'Making Laws' Exhibition

From gun control measures introduced in the wake of the Port Arthur shootings to legislation authorising financial assistance to disaster-affected regions, the Parliament makes laws in response to national events, issues and needs. How are these laws made and how can the community's voice be heard? This exhibition, currently on display in Parliament House, documents the important law-making work of the Australian Parliament.

For Peace, Order and Good Government - The first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia

The Australian Parliament which met for the first time in May 1901 was the most democratic in the world. The members of the first Parliament were a remarkable group of individuals, fired with a sense of destiny. In three years of hard work they laid the legislative foundation of the nation.

This exhibition tells the story of our first federal Parliament: its origins, who its members were, how it worked, and its achievements.