Civic/Government Understanding Ways Government Systems Distribute Power

SS6CG6 The student will compare and contrast various forms of government. a. Describe the ways government systems distribute power: Unitary, confederation, and federal.

Governments can be set up in different ways. One of the ways to compare governments is to think about how power is distributed.

Unitary Governments The central government possesses most of the decision-making power and authority in a unitary government. The central government is the controlling body. Local governing bodies act as administrative assistants to the central government.

The United Kingdom is a country that uses a unitary style government. In the UK, individual countries do not have much power. The power rests with the central government. Local governments follow the direction of the central government.

Even though people from the United Kingdom settled Australia, Australians did not organize their government in this style.

Confederate Governments In a confederate government, local governments protect and operate under their own authority. The states or local governments control the primary governing power. This weakens the power of the central government. The central government has less control than a unitary style central government.

The United States originally tried a confederate government. The Articles of Confederation (the country’s first constitution) in the early years of the U.S. had weaknesses. One of them was that the states did not have to follow laws made by the central government.

Australia does have six states and two territories. The states, however, do not have the power to ignore laws passed by the Australian Parliament. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth is a very weal association of member countries that were once part of the British empire.

Some of them recognize the Queen as the head of state; others do not. The Commonwealth has no power to force any member to take an action that it does not want to take. Instead, the Commonwealth works to promote trade and solutions to common problems among the members.

Federal Governments Australia has a federal government system. In Australia, there are six states. These six states represent the six British colonies that joined to create the Commonwealth of Australia. There are also two territories.

Power is split between the central government and the states. The Constitution of Australia is the overriding law of the land. It spells out the rights, privileges, and duties given to each level of government.

The Constitution defines how national, state, and local governments will share power. The Australian states approved the first Constitution. That Constitution gave the commonwealth government the right to pass laws on certain subjects.

It allows the states to keep all other lawmaking rights. This is called a division of powers. The federal government is responsible for such things as agreements with other countries and defense. The states are responsible for things such as education and state police.

Quiz Yourself Which is TRUE of the confederate government? Governing power resides with states Individual counties do not have much power The power resides with the central government Power is split between a central authority and its states

2. Which describes the government of Australia? a. confederate government b. federal government c. unitary government d. both unitary and confederate

3. Which is an example of a confederation? a. Australia b. Australia and New Zealand c. Commonwealth of Nations d. European Union

4. In what government type is power split between a central government and the states? a. unitary b. federal c. autocratic d. confederate