 The PM appoints politicians with suitable abilities to be "Ministers", each responsible for a different part of Government. 总理任命具有适当能力的政治人物为“部长”，每个人负责政府的不同部门。 For example, the "Treasurer" is responsible for Finance, the "Minister for Primary Production" is responsible for farming, the "Minister for Aged Care" is responsible for nursing homes, and so on. These areas of responsibility are called "portfolios". 例如，“财务主管”负责财务，“初级生产部长”负责农业，“老年护理部长”负责养老院，等等。 这些责任领域称为“投资组合”。

Of the losing parties, the one with the most elected politicians forms the "Opposition". 在失败的政党中，政治人物选举最多的政党构成了“反对派”。 Following the 2022 Election, this is the Coalition. 继 2022 年大选之后，这就是联盟党。

The politician who leads the Opposition party is called the "Leader of the Opposition". With the change of Government, Scott Morrison resigned as party leader. The party held an internal election to choose a new leader, and Peter Dutton was appointed. 领导反对党的政治家被称为“反对党领袖”。 随着政府的更迭，斯科特·莫里森辞去了党魁一职。 该党举行内部选举选出新领导人，彼得·达顿获任命。 The Opposition Leader appoints politicians with suitable abilities to be "Shadow Ministers", each responsible for criticising a Government portfolio. 反对党领袖任命具有适当能力的政治人物担任“影子部长”，每个部长都负责批评政府的职责。 For example, the "Shadow Treasurer" criticises the Treasurer and states how the Opposition party would do things better, the "Shadow Minister for Primary Production" criticises the Minister for Primary Production and states how they would do things better, and so on. 例如，“影子司库”批评司库并指出反对党将如何做得更好，“影子初级生产部长”则批评初级生产部长并指出他们将如何做得更好，等等。

FEDERAL PARLIAMENT: UPPER and LOWER HOUSES 联邦议会：上议院和下议院

There are two "Houses" of Federal Parliament. 联邦议会有两个“议院”。 A "House" is the name for a group of politicians. “议院”是一群政客的名字。 Both Houses occupy the Australian Parliament building in Canberra. 两院都位于堪培拉的澳大利亚国会大厦。

The Lower House (also called the House of Representatives) develops legislation. 下议院（也称为众议院）制定法律。 Its structure is similar to the English House of Parliament. 其结构类似于英国国会大厦。 There are 151 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Lower House, elected as described above. 众议院如上所述选举了151名国会议员。 Following the 2022 Election, there are 52 Coalition MPs, 77 Labor MPs, 4 Greens MPs and 15 others. 在 2022 年大选之后，有 52 名联盟党议员、77 名工党议员、4 名绿党议员和其他 15 名议员。 The Labor party has an "outright majority" of 3 and can govern freely. 工党拥有 3 个“绝对多数”，可以自由执政。

The Upper House (also called the Senate) reviews and approves legislation before it becomes law. 上议院（也称为参议院）在法律通过之前对其进行审查和批准。 Its structure is similar to the American Senate. 其结构类似于美国参议院。 There are 76 politicians called "Senators" in the Upper House. 上议院有76名被称为“参议员”的政客。 12 Senators come from each of the 6 states and 2 senators come from each of the two Territories (NT and ACT). 六个州中的每个州都有12名参议员，而两个地区（北领地和北领地）则分别有2名参议员。 At the present time there are 32 Coalition senators, 26 Labor senators, 11 Greens senators and 7 others. 目前有 32 名联盟党参议员、26 名工党参议员、11 名绿党参议员和其他 7 名参议员。

STATE and TERRITORY PARLIAMENTS: UPPER and LOWER HOUSES 州议会和州议会：上议院和下议院

Each state and territory also has an Upper and a Lower house, excluding QLD which has no Upper House. 每个州和领地都有上议院和下议院，但没有上议院的昆士兰州除外。

In VIC, the Lower House is named the "Legislative Assembly" and has 88 politicians. 在维也纳国际中心，下议院被称为“立法议会”，有88名政治人物。 They are named "MLAs" (Members of the Legislative Assembly). 它们被称为“ MLA”（立法议会议员）。 At the present time there are 27 Coalition MLAs, 55 Labor MLAs, 3 Greens MLAs and 3 others. 目前，有27个联盟MLA，55个劳工MLA，3个绿色MLA和3个其他MLA。 The Labor Party governs with an outright majority. 工党以绝对多数执政。

The VIC Upper House is named the "Legislative Council" and has 40 members. VIC上议院被称为“立法委员会”，有40名成员。 They are not named "senators", but "MLCs" (Members of the Legislative Council). 他们不是“参议员”，而是“ MLC”（立法会议员）。 At the present time there are 36 Coalition MLCs, 26 Labor MLCs, 9 Greens MLCs and 5 others. 目前，有36个联盟MLC，26个劳工MLC，9个绿色MLC和5个其他MLC。 Assuming that Labor and the Greens vote together, Labor needs the support of 2 "others" to govern. 假设工党和绿党共同投票，工党需要两个“其他人”的支持才能执政。

ELECTION PROCESSES 选举程序

A Federal Election is held every 3 years or less, and each State holds its own Election every 4 years. 每3年或更短的时间举行一次联邦选举，每个州每4年举行一次自己的选举。 Every adult Australian citizen casts one vote to choose the next Government. 每个成年澳大利亚公民都投一票选择下一个政府。 Voting is compulsory and non-voters are fined a small amount (less than $ 100). 投票是强制性的，非投票者将被罚款少量（少于100美元）。

Voting takes place always on a Saturday. 投票总是在星期六进行。 Voting centres, called "Polling Places," are plentiful and well-staffed. 投票中心，称为“投票站”，人手充足。 Special voting teams visit nursing homes and hospitals. 特别投票队访问疗养院和医院。 People who will be absent on polling day can vote early by post. 投票日缺席的人可以提早投票。

In a Federal Election, each voter completes two voting papers: one for the House of Reps and one for the Senate. 在联邦选举中，每个选民填写两份投票文件：一份给众议院，另一份给参议院。 To be exact, one for half the Senate. Usually only half the senators stand for re-election every 3 years. 确切地说，是参议院的一半。 通常每3年只有一半的参议员参加连任。

In a State Election, each voter completes two voting papers: one for the Lower House and one for the Upper House (except in QLD). 在州选举中，每个选民填写两份投票文件：一份给下议院议员，一个给上议院议员（昆士兰州除外）。

Voters can choose a simple option on a voting paper, marking just one box, for their preferred party. Or they can choose a complicated option of numbering a box for every candidate in order of their preference. 选民可以为自己喜欢的政党在选票上选择一个简单的选项，仅标记一个方框。 或者，他们可以选择一个复杂的选项，即按照自己的喜好为每个候选人对方框进行编号。

Although it is compulsory to visit a Polling Place, voters can leave their voting paper blank, or scribble on it as a protest. These votes do not count. 尽管必须参观投票站，但选民可以将投票纸留为空白，或者在上面涂鸦以示抗议。 这些选票不计算在内。

Gladys Liu, an Australian citizen born in Hong Kong, became the first Chinese woman to be elected to the Federal Lower House, in the 2019 Election, in the electorate of Chisholm, representing the Coalition. 出生于香港的澳大利亚公民廖婵娥 (Gladys Liu) 在 2019 年奇泽姆选区选举中代表联盟党，成为第一位当选联邦下议院议员的华人女性。 She lost her seat in the 2022 Election, to Dr Carina Garland, representing Labor. 她在 2022 年大选中失去席位，输给了代表工党的卡琳娜·加兰 (Carina Garland) 博士。

LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS 地方议会选举

Council elections are run to choose councillors to govern a local area. 举行议会选举以选举议员来管理当地地区。 These areas are divided into "Wards" and usually one councillor is elected in each Ward. 这些区域分为“区”，通常在每个区中选举一名议员。

Just like a politician does, a councillor represents the people in his or her ward and takes part in making decisions. 就像政治家一样，议员在其病房中代表人民，并参与决策。 It is not a full-time job. 这不是全职工作。 Meetings take place outside normal working hours. 会议在正常工作时间以外举行。 Councillors receive payment for their time, and can claim expenses. 议员可按时领取工资，并可要求支出。

Councillors do not represent political parties. 议员不代表政党。 Within a Council, there is no government and opposition. 在一个理事会内，没有政府和反对派。 There may be disagreement, and decisions are made by councillors voting. 可能会有分歧，并且决定由议员投票决定。

Council elections are held every 4 years. 理事会选举每四年举行一次。 Voting is compulsory and is entirely by post. 投票是强制性的，完全是邮寄方式。

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