Wikipedia entry on Australia’s ‘double dissolution’ provision:
> The double dissolution provision comes into play if the Senate and House twice fail to agree on a piece of legislation (in section 57 called “a proposed law”, and commonly referred to as a “trigger”). The government may use this trigger (or any number of triggers) to recommend the Governor-General dissolve the House and the entire Senate – pursuant to section 57 of the Constitution – and issue writs for an election in which every seat in the Parliament is contested.
This would be great to have in the United States, and probably would mean a lot more shit would get done.