Government in Queensland is delivered by a number of agencies, grouped under areas of portfolio responsibility. Each portfolio is led by a government minister who is a member of the Parliament of Queensland, appointed by the Governor as the representative of the Crown.
The agencies are principally grouped as eight departments, each led by a secretary or director-general and comprising a number of portfolios covering specific policy areas across the department and allocated statutory authorities, trading enterprises, boards, councils and other public bodies.
Agencies have varying levels of operational autonomy, and deliver one or more of frontline public services, administrative functions and law enforcement. Some are structured as for-profit corporations. Where there are multiple portfolios within a department, directors-general may be accountable to a number of ministers. In addition to the list below, a range of other agencies support the functions of the departments. The government is responsible for a number of corporations, of which the responsible minister typically holds a 100% ownership stake in. [1] In 2006, Premier Peter Beattie privatised a number of government owned electricity retailers. [2] On 2 June 2009 the government announced the 'Renewing Queensland Plan' that would sell state-owned railway, port and forestry assets to raise $15 billion, and avoid a further $12 billion required in future capital investment. [3] [4] On 18 May 2010, Queensland Forestry Plantations was the first commercial business to be sold.
All agencies are identifiable by their corporate logo, which features in agency advertising, publications and correspondence, pictured right.
A list of articles on Queensland government agencies sorted alphabetically is available at Government agencies of Queensland. The Queensland Government maintains a list of agencies and their contact details at its website.
The government of the United Kingdom exercises its executive authority through a number of government departments or departments of state. A department is composed of employed officials, known as civil servants, and is politically accountable through a minister. Most major departments are headed by a secretary of state, who sits in the cabinet, and typically supported by a team of junior ministers.
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or Her Majesty’s Government is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. The Government of South Australia, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, was formed in 1856 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended from time to time. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, South Australia has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Constitution of Australia regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under the Australian Constitution, South Australia ceded legislative and judicial supremacy to the Commonwealth, but retained powers in all matters not in conflict with the Commonwealth.
The Government of Queensland, also referred to as the Queensland Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended from time to time. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, Queensland has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Constitution of Australia regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under the Australian Constitution, Queensland ceded legislative and judicial supremacy to the Commonwealth, but retained powers in all matters not in conflict with the Commonwealth. Key state government offices are located at 1 William Street in the Brisbane central business district.
Public bodies of the Scottish Government are organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government. It is a tightly meshed network of executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies ("quangoes"); tribunals; and nationalised industries. Such public bodies are distinct from executive agencies of the Scottish Government, as unlike them they are not considered to be part of the Government and staff of public bodies are not civil servants, although executive agencies are listed in the Scottish Government's directory of national public bodies alongside other public bodies.
Anna Maria Bligh is a former Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland, in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Labor Party. She was the first woman to hold either position.
The Shareholder Executive (ShEx) was a body within the UK Government responsible for managing the government's financial interest in a range of state-owned businesses for commercial rather than political interests. It was part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and staffed by civil servants, many of whom were corporate finance professionals with private sector experience. It was led by Mark Russell as Chief Executive at the time of its closure.
Canadian Crown corporations are state-owned enterprises owned by the Sovereign of Canada. They are established by an Act of Parliament or Act of a provincial legislature and report to that body via a minister of the Crown in the relevant cabinet, though they are "shielded from constant government intervention and legislative oversight" and thus "generally enjoy greater freedom from direct political control than government departments."
As the country's supply of freshwater is increasingly vulnerable to droughts, possibly as a result of climate change, there is an emphasis on water conservation and various regions have imposed restrictions on the use of water.
The Ministries of Jamaica are created at the discretion of the Prime Minister of Jamaica it carry out the functions of Government. As of 2016 the current Prime Minister is The Most Honorable Andrew Michael Holness, ON, MP. The agencies of Jamaica are created by both Parliamentary law and assigned to ministers to oversee. The governance structure consists of ministries with portfolios that have agencies that carry out its functions.
The Department of Transport (DOT) was the government agency responsible for the coordination, integration and regulation of the transport system in the State of Victoria, Australia. The Department generated planning, policy, and legislation for transport in Victoria. As a result, the Department drove the integration of Victoria's transport land and water transport systems and the delivery of public transport, road and port services and associated activities across the State. The Department's stated mission was "Building a safer, fairer and greener transport system for all Victorians to create a more prosperous and connected community."
The New South Wales Department of Industry, a former department of the New South Wales Government, from 2015 until 2019 was to lead the state government’s contribution to making NSW a prosperous state, creating the conditions for NSW to be a place where people want to live and work and businesses choose to invest and grow.
The Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR) is a former department of the Government of Victoria. It was created on 1 January 2015 by the government of Premier Daniel Andrews when the number of government departments was reduced from 9 to 7, and assumed responsibility for ministerial portfolios previously spread across 5 departments. It was abolished at the end of 2018 and divided into two new departments.
The Department of Justice and Attorney-General (DJAG) is a department of the Queensland Government with responsibilities for the administration of justice, support to Queensland courts, regulatory policy and consumer protection, legal aid, youth justice, corrective services, and other community and legal services.
In Australia the predominant term used for SOEs is government business enterprise (GBE). Various Australian states also have GBEs, especially with respect to the provision of water and sewerage, and many state-based GBEs were privatized in some states during the last decade of the twentieth century. Former Commonwealth SOEs include Telstra, established in the 1970s as Telecom Australia. Telstra, now Australia's leading telecommunications company, was privatized in 1997 by the government of John Howard. As of June 2010 Telstra owned a majority of the copper wire infrastructure in Australia and is pending sale to its former parent, the Australian government, for a non-binding amount of 11 billion Australian dollars, as ducts in the copper wire tunnels are needed to install the fiber optic cable. The Commonwealth Bank, as its name indicates, was also founded as public company before later being privatized.
