This is one of the most important terms that is used to describe the Australian political system.

Responsible government means that the Cabinet and Ministers (also called the executive government), which is made up of senior members of the government, is responsible to the Parliament (also called the legislature). That means that the Ministers and Cabinet must be able to explain and justify their decisions to the Parliament.

As you will find out later, Parliament keeps a very close eye on what the government is doing. For example, Members of Parliament can ask questions about the government’s decisions during Question Time (which the public can also watch) and challenge the government’s ideas whenever they are debating a bill to introduce a new law.

In a responsible government, each minister is responsible for one or more government departments which must produce an annual report about their activities and programs. Each department must explain how it spent the money given to it for the benefit of citizens. They must explain how they spent that money according to the way the government wanted that money spent. If a minister does not perform her or his duties responsibly, that minister can be removed from that position. He or she can still remain a Member of Parliament. If Parliament is not happy with the way the government is working it can vote the government out of office. The citizens will then have the chance to vote for a new government.

The monarch or governor today has few direct powers. They act on the advice of the prime minister or premier.

The most important power rests with the citizens who elect their representatives to parliament. It is from this group of Members of Parliament that the government is chosen. Today that usually means the government is formed from the political party with the greatest number of members in the lower house. Before political parties were formed, this was not the case and factions often changed quickly so there were more frequent changes of government. For example, when the Land Act of 1860 was introduced, it created such a division that the Nicholson Government was defeated and the government changed. Richard Heales then became the Premier.

If you want to find out more about responsible government:

• http://australianpolitics.com/democracy/terms/responsible-government.shtml
• http://www.ozpolitics.info/

• Democracy
• Government
• Representative government
• Responsible government
• Self-government
• Structure of responsible government
• Towards responsible government
• The Constitution
• Lucy Bell
• Thomas Henty
• William Barak
• Elias Andrews
• John Chandler
• Frederick Thomas Sargood
• William Foster Stawell
• Acts of Parliament about Voting and becoming an MP
• Voting systems
• Acts relating to land use and care
• Consolidation Acts
• Land Acts in Victoria
• The Chaffey Agreement