ABSTRACT

The Australian federation is constituted of nine jurisdictions, six of which were granted Responsible Government prior to federation in 1901. Each of these jurisdictions claims legitimacy, in part at least, via the adoption of the Westminster Model of parliamentary government. In this chapter we examine the Westminster Model as it applies to Public Accounts Committees in Australia. Particularly we are interested in the extent to which the precepts of the Westminster Model are represented in Australian Public Accounts Committees and the extent to which their modern-day operations are reflective of the operations of the parliament at Westminster or of the pragmatic political realities of government in Australia. After establishing the key elements considered to be of importance if a Public Accounts Committee is to be effective in protecting the interests of the parliament and which are commensurate largely with the Westminster parliament, we consider the realities of the arrangements in place in Australian Public Accounts Committees and find that there is significant diversity in relation to the Public Accounts Committees which are, generally, responding to a shift in the expectations of voters in modern Australian jurisdictions.