What's the Difference Between a Minority & Majority Government? - Behind the News

Описание: The seat of former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, seems to have fallen to independent candidate Dr. Kerryn Phelps. That leaves the Government with one fewer seat in the House of Representatives. But will it make any difference?
Kerryn Phelps is a doctor, former deputy lord mayor, a member of the Order of Australia and a pretty great dancer. She's also about to be Australia's newest federal Member of Parliament. She was chosen by people in the electorate of Wentworth, that's here in Sydney by the way, to replace Malcolm Turnbull who quit the seat when he was kicked out of the prime minister job.
But while Kerryn's jumping for joy, the Government isn't. Kerryn Phelps is an independent which means she isn't a member of a political party. So, in one by-election, the Government didn't just lose a seat, it lost its majority. Not sure what that means?
An independent isn't a member of a party so they change who they vote with depending on the idea in front of them.
But that can make things difficult when the group in charge really wants something to pass.
So, their only choice is to work with the independents and find a way to get their agreement.
In the House of Representatives, that's the green one, there's 150 seats. With Dr Kerryn Phelps in parliament, the Government will have 75 votes - exactly half. Labor has 69. So, including Dr Phelps there are 6 others who are independents or part of a smaller party. One of them will need to vote with the Government for anything to pass. For some bills, that might not be a problem. But for others it could be tricky. So, a lot of people reckon the Government could have a hard time getting things done.


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