In the meantime, John Smith Murdoch, the Commonwealth's chief architect, worked on the design as part of his official duties.

A Wiradjuri elder, Jimmy Clements, was one of only two Aboriginal Australians present, having walked for about a week from Brungle Station (near Tumut) to be at the event.

[18] In 1978 the Fraser government decided to proceed with a new building on Capital Hill, and the Parliament House Construction Authority was created.

[20] The competition winner was the Philadelphia-based architectural firm of Mitchell/Giurgola, with the on-site work directed by the Italian-born architect Romaldo Giurgola,[21] with a design which involved burying most of the building under Capital Hill, and capping the edifice with an enormous spire topped by a large Australian flag.

The façades, however, included deliberate imitation of some of the patterns of the Old Parliament House, so that there is a slight resemblance despite the massive difference of scale.

This unprecedented move was accompanied by two motions raised by the Attorney-General of Australia, Christian Porter, and passed on 23 March 2020.

In Parliament, the monarch legally shares co-equally the law making powers of the Commonwealth with the Senate and House of Representatives.

The Constitution allows Parliament to determine the number of senators by legislation, provided that the six original states are equally represented.

Compulsory voting was not on the platform of either the Stanley Bruce-led Nationalist/Country party coalition government or the Matthew Charlton-led Labor opposition.

Both Houses may determine motions by voice vote: the presiding officer puts the question, and, after listening to shouts of "Aye" and "No" from the members, announces the result.

They provide the opportunity for all members and senators to ask questions of witnesses, including ministers and public officials, as well as conduct inquiries, and examine policy and legislation.

One of the most significant powers is the ability to summon people to attend hearings in order to give evidence and submit documents.

[65] Other powers include, the ability to meet throughout Australia, to establish subcommittees and to take evidence in both public and private hearings.

Every participant, including committee members and witnesses giving evidence, is protected from being prosecuted under any civil or criminal action for anything they may say during a hearing.

[63][65] Types of committees include:[65] Standing committees, which are established on an ongoing basis and are responsible for scrutinising bills and topics referred to them by the chamber or minister; examining the government's budget and activities (in what is called the budget estimates process); and for examining departmental annual reports and activities.

Cabinet meetings are strictly private and occur once a week where vital issues are discussed and policy formulated.

However, it serves as the practical expression of the Federal Executive Council, which is Australia's highest formal governmental body.

[66] In practice, the Federal Executive Council meets solely to endorse and give legal force to decisions already made by the Cabinet.

This provision was included in the Constitution (section 64) to enable the inaugural ministry, led by Edmund Barton, to be appointed on 1 January 1901, even though the first federal elections were not scheduled to be held until 29 and 30 March.

[69] After the 1949 election, John Spicer and Bill Spooner became ministers in the Menzies Government on 19 December, despite their terms in the Senate not beginning until 22 February 1950.

Unlike upper Houses in other Westminster system governments, the Senate is not a vestigial body with limited legislative power.

The Constitution intended to give less populous states added voice in a federal legislature, while also providing for the revising role of an upper house in the Westminster system.

In response to the deadlock, the governor-general Sir John Kerr dismissed Whitlam's government and appointed Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister on the understanding that he could secure supply and would immediately call new elections.

[76][77] This action in itself was a source of controversy and debate continues on the proper usage of the Senate's ability to block supply and on whether such a power should even exist.

In May 2007, Harriet Swift, an anti-logging activist from New South Wales was convicted and reprimanded for contempt of Parliament, after she wrote fictitious press releases and letters purporting to be from Federal MP Gary Nairn as an April Fools' Day prank.

[86] Regular free-to-air television broadcasts of question time began in August 1990 from the Senate and February 1991 from the House of Representatives.

In 2009, the pay TV company Foxtel launched A-SPAN, now called Sky News Extra, which broadcasts live sittings of the House of Representatives and the Senate, parliamentary committee meetings and political press conferences.

[87] The Parliament House official website provides free extensive daily proceedings of both chambers as well as committee hearings live on the Internet.

Doyle was declared elected, marking the first time in 103 years that a government won a by-election in a seat held by the opposition.

[89] One Nation (2), United Australia (1) A two-party system has existed in the Australian House of Representatives since the two non-Labor parties merged in 1909.