ABSTRACT
Australia's main political institutions were substantially constructed a century ago. The governing institutions were based on the models drawn from Westminster and the colonial heritage. The possible interpretations are put as extremes: neither is likely to be descriptively accurate. But they do allow people to ask how and in what way the institutions have adapted, and with what consequences for the process of governance. Cabinet government is collective: ministers meet to debate and determine government policy; ministerial decisions provide authority. Parliamentary procedure was developed at a time of simpler, more leisurely government, before the advent of political parties. There was less legislation, less media attention, less demand for immediate answers. Petitions and standing orders still reflect that period. The federal structure distributes powers in a way that arguably no longer corresponds with the original intentions. The structure was determined at a time before modern technology either created new powers or reduced the requirements for territorial provision of services.
