In this extract from The Policy Playbook, the authors explore how Australia’s combination of UK and US systems shapes policymaking, the role of the public service, and practical approaches to governance.
The colloquial term for the Australian system is Washminster — reflecting the dominant influences of the British and American systems and the locational building (Westminster) and place (Washington) that spoke to the Australian sensibilities of “founding fathers” of the late 20th century.
Such a term speaks of the international gaze that colonial Australia exercised from its inception, as well as the pragmatic deployment of a range of governance systems that were uniquely meshed together to form a functional mechanism to manage six distinct colonies across a vast landmass, with a need for some semblance of unity to attempt to create a national identity worthy of defence and economic development.