In January 1995, the Australian House of Representatives passed the Taxation Reform Bill 1995. This bill aimed to simplify the tax system in Australia and reduce personal income tax by 5%. The bill was rejected in the Upper House because the Senate majority believed that personal income tax should only be reduced by 1%. The House of Representatives did not proceed with the Taxation Reform Bill 1995.

In July 2021, the House of Representatives decides to review the taxation system in Australia and passes a similar version of the Taxation Reform Bill 1995, called the Tax Transformation Bill 2021. This time, the bill reduces personal income tax by 4%. Whilst the Senate is now more receptive to the idea of tax reform than it was in 1995, it sends the bill back to the Lower House with several suggested changes. The House of Representatives disagrees with the suggested changes.

As a result of the Senate's rejection of both the Taxation Reform Bill 1995 and the Tax Transformation Bill 2021, the Prime Minister advises the Governor-General to intervene and dissolve both houses. The upcoming Federal election which was to be held in 2 months is cancelled and both houses are dissolved immediately.

The Australian public then votes and elects members to all the seats in the Lower House, and to half the seats in the Upper House. The Government is returned to office in the House of Representatives but has a smaller minority in the Senate. To resolve this problem, the Governor-General then decides to appoint 5 new Senators to the Upper House.

Identify any issues with the above process and explain what should have occurred.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Issues with the process Dissolution of Parliament Dissolving both houses of Parliament due to the Senate rejecting a bill is an extreme and controvers... View the full answer