Are you confused about our system of government and how its representatives are elected? In this course we will cover the structure of Federal Parliament and the SA Parliament including current representation. The voting systems used for both houses of those parliaments will be explained with simple examples. The course will conclude with an explanation of the major and minor political parties.
Introduction to Australian Politics
Course Description
Are you confused about how Australian politics actually works?
This course is designed to give you a clear, practical understanding of how our democracy operates at both the federal and state level.
Over three engaging sessions, you'll explore how parliament is structured, how voting systems function, and how political parties are organised and represented. Whether you're brushing up ahead of an election or just curious about how decisions are made, this course will help you make sense of it all, without the jargon.
No prior political knowledge is needed. We’ll explore everything from how laws are made and how governments are formed, to what terms like "two-party preferred" and "hung parliament" really mean.
By the end of the course, you’ll have the tools to understand and engage more confidently with current political events and election coverage in Australia and South Australia.
Course Structure
In the first session, we’ll start by breaking down the structure of both Federal and South Australian parliaments – who’s who, what each house does, and how things currently stand.
We’ll also take a quick look at the parliaments in other states and territories.
In session two, we’ll dive into how elections actually work, using simple examples to explain the voting systems for each house, including terms like preferential voting, two-party preferred, and gerrymandering.
In our final session, we’ll unpack the roles and structures of the major and minor political parties and explain how they operate within Australia’s political landscape.
Course Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Describe the structure and function of the Federal and South Australian parliaments.
- Identify the current makeup of both houses of parliament at state and federal levels.
- Understand the basic differences between state and territory parliaments across Australia.
- Explain how voting systems work in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as in South Australia’s upper and lower houses.
- Define key terms such as preferential voting, two-party preferred, two-candidate preferred, gerrymandering, and hung parliament.
- Identify the major and minor political parties active in Australia and South Australia.
- Understand the internal organisation of the major parties, such as the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party.
- Feel more confident reading or watching political news and election coverage.
Your Tutor is Tony Iammarrone
Tony Iammarrone BFin, MBus (Acc), DipCA has been teaching at WEA since 2024.
Tony started his career as a Chartered Accountant working for various public practice firms, which led to forming his own Chartered Accounting Practice. Eventually he moved out of this area and started private tutoring in various subjects for secondary school and early university students.
Tony’s family spoke Italian at home when he was young. His grandparents didn’t speak English, and his parents were learning English at the time. He was raised bilingual, learning English at school. During his schooling years Tony also attended Centro Didattico, an educational centre focused on teaching students with an Italian background.
This course is available as a WEA Flexi course.
When you enrol in a WEA Flexi course, you have the option of attending each session in person or online via Zoom. You do not need to nominate a preference when you enrol, you can simply attend each session in person or online as it suits you.
Zoom is a popular video conferencing software solution which can be used as a virtual classroom. For an optimal online learning experience, when attending classes via Zoom we recommend you install Zoom Workplace on a desktop or laptop computer with built-in webcam and use a headset with microphone. Alternatively, there is a Zoom Workplace app available so you can participate using a tablet or smartphone, however you may not be able to experience all aspects of the online learning environment when participating this way.
When you enrol in a WEA Flexi course, you will receive an email with a Zoom meeting link at least two days before the course starts. If you don’t see the email in your inbox, please check your spam folder or junk mail. If you have not received the email with the Zoom meeting details, please contact us and we will provide the details you need to join the session online.
To join the course session via Zoom, simply click on the Join the Meeting link in the email or click on Join Meeting in the Zoom app and insert the Meeting ID, your name and Passcode in the boxes provided.
Please note: WEA can only provide limited technical support (such as re-sending the meeting details), as students should know how to use Zoom on their computer or device if choosing to attend this way.
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