Commonwealth Government | |
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Overview | |
Established | 1 January 1901 |
Leader | Prime Minister (Anthony Albanese) |
Appointed by | Governor-General (Sam Mostyn) on the advice of the prime minister |
Main organ | Cabinet |
Ministries | 16 government departments (2024) |
Responsible to | House of Representatives/Commonwealth Parliament [a] |
Annual budget | $668.1 billion (2023–24) [3] |
Headquarters | Executive wing, Parliament House, Canberra |
Website | Government Directory |
This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of Australia |
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Constitution |
Australiaportal |
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the Federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime minister and other cabinet ministers that currently have the support of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives [4] (the lower house) and also includes the departments and other executive bodies that ministers oversee. [5] The current executive government consists of Anthony Albanese and other ministers of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), in office since the 2022 federal election. [7]
The prime minister is the head of the federal government and is a role which exists by constitutional convention, rather than by law. They are appointed to the role by the governor-general (the federal representative of the monarch of Australia). [8] The governor-general normally appoints the parliamentary leader who commands the confidence of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives. [9] [10] Also by convention, the prime minister is a member of the lower house. [11]
The prime minister and their sworn ministers form the cabinet, the key decision-making organ of the government that makes policy and decides the agenda of the government. [4] Members of the government can exercise both legislative power (through their control of the parliament) and executive power (as ministers on behalf of the governor-general and the monarch). [12] However, in accordance with responsible government, and to ensure accountability, actions of the government in its executive capacity are subject to scrutiny from parliament. [13]
The Australian Government is headquartered in the executive wing of Parliament House, located in the nation's capital, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The head offices of all the federal departments are also located in Canberra. [14]
The name of the government in the Constitution of Australia is the "Government of the Commonwealth". [15] This was the name used in many early federal government publications. [16]
However, in 1965 Robert Menzies indicated his preference for the name "Australian Government" in order to prevent confusion with the new Commonwealth of Nations. [17] The Whitlam government legislated the use of "Government of Australia" in 1973 in line with its policy of promoting national goals and aspirations. [b] [20] [16] However, academic Anne Twomey argues that the government was also motivated by a desire to blur the differences between the Commonwealth and the states in an attempt to increase federal power. [21] The Parliament of Australia website also notes that the name "Australian Government" is preferable in order to avoid confusion with the Commonwealth of Nations and the US federal government by those not familiar with Australia's system of government. [22] This terminology remains preferred by the government. [23] However, the terms Commonwealth Government and federal government are also common. [24]
In some contexts, the term "government" refers to all public agencies that exercise the power of the State, whether legislative, executive or judicial. [25] [26]
This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.(October 2024) |
The government's primary role, in its executive capacity, is to implement the laws passed by the parliament. However, laws are frequently drafted according to the interests of the executive branch as the government often also controls the legislative branch.
Unlike the other two branches of government, however, membership of the executive is not clearly defined. One definition describes the executive as a pyramid, consisting of three layers. At the top stands the king, as the symbolic apex and formal repository of executive power. Below him lies a second layer made up of the prime minister, cabinet and other ministers who in practice lead the executive. Finally, the bottom layer includes public servants, police, government departments and independent statutory bodies who directly implement policy and laws. [27] [28]
Executive power is also difficult to clearly define. In the British context, it was defined by John Locke as all government power not legislative or judicial in nature. [29] The key distinction is that while legislative power involves setting down rules of general application, executive power involves applying those rules to specific situations. In practice, however, this definition is difficult to apply as many actions by executive agencies are wide-ranging, binding and conducted independently of Parliament. The executive can also be delegated legislative power through provisions allowing for statutory instruments and Henry VIII clauses. [30] Ultimately whether power is executive or legislative is determined on a case-by-case basis, and involves the weighing up of various factors, rather than the application of a strict test. [31]
As most executive power is granted by statute, the executive power of the government is similarly limited to those areas in which the Commonwealth is granted the power to legislate under the constitution (primarily under section 51). They also retain certain powers traditionally part of the royal prerogative, such as the power to declare war and enter into treaties. Finally, there exists certain "nationhood powers", implied from section 61 of the Constitution. [32] These were defined by High Court Justice Anthony Mason, as powers "peculiarly adapted to the government of a nation and which cannot otherwise be carried on for the benefit of the nation". [33] They have been found to include the power to provide financial stimulus payments to households during a financial crisis [34] and the power to prevent "unlawful non-citizens" from entering the country. [35]
Ministers drawn from the Australian parliament form the core of the Australian Government. A subset of these ministers form the cabinet, the de facto highest executive body of the government. Ministers not part of cabinet belong to the outer ministry. Additionally, there are also assistant ministers (formally parliamentary secretaries [36] [37] ), responsible for a specific policy area, reporting directly to a cabinet minister. [38] [39] [40]
The cabinet consists of the prime minister and senior ministers and makes most of the important policy decisions of the government. Members of the cabinet are selected by the prime minister and may be added or removed at any time, usually through a cabinet reshuffle. [41] Cabinet meetings are strictly private and occur once a week where vital issues are discussed and policy formulated. The cabinet is not a legal entity; it exists solely by convention. Its decisions do not in and of themselves have legal force. However, it serves as the practical expression of the Federal Executive Council, which is Australia's highest formal governmental body. In practice, the Federal Executive Council meets solely to endorse and give legal force to decisions already made by the cabinet. [42] All members of the cabinet are members of the Executive Council. A senior member of the cabinet holds the office of vice-president of the Executive Council and acts as presiding officer of the Executive Council in the absence of the governor-general. [43]
The cabinet meets not only in Canberra but also in state capitals, most frequently Sydney and Melbourne. Kevin Rudd was in favour of the cabinet meeting in other places, such as major regional cities. [44] There are Commonwealth Parliament Offices in each state capital, including the original Commonwealth Offices Building at 4 Treasury Place Melbourne, and the Commonwealth Parliament Offices, Sydney located in 1 Bligh Street. [45]
Until 1956 all members of the ministry were members of the cabinet. The growth of the ministry in the 1940s and 1950s made this increasingly impractical, and in 1956 Robert Menzies created a two-tier ministry, with only senior ministers holding cabinet rank, also known within parliament as the front bench. This practice has been continued by all governments except the Whitlam government. [38]
The prime minister's power to select the ministry differs depending on their party. When the Liberal Party and its predecessors (the Nationalist Party and the United Australia Party) have been in coalition with the National Party or its predecessor the Country Party, the leader of the junior Coalition party has had the right to nominate their party's members of the Coalition ministry, and to be consulted by the prime minister on the allocation of their portfolios. [41]
When Labor first held office under Chris Watson, Watson assumed the right to choose members of his cabinet. In 1907, however, the party decided that future Labor cabinets would be elected by the members of the Parliamentary Labor Party, the Caucus, and the prime minister would retain the right to allocate portfolios. This practice was followed until 2007. Between 1907 and 2007, Labor prime ministers exercised a predominant influence over who was elected to Labor ministries, although the leaders of the party factions also exercised considerable influence. [46] However, in 2007 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, assumed the power to choose the ministry alone. [47] Later, the caucus regained this power in 2013. [48] According to reporting by the Sydney Morning Herald, ministerial positions are allocated by the Left and Right factions proportionally according to their representation in the Parliament. [49]
The King is not involved with the day-to-day operations of the government, [8] belonging (according to the Bagehot formulation) to the "dignified" rather than the "efficient" part of government. [50] [51] While the executive power of the Commonwealth is formally vested in the monarch, the Constitution requires those powers to be exercisable by a governor-general, appointed by the monarch as their representative [52] (but since the appointing of Sir Isaac Isaacs in 1931, always appointed according to the advice of federal ministers, rather than British ministers). [53] Members of the government do not exercise executive power of their own accord but are instead appointed by the governor-general as ministers, formally as the "Queen's [or King's] Ministers of State". [54] [58] As such, while government ministers make most major decisions in cabinet, if those decisions require the formal endorsement of the governor-general in council, those decisions do not have legal force until approved by the Federal Executive Council, which is presided over by the governor-general.
Similarly, laws passed by both houses of parliament require royal assent before being enacted, as the monarch is a constituent part of the Parliament. [59]
However, in all these cases, except for certain reserve powers, the King and the governor-general must follow the advice of the prime minister or other ministers in the exercise of his powers. [60] Powers subject to the governor-general’s discretion are known as reserve powers. While certain reserve powers, such as the ability to choose the prime minister most likely to command the confidence of the lower house, are uncontroversial, others are subject to much greater debate. The most notable example of their use occurring in the Dismissal of 1975. In that case, the Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed the prime minister and government due to his conclusion that the government had failed to secure supply. [61] [62] The propriety of the use of the powers during that event remain highly contested.
The Federal Executive Council is the body that formally advises the governor-general in the exercise of executive power. Decisions of the body give legal effect to decisions already deliberated at cabinet. All current and formers ministers are members of the council, although only current ministers are summoned to meetings. The governor-general usually presides at council meetings, but in his or her absence another minister nominated as the vice-president of the Executive Council presides at the meeting of the council. [63] Since 1 June 2022, the vice-president has been senator Katy Gallagher. [64]
As of 17 August 2024 [update] , there are 16 departments of the Australian Government. [65]
Additionally, there are four departments which support the Parliament of Australia: [66]
The following corporations are prescribed by Acts of Parliament:
As of March 2024 [update] , the following Corporate Commonwealth entities are prescribed as Government Business Enterprises (GBEs): [70]
The following Commonwealth companies are prescribed as GBEs: [70]
The governor-general of Australia is the federal representative of the monarch of Australia, currently Charles III. The governor-general has many constitutional and ceremonial roles in the Australian political system, in which they have independent agency. However, they are generally bound by convention to act on the advice of the prime minister and the Federal Executive Council. They also have a significant community role, through recognising meritorious individuals and groups, and representing the nation as a whole. The current governor-general is Sam Mostyn.
Politics in Jamaica takes place in the framework of a representative parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The 1962 Constitution of Jamaica established a parliamentary system whose political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom. As the head of state, King Charles III - on the advice of the Prime Minister of Jamaica - appoints a governor-general as his representative in Jamaica. The governor-general has a largely ceremonial role, with their parliamentary function consisting simply of granting royal assent to bills which have passed Parliament. Jamaica constitutes an independent Commonwealth realm.
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rather the head of government, serving as the chief of the executive under either a monarch or a president in a republican form of government.
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister is both responsible to and a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who assumed the office on 23 May 2022.
The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of the system include an executive branch made up of members of the legislature, and that is responsible to the legislature; the presence of parliamentary opposition parties; and a ceremonial head of state who is separate from the head of government. The term derives from the Palace of Westminster, which has been the seat of the Westminster Parliament in England and later the United Kingdom since the 13th century. The Westminster system is often contrasted with the presidential system that originated in the United States, or with the semi-presidential system, based on the government of France.
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are set down in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.
In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch or part of the government. Unlike in a presidential system of government, the head of state is generally constrained by the cabinet or the legislature in a parliamentary system, and most reserve powers are usable only in certain exceptional circumstances.
The Parliament of Australia is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. It combines elements from the Westminster system, in which the party or coalition with a majority in the lower house is entitled to form a government, and the United States Congress, which affords equal representation to each of the states, and scrutinises legislation before it can be signed into law.
The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member electorates for four-year terms. The voting method for the Assembly is the full-preferential voting system, having previously been optional preferential voting. Elections are on the fourth Saturday in August of the fourth year after the previous election, but can be earlier in the event of a no-confidence vote in the government. The most recent election for the Legislative Assembly was the 2024 election held on 24 August. The next election is scheduled for 26 August 2028.
The Cabinet of Australia, also known as the Federal Cabinet, is the chief decision-making body of the Australian government. The Cabinet is selected by the prime minister and is composed of senior government ministers who administer the executive departments and ministries of the federal government.
The Government of Canada is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term Government of Canada refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown and the federal civil service ; it is alternatively known as His Majesty's Government and is corporately branded as the Government of Canada. There are over 100 departments and agencies, as well as over 300,000 persons employed in the Government of Canada. These institutions carry out the programs and enforce the laws established by the Parliament of Canada.
The Federal Executive Council is a body established by section 62 of the Australian Constitution to advise the governor-general of Australia, on the matters of the federal government. The council comprises, at least notionally, all current and former Commonwealth ministers and assistant ministers. As the Governor-General is bound by convention to follow the advice of the Executive Council on almost all occasions, the Executive Council has de facto executive power. In practice, this power is used to legally enact the decisions already made by Federal Cabinet, due to the practices of the Westminster system making the cabinet a de facto authority in its own right.
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the highest ranking members of the executive are drawn from an elected state parliament. Specifically the party or coalition which holds a majority of the House of Assembly.
The separation of powers in Australia is the division of the institutions of the Australian government into legislative, executive and judicial branches. This concept is where legislature makes the laws, the executive put the laws into operation, and the judiciary interprets the laws; all independently of each other. The term, and its occurrence in Australia, is due to the text and structure of the Australian Constitution, which derives its influences from democratic concepts embedded in the Westminster system, the doctrine of "responsible government" and the United States version of the separation of powers. However, due to the conventions of the Westminster system, a strict separation of powers is not always evident in the Australian political system, with little separation between the executive and the legislature, with the executive required to be drawn from, and maintain the confidence of, the legislature; a fusion.
The politics of Australia operates under the written Australian Constitution, which sets out Australia as a constitutional monarchy, governed via a parliamentary democracy in the Westminster tradition. Australia is also a federation, where power is divided between the federal government and the states. The monarch, currently King Charles III, is the head of state and is represented locally by the governor-general, while the head of government is the prime minister, currently Anthony Albanese.
The monarchy of Australia is a key component of Australia's form of government, by which a hereditary monarch serves as the country's sovereign and head of state. It is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, while incorporating features unique to the constitution of Australia.
The New Zealand Government is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifically to the collective ministry directing the executive. Based on the principle of responsible government, it operates within the framework that "the [King] reigns, but the government rules, so long as it has the support of the House of Representatives". The Cabinet Manual describes the main laws, rules and conventions affecting the conduct and operation of the Government.
The Constitution of Australia is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, that establishes the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system. Its eight chapters sets down the structure and powers of the three constituent parts of the federal level of government: the Parliament, the Executive Government and the Judicature.
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity recognized in common law as belonging to the sovereign, and which have become widely vested in the government. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and vested in a monarch with regard to the process of governance of the state, are carried out.
Chapter II of the Constitution of Australia establishes the executive branch of the Commonwealth of Australia. It provides for the exercise of executive power by the Governor-General of Australia advised by a Federal Executive Council.