Lesson 1: what are laws and how are they made?

1. Laws are rules that keep order in our community.

One easy way to understand laws is to think about the rules of a game. All games have rules. They help solve arguments and make the game fun to watch and to play. But for that to happen, everyone playing the game must know the rules and obey them.

2. How do we make laws?

In Australia, our laws are made by people who meet in a parliament. Those people are called members of parliament, and they are sent to parliament by the people to speak for their suburb, town or local area. To decide which person will represent them in parliament, the people hold an election.

The Australian Parliament makes laws about things that affect the whole country, while each state and territory, like New South Wales or the Northern Territory, has its own parliament to make laws that affect them.

Let’s find out

• Name the six states and two territories of Australia. In which state do you live?
• Find out more about the Commonwealth Parliament at www.aph.gov.au or the New South Wales Parliament at www.parliament.nsw.gov.au
• What is the name of your federal member of parliament?
• What is the name of your state or territory member of parliament?
  
• Do these members of parliament have web sites

3. Political parties

People who have opinions about the laws we should have can join a political party, whose members have similar views.
Members of political parties help each other to get elected to parliament, where they try to make the sort of laws they think we should have.

Let’s find out

• At what age can you vote?
  
• How do you enrol?
  
• Australian Electoral Commission, www.aec.gov.au
• How many political parties can you name?
  
• Can you find their web sites?
  
• What are their key policies or ideas that they want to make into law

4. Governments

The party with the most members in parliament becomes the government. It is the government’s job to make laws, provide services, such as schools and hospitals, and to make sure that people obey the law.

There are three levels of government in Australia:

1. federal
   
2. state & territory
   
3. local

The leader of the Australian Government is the prime minister. The leader of a state government is called the premier.

Let’s find out

• Which party is now the Australian Government?
  
• Who is the prime minister?
  
• Who is the premier of your state?

5. The opposition

The next biggest party in the parliament is the opposition. The opposition tells us whenever they think the government has made a mistake, and try to persuade us to vote for them at the next election.

6. Is there a law about making laws?

Australia has a Constitution, which lists what kinds of laws the Australian Parliament is allowed to make.

7. The common law

Some of our other laws come from judges in countries like Britain and Australia, who have been writing down their decisions for many years. We can look at these judgments for guidance in every day problems. Together, we call these the common law.

8. Customary laws

For many thousands of years, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders followed their own laws.

Let’s explore

1. Hold a class election and elect members to represent you.
   
2. What sort of laws would you pass?
   
3. Discuss the laws that are passed
   
4. Key learning areas
   
5. Most laws are made by parliaments.
   
6. We vote for people who speak for us in parliament and make our laws.
   
7. The political party with the most members in parliament is called the government.
   
8. The leader of the Australian Government is called the prime minister.
   
9. The leader of a state government is called the premier. governments

Keywords

• parliament
  
• constitution
  
• federal
  
• state
  
• election
  
• Bill
  
• Act of Parliament
  
• prime minister
  
• opposition leaderpremier
  

Lesson 2: breaking the law

1. When someone doesn’t obey the law, we say that they have broken the law.

Sometimes, people get hurt or suffer when laws are broken. Injured people are called victims. When some laws are broken, everyone feels afraid. Not just the victim. We call these things crimes and the people who commit these crimes are criminals. We also believe that criminals must be punished. There are many types of crime, such as assault or murder.

2. Property

You will often hear people say that they ‘own’ something, or that a bike, a skateboard or another object ‘belongs’ to them. Sometimes they will say that it is their ‘property’. The law says that you must not steal or damage someone else’s property. If you do, you are breaking the law.

3. Punishment must be fair

It is very difficult to decide how to punish criminals. A long time ago, a lot of punishments were very cruel and hurtful. Punishments in Australia have changed a lot. Most criminals go to jail, pay a big fine or have to do community service to help make up for the damage they have done.

4. Accessories

What about a person who ‘came along for the ride’ while someone else committed a crime? They are said to be committing an offence as an accessory and may still be punished. Some things may not be called ‘crimes’ but they are wrong. For example, some young people are charged with causing public disorder.

Let’s find out

• Study the newspaper and look for stories about crime.
  
• How many different crimes can you find, and how many kinds of punishment?

5. Children breaking laws

If you are over 10 years old you can be punished for committing a crime if the police can prove that you knew you were doing something seriously wrong. This is the age of criminal responsibility. If you are over 14 you are old enough to know that a crime is wrong.

How should children be punsihed? Children who break laws are given a chance to learn from their mistake. They must:

1. accept responsibility for breaking the law and understand that they have done something wrong
2. understand that other people have been hurt by what they have done
3. apologise to the victim or the community and promise to make amends.

Let’s explore

In class discuss crime. Is it fair for someone to be punished the first time they break a law, or should they be given a warning and told not to do it again?

• Mary and Joe went into a shop together. Mary stole a Mars Bar and Joe stole a computer game.
  
• Mary has been caught shoplifting before but it was Joe’s first crime.
  
• Mary said that she was sorry but Joe wouldn’t say anything.
  
• Mary is 14 and Joe is 10.
  
• Who should get the worst punishment?

6. Summary offences

Swearing, spraying graffiti on walls, stopping traffic, damaging public property or ‘hanging out’ in large groups may not hurt anybody, but it may be offensive conduct that makes some people feel unsafe or uncomfortable when they go out with friends or family. They are called summary offences.

7. Preventing crime

We can help the police if our families do things that prevent crimes from occurring. Many crimes that occur in or around the house could be prevented if your family…

• checks locks on all the outside doors and all windows
  
• notes the make and model of all appliances
  
• does not leave newspapers outside when away on holiday
  
• does not put spare keys in obvious places (e.g. under the door mat)

Let’s explore

• Is there a neighbourhood watch in your street?
  
• What are some of the suspicious things you would report to the police?

8. Civil wrongs

Some things people do are not crimes but they are not fair, either, and someone is harmed. These are called civil wrongs.

The law says that we must be careful not to harm other people. Sometimes, people can be hurt by something we do, but there are also times that a bad thing can happen when we just stand back and allow it to happen even though we could have stopped it. The law says we have a duty of care to other people. We must also respect the rights of other people; and we must keep our part of any agreements we make.

If we commit a civil wrong, the person who is harmed can go to court and ask the magistrate or judge to order us to fix up what we have done.

Key learning areas

1. Crimes are actions that make the whole community feel unsafe
   
2. Criminals should be punished, but the punishment should be fair
   
3. People who harm others by committing civil wrongs must fix up the harm they have caused.

Keywords

• property
  
• crime
  
• punishment
  
• age of criminal responsibility
  
• civil wrongs
  
• duty of care

Lesson 3: courts, trials and rights under arrest

1. What is a court?

In Australia, we use courts to decide if someone has broken the law through a crime or a civil wrong. The courts also have to decide how to punish a criminal or undo the harm caused by a civil wrong.

2. What happens in a court?

In a court case, each person has an important role to play. The most important person is the judge or magistrate, who is a bit like a referee, because it is the judge or magistrate who must make a decision. Everyone must obey that decision.

Judges and magistrates can’t make decisions without help from other people. Witnesses tell the court what they saw, what they did or what they think really happened. This information is called evidence.

Let’s explore

• Let’s see how good you would be as a witness to a bank robbery.
  
• Lawyers stand up in court and test the evidence to see if it is true. They do this by asking lots of questions.
  
• Sometimes a judge asks 12 adults, like your parents or teachers, to decide who is telling the truth. This group is called a jury. If the jury decides someone is guilty, the judge must decide on a punishment.
• Have your parents or any of your teachers been on a jury? Ask them to tell you what happened?
  
• A court for children

3. The police

Police men and women have a lot of important jobs to do in our community, including:

• solving crimes
  
• arresting criminals
  
• prosecuting people
  
• carrying out rescue work on land and water
  
• catching traffic offenders
  
• directing traffic
  
• controlling crowds
  
• patrolling our streets and shopping centres
  
• visiting schools.

4. You’re under arrest

A person is innocent of a crime until proven guilty. Even if the TV news shows a ‘nasty-looking’ person being arrested or taken into custody by the police and charged with a crime, he or she is still presumed to be innocent.

This means that the police and the prosecutors must take the person to court and provide evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the person committed a crime. It is a good idea to remember this because sometimes the police make a mistake; or because that is what you would want people to remember if you were arrested.

5. Children and the police

There are rules that the police have to follow if they want to question you. Don’t say anything until a parent or adult friend is with you.

Let’s explore

• Have you ever needed help from the police?
  
• Where is your nearest police station?
  
• Has a youth liaison officer or Aboriginal liaison officer visited your school?

Key learning areas

• Courts listen to arguments, find solutions and decide if someone has committed a crime.
  
• Lawyers test the evidence in court.
  
• A judges and juries must listen to all evidence before they decide whether a person is guilty or innocent.
  
• Guilty means you committed a crime. Innocent means you did not.
  
• A person is innocent until they have been taken to a court and a judge or jury decide he or she has committed a crime.
  
• If you are arrested, you don’t have to talk to the police until a parent or adult friend is with you.

Keywords

• judge
  
• witness
  
• evidence
  
• innocent
  
• police arrest
  
• beyond reasonable doubt

Let’s explore: witnesses

Lesson 4: laws for order and safety

1. Rules of the road

Every day, most of us travel on the roads. But travelling on our roads can be very dangerous. That is why there are so many rules, signs and traffic lights – to make driving or riding your bike as safe as possible. The most important rule is that you cannot drive a car without a driver’s licence.

Let’s explore: driving

• Have you ever been in the car when your mum or dad has been stopped by a police officer?
  
• Why is speeding dangerous?
  
• Why is it so dangerous to talk or text on a mobile phone while driving?
  
• What laws do we have about speeding?
  
• How do police officers catch speeding drivers?
  
• Why do we stop at red lights?

Let’s find out: laws for the road

• Visit the Roads and Traffic Authority web site at www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety
• What can you find out about:
  • mobile phones and driving
    
  • alcohol, drugs and driving
    
  • motorcycle safety.
• How old must you be before you can apply for a learner’s permit?

Let’s explore: road signs

• Road signs are very important. They tell drivers how fast they can go, where they must let other vehicles go first, if it is safe to stop, turn or park their car.
  
• Try to remember what the following signs look like, and what they are telling you to do or not to do.
  
• Riding bikes, scooters and skateboards
  
• Riding on footpaths
  
• Skateboards, rollerblades, scooters

2. Your neighbourhood

We all like to live in a place we call ‘home’, whether it is a house or an apartment. The space within the walls or between our fences makes us feel comfortable. We also like to have nice people living near us. The problem is that sometimes the things we do around our house or in our apartment can upset other people.

Let’s explore

• Look at this neighbourhood. It is midday. Pick out the things that might cause a dispute between neighbours
  
• Now imagine these things were going on not at midday, but at midnight. Would there be any change in the way neighbours reacted to these things now? Why?

3. The environment

If local councils can make laws to prevent disputes with our neighbours, who looks after the air we breathe, the rivers and oceans we swim in and the national parks where we go bushwalking?

The way we use our land shapes our environment. A wilderness is where no one has used the land. Cars, people, tall buildings, houses and factories are found in an urban environment. Where the land is used for growing crops and grazing animals, it is a rural environment.

We have laws to encourage us to take care of our environment

4. Shoppers’ rights

We can’t always be sure that the things we buy are good value for money, but there are laws to protect us.

The things we buy must be fit for the purpose for which they were made. That means they must be safe, be of reasonable quality, and be suitable for the task. For example, a can of dog food may be good quality for animals, but it is not fit for the purpose of serving to humans.

• Food must be fit to eat.
  
• Toys must be fit to play with.
  
• Books must be fit to read.
  
• Clothes must be fit to wear.
  
• A pen must be fit to write with.

Kylie bought a kite. She played with it for about an hour. Then it tore and wouldn’t work any more. Is this reasonable quality?

• What if she only paid 10 cents for it?
• What if she paid $10?
  
• What if she paid $100?

5. Drugs

Healthy, happy people don’t need drugs. Drugs are supposed to be used for treating or preventing diseases or for relieving pain and suffering. But drugs can be dangerous, that is why there are laws that control how they are sold and used.

Key learning areas

1. Rules of the road are there to make the roads safe for everyone.
   
2. Breaking the road rules is a crime and you can be punished.
   
3. Laws are made to prevent us from doing harm to the environment and to preserve what we have.
   
4. Things that we buy must be fit for the purpose and of reasonable quality.
   
5. They must be reasonably safe.
   
6. If something is faulty, we can take it back.
   
7. The law controls how we use different types of drugs

Keywords

• fit for the purpose
  
• reasonable quality

Lesson 5: laws for children, parents & families

1. Parents and children

It’s great to spend time with uncles, aunts and grandparents, but the law says that your parents are responsible for your care and protection. They must send you to school, provide you with a safe home and raise you to be a responsible adult.

However, if your parents have all of these duties, they also have the right to tell you what to do and to make decisions for you. Parents have to control their children so they won’t hurt themselves and other people.

Let’s explore

• Should children be allowed to have matches?
  
• Should matches be stored in a safe place?
  
• Who pays for the damage?
  
• Does the age of the child affect your answers?
  
• What are some of the responsibilities for someone of your age. Do you:
• catch the bus to school on your own?
  
• walk to school alone?
  
• look after your younger brother or sister?
  
• have a bank account?
• use e-mail to talk to your friends?
  
• use a mobile phone?
  
• For each of these, how do you act responsibly?

Quick quiz

2. Adoptions & foster parents

3. Relationships

• Ask your parents what they think about marriage. Are they married, or do they live together in a domestic relationship?
  
• Find out what kind of marriage ceremony they had. Did they get married in a church, synagogue or mosque, or somewhere else?

4. Separation and divorce

Being in a relationship and having a family isn’t easy, and sometimes things can go wrong. Some mums and dads find it impossible to live together. No matter how hard they try, they can’t solve their problems. If your parents are married and they are having lots of problems, they may decide to get a divorce. If your mum and dad are in a domestic relationship, they will stop living together. All of this is very upsetting – for both the parents and the children.

5. How do people get divorced?

6. Children, separation and divorce

Let’s find out

• Visit www.lawstuff.org.au and www.kids.nsw.gov.au. What can you find out about family law from these sites?

Key learning areas

• As you get older you can take more responsibility for yourself, gain more rights and make more decisions about your life.
  
• A parent’s duty to control their children becomes less as the children grow older.
  
• Before couples can divorce, they must separate
  
• Even if your parents decide to separate or get a divorce, they still have a shared responsibility to care for you and make important decisions about your life.

Keywords

• best interests of the child
  
• divorce
  
• separationind out: family law

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