State-based Representation and National Policymaking: The Evolution of the Australian Senate and the Federation

Abstract

Ostensibly, Australia's constitutional framers designed the upper house as the ‘guardian of states' interests', ensuring that the smaller states were adequately represented in the federation. In recent decades the Senate has positively reinvented itself as a guardian of democracy, and is commonly known as the ‘house of review’. This study examines the changing representative role of senators and the Senate through surveys and interviews of current and former senators. The Senate has also become more of a guardian of the national interest, with proportional representation, larger constituencies and longer terms being the key institutional factors.

Keywords:

• Senate
• upper house
• senators
• federalism
• bicameralism
• representation
• Australia

Additional information

Note on Author

Scott Brenton is a Lecturer in Political Science in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne, Australia