Government of the Australian Capital Territory

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Government of the Australian Capital Territory
Government of the Australian Capital Territory
ACT Government logo.svg
Logo of the ACT executive specifically. The ACT does not have an official territory coat of arms, but the coat of arms of Canberra is often used to represent the territory as a whole.
Overview
Established
CountryFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
PolityFlag of the Australian Capital Territory.svg  Australian Capital Territory
Leader Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (Andrew Barr)
Appointed by Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory
Main organ Cabinet of the Australian Capital Territory
Ministries9 Government Directorates
Responsible toLegislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory
Annual budget$8.4 billion (2023–2024) [1]
Headquarters220 London Circuit, Canberra.
Website act.gov.au

The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive branch of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly forms government. Unlike the Australian States and the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly directly elects one of their number to be the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory as the head of the Government, rather than being appointed by a Governor or Administrator. [2]

Contents

Since December 2014, the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory has been Andrew Barr, leader of the Labor Party. Following the 2020 ACT election, the Government has been formed by a coalition of ten Labor members and six Greens members. The terms of the coalition are outlined in the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement for the 10th Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory. [3]

Ministers are appointed by the Chief Minister. [4] The current ministry of the Australian Capital Territory (Third Barr Ministry) comprises nine of the twenty five Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. [5] [6]

Constitutional framework

The ACT has internal self-government, but Australia's Constitution does not afford the territory government the full legislative independence provided to Australian states. Government for the Australian Capital Territory is outlined in Commonwealth legislation; the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988. [7] Nonetheless, the ACT is governed according to the principles of the Westminster System, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom.

Legislative power rests with the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.

Executive power rests formally with the Executive, which consists of the Chief Minister and Ministers, and is informally called the Cabinet.

Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and a system of subordinate courts, but the High Court of Australia and other federal courts have overriding jurisdiction on matters which fall under the ambit of the Australian Constitution.

The ACT does not have a separate system of local government such as that seen in the Australian States and the Northern Territory. In the ACT, government functions that would usually be handled by local government are instead directly handled by the Territory government.

Current Ministry

The current arrangement of the incumbent ministry (Third Barr Ministry) of the ACT was appointed on 4 November 2020, comprising six Labor Party members and three Greens members. [5] [6]

MinisterPortfolioPortraitPartyOpposition counterpartPortfolioPortraitParty
Andrew Barr MLA Chief Minister
Treasurer
Minister for Climate Action
Minister for Economic Development
Minister for Tourism
AndrewBarrportrait (cropped).jpg   Labor Elizabeth Lee MLA Leader of the Opposition
Shadow Treasurer
Shadow Minister for Climate Action
Shadow Minister for Economic Development, Tourism and Major Projects
Elizabeth Lee MLA (cropped).jpg   Liberal
Yvette Berry MLA Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry.png   Labor Giulia Jones MLA Deputy Leader of the Opposition Giulia Jones Portrait (cropped).jpg   Liberal
Minister for Housing and Suburban Development Mark Parton MLA Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness  Liberal
Minister for Women Nicole Lawder MLA Shadow Minister for Women
Shadow Minister for Seniors
  Liberal
Minister for Education and Youth Affairs
Minister for Early Childhood Development
Jeremy Hanson MLA Shadow Minister for Education and Higher Education
Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education
Jeremy Hanson 2016.jpg   Liberal
Minister for Sport and Recreation James Milligan MLA Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation  Liberal
Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Elizabeth Kikkert MLA Shadow Minister for Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence  Liberal
Mick Gentleman MLA Minister for Corrections Mick Gentleman KG Blog 200x225.jpg   Labor Shadow Minister for Corrections
Minister for Police and Emergency ServicesJeremy Hanson MLAShadow Minister for Police
Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs
Jeremy Hanson 2016.jpg   Liberal
James Milligan MLAShadow Minister for Emergency Services  Liberal
Minister for Planning and Land Management
Minister for Industrial Relations and Workplace Safety
Peter Cain MLA Assistant Shadow Treasurer
Shadow Minister for Planning and Land Management
Shadow Minister for Jobs and Workplace Affairs
  Liberal
Shane Rattenbury MLA Attorney-General
Minister for Consumer Affairs
Shane Rattenbury 2020 (cropped).jpg   Greens Elizabeth Lee MLAShadow Attorney-General Elizabeth Lee MLA (cropped).jpg   Liberal
Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction Leanne Castley MLA Shadow Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction  Liberal
Minister for GamingMark Parton MLAShadow Minister for Gaming, Racing and Community Clubs  Liberal
Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA Minister for Health Photo of Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA.jpg   Labor Giulia Jones MLAShadow Minister for Health Giulia Jones Portrait (cropped).jpg   Liberal
Minister for Families and Community Services
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs
Elizabeth Kikkert MLAShadow Minister for Families, Youth and Community Services
Shadow Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs
  Liberal
Chris Steel MLA Minister for Skills
Special Minister of State
Chris Steel.png   Labor James Milligan MLAShadow Minister for Vocational Training and Skills  Liberal
Minister for Transport and City ServicesMark Parton MLAShadow Minister for Transport  Liberal
Nicole Lawder MLAShadow Minister for City Services  Liberal
Tara Cheyne MLA Minister for the Arts Tara-Cheyne-2015-12-12.jpeg   Labor Shadow Minister for Arts
Minister for Multicultural Affairs
Minister for Human Rights
Giulia Jones MLAShadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs Giulia Jones Portrait (cropped).jpg   Liberal
Minister for Business and Better Regulation
Assistant Minister for Economic Development
Peter Cain MLAShadow Minister for Regulatory Services  Liberal
Leanne Castley MLAShadow Minister for Business
Assistant Shadow Minister for Economic Development, Tourism and Major Projects
  Liberal
Rebecca Vassarotti MLA Minister for the Environment
Minister for Heritage
Rebecca Vassarotti 2020 (cropped).jpg   Greens Shadow Minister for Environment and Heritage
Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services
Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction
Mark Parton MLAShadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness
Shadow Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction
  Liberal
Emma Davidson MLA Minister for Disability
Assistant Minister for Seniors, Veterans, Families and Community Services
Emma Davidson 2020 (cropped).jpg   Greens James Milligan MLAShadow Minister for Disability  Liberal
Minister for Mental Health
Minister for Justice Health
Giulia Jones MLAShadow Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Giulia Jones Portrait (cropped).jpg   Liberal

ACT Government Directorates

220 London Circuit in Civic, which houses the main offices of the ACT Government 220 London Circuit May 2021.jpg
220 London Circuit in Civic, which houses the main offices of the ACT Government
The Access Canberra service centre in Belconnen Access Canberra shopfront in Belconnen August 2022.jpg
The Access Canberra service centre in Belconnen

The ACT Government is served by a unified ACT Public Service agency, reporting to a single Head of Service.

Administrative units, known as Directorates, are grouped under areas of portfolio responsibility. Each Directorate is led by a Director-General who reports to one or more Ministers.

As of November 2020, there are nine Directorates: [8]

Agencies and Authorities

Independent Authorities

Public Authorities and Territory Owned Corporations

The ACT Government also has a number of Public Authorities and Territory Owned Corporations: [9]

The following are officers of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly:

See also

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References

  1. ACT Government (June 2023). "Australian Capital Territory Budget 2023-24: Budget Outlook" (PDF).
  2. "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 – Sect 40".
  3. "Parliamentary and Governing Agreement for the 10th Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory" (PDF). Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  4. "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 – Sect 39".
  5. 1 2 "ACT Government Executive" (PDF). Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Ministerial Appointment 2020 (No 2)" (PDF).
  7. "Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988".
  8. "ACT Government Directorates". ACT Government. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  9. "Public Authorities and Territory Owned Corporations". ACT Government. ACT Government.