Upper Houses and the Problem of Elective Dictatorship

We live in an elective dictatorship, absolute in theory, if hitherto thought tolerable in practice.These words were used by Lord Hailsham, a veteran Conservative politician in Britain, to describe the reality of government in his country in 1976. The British Parliament, he added, was controlled by a 'government machine' and debate in it was becoming 'a ritual dance, sometimes interspersed with catcalls'.Today, Hailsham's words perhaps carry even greater force, not only in Britain but also in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, three other western democracies that adopted the Westminster parliamentary system. If Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders are, like Britons, living under 'elective dictatorships' then how can their elected, single-party 'government machines' be kept in check? That is the key question examined in this book. Political theorists of the past claimed that the upper houses, or 'houses of review', of bicameral Westminster-style parliaments-Britain's House of Lords, the Australian Senate, the Australian State Legislative Councils-offered a solution because they prevented governments from imposing their will upon their peoples without restraint. That, at least, was the nineteenth-century theory. But what is the twenty-first-century reality?This book contains chapters from twenty-one leading international scholars and politicians on the history, the recent performance and the future of upper houses of parliament in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.Contributors include:The Hon. Bill Hayden, AC, Former Governor-General of AustraliaProfessor John Uhr, Australian National UniversityProfessor Geoffrey Brennan, Australian National UniversityDr. Meg Russell, Constitution Unit, University College LondonMr. Harry Evans, Clerk of the Australian SenateSenator George Brandis, SCSenator John HoggProfessor Paul G. Thomas, University of ManitobaProfessor David C. Docherty, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityMr. Graeme StarrDr. Bruce Stone, University of Western AustraliaProfessor Brian Costar, Swinburne UniversityDr. Clement Macintyre, University of AdelaideProfessor John Williams, University of AdelaideHon. Justice B.H. McPherson, CBE, Former Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of QldDr. Janet Ransley, Griffith UniversityProfessor Gerard Carney, Bond UniversityEmeritus Professor Colin A. Hughes, University of Queensland

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