ABSTRACT
Professor Patrick Weller's contributions to comparative government are widely known, especially his work on the public service and prime ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The practice of Westminster government outside the UK reached its zenith around the turn of the twentieth century when Australia, Canada, and New Zealand became truly independent countries. In the original United Kingdom unitary model, all government was centralised in London, but that was never true in Australia or Canada as each began as a federal system of government. In Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, prime ministers alone and also sub-committees of the cabinet have been known to make decisions independent of the whole cabinet. In Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, immigration issues have become flash points that will affect the survivability of the Westminster systems.
