Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Politics and Policy
British notion of responsible government. The term ‘Washminster’ refers to the way
Australia has combined elements of the UK and US systems of government. 8
Parliament – the Australian adaptation
In practice, our system of government has distinct elements that form part of the
Westminster ‘chain of responsibility’. At the top, formally, is the head of state –
the monarch – represented by the governor-general or, for the states, the governor
– offices that largely play no role in politics or policy making. Parliament in the
UK was formed as a way to control the powerful monarch in the Middle Ages by
allowing other opinions and views to be represented.
InAustralia,parliamentgraduallybecamemorerepresentativeasthoseelected
were chosen from a broader base and the electoral franchise was extended to include
more people (women, Indigenous peoples). In keeping with British tradition, the
prime minister, who is constitutionally lower-ranked than the head of state, leads the
government.Thethreebranchesthatformwhatiscalleda‘chainofresponsibility’
are the legislature (parliament as a whole), the executive (ministry) and the judiciary
(HighCourt).Astheexecutive,whichisformedbythepoliticalpartythatwins
the majority of seats in the House of Representatives, is both part of the parliament
and accountable to the parliament – the separation of powers that you might hear
mentioned does not fully exist in Westminster systems. The only distinct and
important operational separation of powers is between the judiciary and the other
two branches. So while we have an elected Senate like the USA, our prime minister
(unlike the US president) is not separate from the parliament and is answerable to it.
While the Senate is established in the Constitution, other legacies, such as the
notion of responsible government, are conventions handed down from Britain.
In theory, responsible government means accountable government. Ministers are
responsible individually for the departments they manage and collectively for what
the government does as a whole. During question time in parliament, they ‘must
meet other members face to face, answer their questions, and explain, defend or
excuse their own policies and the actions of the public servants under them’. 9 In
practice, ministers almost never resign for departmental blunders or for decisions
they make. The increasing complexity of government makes it almost impossible
for a minister to be held accountable for the actions of their department. Likewise,
as an increasing number of policy and other decisions are made by Cabinet,
ministers shelter behind collective responsibility. While collective responsibility
maybealongstandingconvention,itcouldalsobeseenasapragmaticrealisation
that‘ifwedonothangtogether,wewillsurelyhangseparately’. 10
8 Thompson 2001.
9 Parker 1976, 179.
10 Weller 2015.
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