Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Executive government
Figure 1 The model of parliamentary delegation.
and, in turn, the chain of accountability. Who is responsible in a complex policy
area when something goes wrong? Given the size of government departments, with
thousands of employees, at what point do ministers or even prime ministers become
responsible if they know an issue has arisen? What is the precise role of politically
appointed staff? To what extent can they speak for their minister and in what ways
should they be subject to scrutiny?
In the last 30 years, these issues have concerned scholars and bureaucrats, who
continue to debate whether or not Cabinet government still exists, whether the
chain of accountability still functions appropriately given the new role of politically
appointed staff and whether the balance between ministers, their staff and the
bureaucracy is appropriate to achieve good government. 23
Responsible party government
Executive governance in Australia is a set of practices and norms supported by
institutions both within and outside the executive. As we have seen, the executive
is subject to the significant influence of political parties, both within the legislature
and outside the official institutions of government. Outside elections, accountability
to the party room may be more potent than accountability to the parliament. As
outlined above, actors exercising executive roles are partisan, subject to party
discipline and with their eyes always on the next election. Alongside the official
rules and the unwritten conventions of their offices, these partisan considerations
shape executive actors’ choices. Although we officially call our system ‘responsible
government’, currently a better label is ‘responsible party government’ because
power is interpreted and exercised through a party lens. 24
Conclusions
Australia’s system of Cabinet government is flexible and open to interpretation. This
has been its primary strength, allowing it to adapt to changing circumstances, such as
the rise of parties, and respond to the needs of creative prime ministers through the
creation of new institutions. However, it has also bred its own problems. These issues
23 Podger 2007; Shergold 2007; Tiernan 2007; Weller 2003.
24 Lucy 1993.
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