What is the washminster mutation?

Answer 1

The 'Washminster mutation' is a term sometimes used to describe the system of Government in Australia. Some political scientists view the Australian system of Government as a hybrid model which incorporates features of the UK 'Westminster' and US 'Washington' systems of Government (hence the term 'Washminster'). Some notable features include:

1. A lack of separation of powers between the legislature and executive arms of Government, in keeping with UK Westminster tradition. In Australia, the political party that holds a majority (or the confidence of the majority) of elected representatives in the lower house of parliament (the House of Representatives) holds executive power, exercised by the leader of that party (who is referred to as the 'Prime Minister') and a collection of other senior elected parliamentarians who are responsible for particular executive functions of Government (referred to as 'Ministers').

2. Australia has an elected upper house of Parliament (the Senate) which more closely resembles the US senate, in that they are directly elected by Australian citizens (using proportional voting). This stands in contrast to the British House of Lords, where the majority of member of the House of Lords are the result of lifetime appointments made by the current Monarch, on the advice of the British Prime Minister (though this system is currently being reformed in the UK).

3. The powers and functions of the Australian Senate are also closer to that of the US Senate than that of the UK House of Lords. For example, while the House of Lords only has limited powers to prevent a Bill origination from the UK lower house (the House of Commons) from becoming law, the Australian Senate has the power to effectively reject (or approve) a Bill originating from the Australian lower house by virtue of a simple majority vote. The Australian Senate is also an avenue by which minor or opposition political parties can publicly scrutinise the the actions and decisions of the current executive government.

4. Australia operates a federal system of Government, similar to that of the US. The Australian Constitution outlines various responsibilities of government that are decided upon by State/Territory legislatures. Additionally, federal Senators nominally represent, and are elected by, the population of a particular State/Territory. However, due to strong political party discipline in Australia, Senators generally vote in line with their party's position on an issue (although, in rare cases, individual Senators will sometimes 'cross the floor' and vote against their party's position on a particularly contentious issue).