The National Citizen

YEAR 10 – HUMANITIES

Learning Intentions

What does being a citizen really mean?

What rights and responsibilities do we have and why do we need them?

What threats to our society is there and how can being an active participant in democracy help solve this?

Key Terms:

Slush fund, Political donations, Bribery, Watchdog

National v International Citizenship

Citizenship You are a citizen, you have the rights given to you by the constitution of

Australia. You have responsibilities to uphold that allows you these rights however, and it is important to be able to recognise what your obligations to your fellow citizens are, and how this creates the society we live in.

Big Picture

One major change in the idea of citizenship is whether or not we have international rights and responsibilities as well. Are we just Australian, or could we be a member of something much larger, a member of humanity as a whole?

Key Questions

What does being a national citizen mean?

What are my rights and responsibilities as a national citizen and how does it shape a "civil society"?

What does being an international citizen mean?

What are my rights and responsibilities as an international citizen and how does it shape an "international community"?

The Rights and Responsibilities of an Australian citizen.

A right is something that is protected in law that gives us protection or freedom to express ourselves and/or live our lives. We have the right to go to school and to be protected from many forms of violence.

A responsibility is something that we, as citizens, must do to continue to live in our society. Obeying the law is one of the most important responsibilities we have, if we don't we can be removed from society and placed in jail.

Political Corruption

Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain, it is a major threat to civil society as it allows people to disrupt the democratic process for their own personal gain.

Independent Commission Against Corruption. (ICAC) In NSW there has been startling revelations about what the elected officials

have been doing, especially when there has been no watchdog making sure they have been following the rules.

In NSW, there needed an independent tribunal set up to investigate corruption within NSW. It was called the Independent Commission Against Corruption.