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A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate. If the conditions (called a trigger) are satisfied, the government of the day can request the Governor-General to dissolve both houses of parliament and call a full election. If after the election the legislation that triggered the double dissolution is still not passed by the two houses, then a joint sitting of the two houses of parliament can be called to vote on the legislation. If the legislation is passed by the joint sitting, then the legislation is deemed to have passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. A double dissolution is the only circumstance in which the entire Senate can be dissolved. Similar to the United States Congress, but unlike the British and Canadian parliaments, Australia's two parliamentary houses generally have almost equal legislative power (the Senate cannot amend, although may reject outright, appropriation (money) bills, which must originate in the House of Representatives). Governments, which are formed in the House of Representatives, can be frustrated by a Senate determined to reject their legislation. Historically, the bills in question have not played a significant role in the subsequent election campaigns. Crispin Hull writes "Rather, they were all excuses to have an early election to gain some short-term political advantage for the government of the day".〔Crispin Hull, "Breaking deadlocks between Houses", ''Canberra Times'', 23 December 1997, p. 13〕 Malcolm Fraser is the only prime minister to have advised two double dissolutions (1975 and 1983), and Sir Ninian Stephen is the only governor-general to have approved two double dissolutions (1983 and 1987). ==Constitutional basis== Part of section 57 of the Constitution provides as follows: If the House of Representatives passes any proposed law, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, and if after an interval of three months the House of Representatives, in the same or the next session, again passes the proposed law with or without any amendments which have been made, suggested, or agreed to by the Senate, and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it, or passes it with amendments to which the House of Representatives will not agree, the Governor-General may dissolve the Senate and the House of Representatives simultaneously. But such dissolution shall not take place within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives by effluxion of time. Section 57 also provides that, following the election, if the Senate a third time rejects the bill or bills that were the subject of the double dissolution, the governor-general may convene a joint sitting of the two houses to consider the bill or bills, including any amendments which have been previously proposed in either house, or any new amendments. If a bill is passed by an absolute majority of the total membership of the joint sitting, it is treated as though it had been passed separately by both houses, and is presented for royal assent. The only time this procedure was invoked was in the 1974 joint sitting. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Double dissolution」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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