What does the Senate look like?
The Australian Senate chamber is associated with the colour red. Red is the traditional colour of the British House of Lords and the Australian Senate chamber continues this tradition. The red used in the Australian Senate is a soft shade, typical of the Australian desert landscape. In addition, senators’ badges are red and so are the lights on the clocks that call senators to the chamber. The seats in the Senate chamber are arranged in rows in a horseshoe shape, with the President’s chair at the open end of the horseshoe. Government senators sit to the right of the President and opposition senators sit to the left. Minor parties and independent senators sit in the central curved part of the horseshoe, known as the crossbench. Leaders sit at a central table.
