Responsible, Representative and Accountable Government

Bibliographic Data

ID11960182
AuthorsMalcolm Aldons (House of Representatives, corresponding author)
Year2001
Volume60
Issue1
Pages34-42
Publication date2001-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Journal of Public Administration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0313-6647 • E-ISSN: 1467-8500
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-8500.00196
OpenAlexW2043605339
LanguageEN
Citations received4

As an evaluation of the health of Australia's political system, this article offers a perspective different from the lament over the loss of responsible government. It finds that responsible government is not compatible with representative democracy. Peculiar to Australia is conflict between ‘responsible party government’ and ‘responsible parliamentary government’. Nevertheless, the system is healthy. A parliament‐as‐a‐whole approach identifies key holistic functions of manifest and latent legitimation and accountability that bolster legitimacy. Political accountability is enhanced by the watchdog role of the media. Public accountability is enriched by the links between citizens and administrative review. Critical changes include the guarantee of senate independence and the removal of senate power over supply. These changes would confine the theory and practice of responsible government to the House of Representatives, promote accountability, and thus increase the legitimacy of Australian parliamentary democracy

Accountability · Democracy · Government (linguistics · Legitimacy · Legitimation · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Responsible government · Commonwealth, Australian Politics and Federalism · Law · Public Administration

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