The Australian Model Senate.

This article describes the Australian Model of a Senate and looks at what lessons it might have for discussion of Second Chamber reform in Canada.

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Canada and Australia deserve the close comparison they receive. Both were British colonies attracted to the promise of responsible parliamentary government around the mid-19th century. Both are federations. Both are members of the Commonwealth. Both are constitutional monarchies. And both have had to struggle for many of the rights of self-government.

Canada as the older British colony was something of an inspiration to 19th century Australian colonists: 'Canada Bay' in Sydney is named in honour of the Canadian colonists who took temporary refuge in Sydney after the initial failure of the Upper Canada struggles for self-government. Both countries have a long history of stable parliamentary government at both national and provincial/state levels, including early reliance of second chambers at provincial/state level.

But the historical developments diverged at some point, with the Australian colonies/states showing greater interest in modernizing and democratizing their second chambers. By contrast, Canadian provincial second chambers were discarded: a process that only one Australian state (Queensland) has followed.

Over recent decades, many of the Australian state second chambers have been further reformed to resemble 'the Australian Model' pioneered by the Australian Senate. Thus the Australian Senate should be understood as part of a larger package of bicameral ...

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