![]() | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with Australia and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (February 2023) |
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The machinery of government (sometimes abbreviated as MoG) is the interconnected structures and processes of government, such as the functions and accountability of departments in the executive branch of government. The term is used particularly in the context of changes to established systems of public administration where different elements of machinery[1] are created.
The phrase 'machinery of government' was thought to have been first used by author John Stuart Mill in Considerations on Representative Government (1861).[2] It was notably used to a public audience by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a radio broadcast in 1934,[3] commenting on the role of the National Recovery Administration (NRA) in delivering the New Deal. A number of national governments, including those of Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, have adopted the term in official usage.