I am new to this. Where do I start?

You do not need to memorise every institution before you begin. Use this reading path to answer three questions: who can make the decision, what would count as evidence, and what can you do next?

First: stop treating government as one person

Read Country, State, government and party, then Union, state or local government.

Keep this distinction: making a law, approving money and operating a service are different jobs. The constitutional distribution of powers is a starting point; the actual local authority still needs to be identified. 1 2

Next: learn to slow down a claim

Read Check before sharing. Practise on something small, not your most emotionally charged political disagreement.

Write the exact factual claim. Find the original document or recording. Check its date and what it actually establishes. You can reach a provisional conclusion without pretending every uncertainty has disappeared.

Then: follow one issue into a record

Choose a path that fits your reason for visiting:

• A failing service: read Find the responsible authority, followed by Write a complaint.
• An election claim: read How votes become seats, followed by Candidate affidavits.
• A spending claim: read Read a budget, followed by Estimates and actuals.

The routes are deliberately short. You can return for more detail after you have a question worth investigating.

Finish with an answer you can explain

Try this sentence: “I wanted to know ____. The relevant institution appears to be ____. This source shows ____. It does not yet establish ____.”

A useful first session ends with a better question, a corrected belief or a record you can locate again. It does not need to end with a party preference.

“About half an hour” is a suggested learning session, not a promise about everyone's reading speed. Use the glossary whenever a term interrupts your understanding, and skip a page that does not help with your immediate question.