Fly Ted Down Under Journeys through the land of Oz

Canberra

AUSTRALIA | Sunday, 13 March 2011 | Views [1377]

The House of Representatives, named after the American version as opposed to "House of Commons." There are viewing galleries on all four sides and the public is welcome to watch at any time, not just Question Period.

The official copy on display of the Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples, made on February 13, 2008, by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Canberra. The previous government had long rejected making such a statement but when Labor took office in late 2007 it was one of their top priorities and represented another small but symbolic step towards reconciliation.

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In the Australian House, the Prime Minister and her Deputy sit at the left side of the big desk in the rolly chairs, directly across from the Opposition leader and his deputy (the opposition right now is the Liberal/National coalition, the deputy is thus the National Party leader). Thus the leaders don't sit on the front benches but at the actual table. Copies of Hansard line the table in the middle, and the brackets for the mace are at the bottom end. The smaller desk below is for the official recordist of Parliament, who in fact does not type every word anymore but monitors the voice recognition system, and every 12 minutes switches out with someone to double-check and publish the official record of every word uttered (insults included).

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Fly Ted Down Under Journeys through the land of Oz

Canberra

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