Part 1: Systems of Government
Level of Democracy
The politics of Australia takes place within the framework of a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Australians elect parliamentarians to the federal Parliament of Australia, a bicameral body which incorporates elements of the fused executive inherited from the Westminster system, and a strong federalist senate, adopted from the United States Congress. Australia largely operates as a two-party system in which voting is compulsory.
The Government of Germany is a democratic, federal parliamentary republic. Federal legislative power is vested in the Bundestag (the parliament of Germany) and the Bundesrat (the representative body of the Länder, Germany's regional states).
There is a multi-party system that, since 1949, has been dominated by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The judiciary of Germany is independent of the executive and the legislature. The political system is laid out in the 1949 constitution, the Grundgesetz (Basic Law), which remained in effect with minor amendments after German reunification in 1990.
The constitution emphasizes the protection of individual liberty in an extensive catalogue of human and civil rights and divides powers both between the federal and state levels and between the legislative, executive and judicial branches.
West Germany was a founding member of the European Community in 1958, which became the EU in 1993. It is part of the Schengen Area, and has been a member of the eurozone since 1999. It is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20 and the OECD.
Political History
Before Australia was a nation, it was a collection of British colonies. Each colony was under the rule of a governor or lieutenant governor, who acted on behalf of the British Parliament. By 1860 all the colonies, apart from Western Australia, had been granted partial self-government (Western Australia became self-governing in 1890).
In the 1890s many colonial leaders began working towards uniting the colonies as one country with its own constitution. The Australian Constitution was drafted at a series of conventions (meetings) by representatives of the colonies and was approved by referendums held in each colony. In July 1900, Australian delegates went to London with a draft of the Constitution to present to the British Parliament. The Parliament passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 which gave effect to the Constitution.
One of the most obvious changes in the Australian Parliament during the last hundred years has been in the size of the Parliament, reflecting the growth of the Australian population. In 1901 the first Parliament had 75 members in the House of Representatives and 36 senators in the Senate. As Australia’s population has increased so has the number of members of parliament. By 2001 the federal Parliament was comprised of 150 members and 76 senators.
Parliament has become much busier as the chambers debate many more bills. Between 1901 and 1906 Parliament considered between 20 and 35 bills each year. Today around 200 bills are considered by the Parliament.
Unlike the Australian political system, which essentially has existed in its current form for over 100 years, the current German political system is a much more recent construct dating from 1949 when the American, British and French zones of occupation were consolidated into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). In 1990, the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal Republic. On the GDR territory, five Länder were established or re-established. The two parts of Berlin united as one Land.
Constitution
The Australian Constitution is the set of rules by which Australia is governed. Australians voted for the national constitution in a series of referendums. The Australian Constitution establishes the composition of the Australian Parliament, and describes how Parliament works, what powers it has, how federal and state Parliaments share power, and the roles of the Executive Government and the High Court. It took effect on 1 January 1901.
In addition to the national Constitution, each Australian state has its own constitution. The Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory have self-government acts which were passed by the Australian Parliament.
The Australian Constitution can be changed by referendum according to the rules set out in section 128 of the Constitution. A proposed change must first be approved as a bill by the federal Parliament. It is then sent to the Governor-General in order for a writ to be issued so a referendum can occur.
A referendum is a national ballot on a question to change the Australian Constitution. In a referendum, the Parliament asks each Australian on the electoral roll to vote. If a majority of people in a majority of states and a majority of people across the nation as a whole vote ‘yes’ (called a double majority), then the proposal to amend the Constitution is agreed to. If not, the Constitution remains unchanged.
Since 1906, when the first referendum was held, Australia has held 19 referendums in which 44 separate questions to change the Australian Constitution have been put to the people. Only eight changes have been agreed to.
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany.
The Basic Law was approved on 8 May 1949 in Bonn, and, with the signature of the western Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May.
Unique from Australia, Article 79 states that the Basic Law may be amended by an absolute two-thirds majority of the Bundestag along with a simple two-thirds majority of the Bundesrat, with the public not getting a say in the matter. Such a vote may not remove any of the principles underlying articles 1 to 20, as defined by the eternity clause, but may clarify, extend or refine those principles.
Monarchist Links
When The Queen visits Australia, she speaks and acts as Queen of Australia, and not as Queen of the United Kingdom.
As a constitutional monarch, The Queen acts entirely on the advice of Australian Government Ministers who are responsible to Parliament.
The Queen is represented in Australia at the federal level by a Governor-General. He or she is appointed by The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia and is completely independent of the British Government.
At the state level The Queen is represented by the Governors of each state who are appointed on the advice of each state Premier.
When visiting Australia, The Queen is able to undertake some of the ceremonial roles of the Sovereign.
Unique from Australia, Germany previously had a monarchy system of government, in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign of the German Empire, from 1871 to 1918. Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was the eldest grandchild of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe. An ineffective war-time leader, he lost the support of the army, abdicated in November 1918, and fled to exile in the Netherlands.
Despite the abolition of the monarchy in 1918, the House of Hohenzollern never relinquished their claims to the thrones of Prussia and the German Empire. These claims are supported by the Constitution of the German Empire. According to this, whoever was King of Prussia was also German Emperor. However, these claims are not recognised by the Federal Republic of Germany or anyone else, including the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany and West Germany.
Georg Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia is the current head of the House of Hohenzollern. He is the great-great-grandson and historic heir of Wilhelm II.
Similar to the Queen in Australia, Ferdinand’s roles are simply ceremonial.
Head of State
Although the Prime Minister is often seen as the most important person in the Parliament, the role is not mentioned in the Australian Constitution.
According to the Constitution, the Australian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the head of state but only has two actions to perform: to appoint or dismiss the Governor-General upon the advice of the Federal Parliament, usually delivered by the Prime Minister.
All other duties of the head of state, such as appointing ministers and heading the defence force, are carried out by the person duly appointed as Governor-General.
Although Germany has a parliamentary system of government in which the Chancellor is the nation's leading political figure and de facto chief executive, the President is the head of state of Germany.
The President, elected for a maximum of two five-year terms, is not really all that important for German people. He has no real power in the executive part of the government. He does have the right to veto laws, but he can't really stop any, and instead only pass them on to the Federal Constitutional Court where it can be checked if the law is constitutional.
Although the President is the head of state, the real power is held by the Chancellor, elected for a four-year term, and therefore people are much more interested in her.
The German Chancellor is equivalent to the Australian Prime Minister.
Parliamentary Structure
In Australia, there is three levels of Parliament: federal, state and local. The power is shared between these three levels.
The Federal Parliament consists of two Houses (the House of Representatives and the Senate), and The Queen, represented in Australia by the Governor-General.
The House of Representatives is sometimes called ‘the People’s House’ or the ‘house of government’. The party, or parties, that hold a majority of seats in the House form government. There are currently 150 Members of the House of Representatives who each represent an electorate.
The Senate consists of 76 senators, twelve from each of the six states and two from each of the mainland territories. It shares the power to make laws with the House of Representatives.
The Federal Parliament makes laws, authorises the Government to spend public money, scrutinises government activities, and is a forum for debate on national issues.
The Western Australian Parliament consists of two Houses (the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council), and The Queen, represented in Western Australia by the Governor.
The Legislative Assembly or “Lower House” is the House that determines which party or coalition of parties will form the Government. Through a preferential voting system, eligible voters in Western Australia elect one person to represent them from the electoral district in which they live. The 59 elected Members (MLAs) form the Legislative Assembly for a maximum of four years.
The Legislative Council or “Upper House” of the Western Australian Parliament is also referred to as a “House of Review”. It consists of 36 members, with six members elected by proportional representation from each of the six multi-Member regions in Western Australia. A Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) is elected for a fixed term of four years beginning on 22 May following a general election.
The six states and the Northern Territory have established one further level of government. Local governments (also known as local councils) handle community needs like waste collection, public recreation facilities and town planning.
The states and the Northern Territory each have many local governments within their borders. The state or territory government defines the powers of the local governments, and decides what geographical areas those governments are responsible for.
The local governments across Australia are controlled by the state or territory government above them.
The Federal Parliament of Germany consists of two Houses, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.
The lower house in the German political system is the Bundestag.
One striking difference when comparing the Bundestag with the Australian House of Representatives is the lack of time spent on serving constituents in Germany. In part, that difference results from the fact that only 50% of Bundestag members are directly elected to represent a specific geographic district.
The Bundestag elects the Chancellor and is the main legislative body.
The upper house in the German political system is the Bundesrat.
At first glance, the composition of the Bundesrat looks similar to other upper houses in federal states, such as the Australian Senate, since the Bundestag is a body representing all the German Länder (or regional states). However, there are two fundamental differences in the German system:
1. Its members are not elected, neither by popular vote nor by the state parliaments, but are members of the state cabinets which appoint them and can remove them at any time.
2. The states are not represented by an equal number of delegates, since the population of the respective state is a major factor in the allocation of votes (rather than delegates) to each particular Land.
Even with a full delegate appointment of 69, the Bundesrat is a much smaller body than the Bundestag with over 600 members. It is unusual for the two chambers of a bicameral system to be quite so unequal in size.
The Bundesrat has the power to veto legislation that affects the powers of the states.
As in Australia, day to day government is carried out by a Cabinet, the members of which are formally appointed by the President but in practice chosen, and led, by the Chancellor.
Separation of Powers
The first three chapters of the Constitution define three largely separate groups – the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary – and the roles they play in Australian governance. The power to make and manage federal law is divided between these three groups. This division is based on the principle of the ‘separation of powers’.
Under this principle, the power to govern should be distributed between the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary to avoid one group having all the power. Each group should work within defined areas of responsibility so that each keeps a check on the actions of the others.
Power
Role
Composition
Parliament
The Parliament makes and amends the law
The Parliament (also referred to as the Legislature) is made up of the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives
Executive
The Executive puts the law into action
The Parliament (also referred to as the Legislature) is made up of the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives
Judiciary
The Judiciary makes judgements about the law
The Judiciary is made up of the High Court and other federal courts
Germany has a separation of powers system similar to that of Australia. The Basic Law defines three largely separate groups – the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary – and the roles they play in German governance. The power to make and manage federal law is divided between these three groups.
Federal Parliament is composed of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.
The federal parliament has powers of exclusive jurisdiction and concurrent jurisdiction with the states in areas specifically enumerated by the constitution.
The Executive is composed of the President, the Chancellor and the Cabinet.
Besides the Federal Constitutional Court, the Judicial branch at the federal level is made up of five supreme courts – one for civil and criminal cases, and one each for administrative, tax, labour, and social security issues.
Elections
Australian citizens 18 years of age and over must enrol to vote, and voting is compulsory in federal elections and referendums for enrolled electors.
Federal elections are generally held every three years. The Constitution specifies that the term of a Parliament is three years, and there is only a short period after the expiry of the parliamentary term before elections must be held. The exact timing of elections is usually up to the Prime Minister, who formally requests the dissolution of Parliament from the Governor-General. A Governor-General may refuse a request for an early dissolution of Parliament. Elections in Australia are always held on a Saturday. The lengths of parliamentary terms in the states vary.
Germany’s elections differ completely to those of Australia. Both the President and Chancellor are not voted for by the public, but are instead chosen by fellow politicians.
The voters in the election for President are known collectively as the Federal Convention, which consists of all members of the Bundestag and an equal number of members nominated by the state legislatures – a total of 1,260.
Every four years, after national elections and the convocation of the newly elected members of the Bundestag, the chancellor is elected by a majority of the members of the Bundestag upon the proposal of the President. This vote is one of the few cases where a majority of all elected members of the Bundestag must be achieved, as opposed to a mere majority of those that are currently assembled. This is referred to as the "Kanzlermehrheit" (Chancellor's majority) and is designed to ensure the establishment of a stable government.
Most significantly, the Chancellor cannot be dismissed by a simple vote of no confidence but only by a "constructive vote of no confidence" with majority support for an alternative named Chancellor.
In the six decades of the Bundestag, there have been only eight Chancellors – a remarkable element of stability.
The Bundestag’s members are elected for four-year terms. The method of election is known as mixed member proportional representation (MMPR), a more complicated system than first-past-post but one which gives a more proportional result (a variant of this system known as the additional member system is used for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly).
Since Germany has a system of proportional representation for the election of its lower house, no one party wins an absolute majority of the seats and all German governments are therefore coalitions. This is another aspect unique from Australia.
Political Parties
Australian politics operates as a two-party system, as a result of the permanent coalition between the Liberal Party and National Party. Internal party discipline has historically been tight, unlike the situation in other countries such as the United States.
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is a self-described social democratic party. It was founded by the Australian labour movement and broadly represents the urban working class, although it increasingly has a base of sympathetic middle class support as well.
The Liberal Party of Australia is a party of the centre-right which broadly represents business, the suburban middle classes and many rural people. Its permanent coalition partner at national level is the National Party of Australia, formerly known as the Country Party, a conservative party which represents rural interests. These two parties are collectively known as the Coalition. In Queensland, and more recently in NSW, the two parties have officially merged to form the Liberal National Party, and in the Northern Territory, the National Party is known as the Country Liberal Party.
Minor parties in Australian politics include a green party, the Australian Greens, the largest of the minor parties; a centrist party, Nick Xenophon Team; a nationalist party, Pauline Hanson's One Nation; and an anti-privatisation party, Katter's Australian Party. Other significant parties in recent years have included the Palmer United Party, the socially conservative Family First Party, and the socially liberal Australian Democrats, among others.
Like many countries, including Australia, Germany has two major party groupings, one centre-right and the other centre-left.
The centre-right grouping comprises two political parties that operate in different parts of the country so that there is no direct electoral competition between them. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) operates in all the Länder except Bavaria, while the Christian Social Union (CSU) operates only in Bavaria. These parties are most popular among rural, older, conservative and Christian voters.
The centre-left party is the Social Democratic Party. This is the oldest party in Germany and it is strongest in industrial western Germany.
In the federal election of September 2017, more parties secured representation in the Bundestag than at any time since the introduction of the 5% hurdle in 1953. The other parties now represented in the Bundestag are:
• The Alternative for Germany which is far right, Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant. It won 94 seats.
• The Free Democratic Party (FDP) which is pro-business. It gained 80 seats.
• The Left Party which is built on the former Communist Party and is strongest in the former East Germany. It took 69 seats.
• The Green Party which is popular in West Germany's university cities. It has 67 seats.
Unique from Australia, political parties in Germany receive significant public funds and the costs of election campaigns are substantially met from the public purse.
Part 2: Global Citizenship
Foreign Aid
A massive aid recipient half a century ago, Germany is now the third largest donor for official development assistance (ODA), after the United States and the United Kingdom.
German ODA increased by 26 percent in 2015, with the country spending $17.8 billion – or .52 percent of its gross national income – on official development assistance that year. That was the largest development budget Germany has ever had, and it goes against the trend of declining ODA among other major donors, including the U.S. and Australia. Much of that increase in budget is due to the money the country has spent on refugees, which hit $171 million in 2014, $3.5 billion in 2015, and is expected to have doubled from 2015 to 2016.
By the end of 2016, more than two-third of refugees coming to Europe find shelter in Germany, and once they are registered, they receive the wide-ranging social services provided to German citizens, said Dr Martina Fuchs, founder and CEO of the non-profit humanitarian aid organization Real Medicine Foundation. While Germany anticipates the crisis will cost the country $86.2 billion over the next four years, it is one of only a few European countries that are not making cuts to its global development budget in order to offset these costs.
Between 2016 and 2019, German development aid is expected to increase by more than $8.9 billion than initially planned, not including refugee costs. Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schäuble cited the “increasingly difficult international environment” as the reason for this 8.3 billion euros in additional funding – which the German media reported on widely given that it was the largest increase in the country’s history.
United Nations Involvement
As the third largest financial contributor to the UN, Germany plays a deciding role in the UN. In 2012, Germany financed 8.018% of the UN’s regular biennial budget of $5.24 billion, which totalled approximately $190 million. With regards to the financing of international peace operations, Germany is the fourth largest financial contributor. Work in the International Criminal Court (ICC), specialized agencies and UN Programs (e.g. UNEP and UNDP) is also made possible as a result of the financial contributions of Germany, as well as a number of other states. When examining the voluntary financial contributions to specialised agencies, Germany usually remains in 10th place. An exception is evident with regards to support of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), to which Germany is one of the largest contributors.
The 40th year of UN membership has a special importance for Germany. Aside from the anniversary, as a new member it will have to demonstrate its reliability as a contributor to the Human Rights Council. For the period of 2013-2015, Germany was admitted for the second time into the Geneva Council, formed in 2006.
France and the United Kingdom have explicitly called for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for their close EU partner. Germany has been elected to the Security Council as a non-permanent member three times as a unified state.
Level of Global Peace & Security
Germany is committed to a just, peaceful, and stable international order. Crisis prevention and disarmament are important focal points of efforts in this regard.
Diplomacy, crisis prevention, and the peaceful settlement of conflicts are the primary tools of German foreign policy: The posting of civil servants, judges, public prosecutors, police officers, development workers and other civilians is just as much part and
parcel of a comprehensive security policy as the Bundeswehr, the German army, participating in multinational peace missions. The determining feature of German foreign policy, close multilateral involvement, also applies, indeed particularly so for the use of military means. In principle, the Bundeswehr is deployed within the framework of collective security or defence systems. As such it is bound to the resolutions passed by the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), and NATO. Wherever possible, Bundeswehr missions abroad are always accompanied by a civilian component, such as political, development, and socio-economic measures. Missions involving armed forces are subject to parliamentary mandate and control. They need the express approval of a majority of the members of the German parliament, the Bundestag, and are in each case only for the duration of one year. For this reason, the Bundeswehr is also referred to as a parliamentary army.
Germany has been politically and militarily integrated in NATO since the Bundeswehr was first founded in 1955. Being firmly anchored in the North Atlantic defence alliance is part of German foreign policy’s DNA. Germany is or was one of the biggest providers of troops for the NATO-led missions in Kosovo (KFOR) and Afghanistan (ISAF, Resolute Support). Since 1990 the Bundeswehr has been involved in 35 missions abroad, of which 19 were concluded by 2015.
Part 3: Relationship with Australia
History
Germany has had a consulate in Sydney since the late 19th century.
After WWI, the first consul of the Weimar Republic, Dr Hans Büsing, arrived to Australia in 1924.
Diplomatic relations between Australia and the Federal Republic of Germany started soon after the creation of the latter. In 1949, an Australian mission was established in Bonn, accredited to the Allied High Commission (the occupation government). In 1952, the mission was converted to an Australian embassy accredited to the FRG government.
Today, Australia and Germany have a warm, vibrant and diverse bilateral relationship.
Treaties & Agreements
A significant number of Australia–Germany bilateral treaties include agreements on trade, science, space, taxation/social security, extradition, and other matters.
Similarities & Differences
If Germany were your home instead of Australia, you would…
• have 20.76% more free time
• be 7.02% less likely to be unemployed
• be 47.22% less likely to be in prison
• consume 34.95% less oil
• make 8.14% less money
• use 24.19% less electricity
• spend 23.73% less money on health care
• be 36.36% less likely to be murdered
• experience 10.89% less of a class divide
• be 21.9% less likely to die in infancy
• die 1.63 years sooner
• be equally likely to have HIV/AIDS
• have 30.93% fewer babies
Outlook for the Future
The November 2015 report to Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Turnbull by the Australia-Germany Advisory Group (AGAG) has been a driving force behind recent intensification of the bilateral relationship. Containing 59 recommendations across five themes – trade and investment, strategic dialogue, science and education, diversity and integration, and culture and sport – the report provided a comprehensive blueprint to build on Australia and Germany’s complementary strengths.
A major regional business conference to be held in Perth from 3 to 5 November 2017 in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business will bring together business and government leaders from Germany, Australia and the Asia-Pacific to showcase the opportunities in both countries’ economies.