What is the Washminster system?
‘Washminster’ is sometime used to describe the Australian system of government because it combines elements of the British – Westminster – and United States (the capital of the United States is Washington DC) systems of government.
From the Westminster system we got:
- Government formed and responsible to an elected house of parliament
- Opposition members of parliament who scrutinise – closely examine – the government
- A constitutional monarch who acts on the advice of the prime minister
From the United States system of government we got:
- The names ‘Senate’ and ‘House of Representatives’
- Each state has the same number of representatives in the Senate
- The number of members of the House of Representatives from each state is determined by the population of that state
The Australian system of government.
Parliamentary Education Office (PEO.GOV.AU)
The Australian system of government.
Parliamentary Education Office (PEO.GOV.AU)
Description
This graphic illustrates the 5 components of the Australian system of government:
- democracy
- representative democracy
- consitution
- constitutional monarchy
- federation of states
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