1.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
2.
Politics of Australia
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The politics of Australia takes place within the framework of a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Australia largely operates as a two-party system in which voting is compulsory, the Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, and has influenced both by the Westminster system and United States federalism. Under Section 1 of the Constitution of Australia, Parliament consists of three components, the Monarch, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, the Australian Parliament is the worlds sixth oldest continuous democracy. Voting within each electorate utilises the instant-runoff system of preferential voting, the party or coalition of parties which commands the confidence of a majority of members of the House of Representatives forms government. The Australian Senate has 76 members, the six states return twelve senators each, and the two mainland territories return two senators each, elected through the single transferable voting system. Senators are elected for flexible terms not exceeding six years, with half of the senators contesting at each federal election, as such, the Senate has the power to bring down the government, as occurred during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Such deadlocks are resolved under section 57 of the Constitution, under a procedure called a double dissolution election. Such elections are rare, not because the conditions for holding them are seldom met, of the six double dissolution elections that have been held since federation, half have resulted in the fall of a government. The most recent double dissolution election was in July 2016, with the government holding a slim majority, arguably, the trigger bills did not have much prominence throughout the campaign. The role of head of state in Australia is divided between two people, the monarch of Australia and the Governor-General of Australia. The functions and roles of the Governor-General include appointing ambassadors, ministers, the Governor-General is the President of the Federal Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. These posts are held under the authority of the Australian Constitution, in practice, barring exceptional circumstances, the Governor-General exercises these powers only on the advice of the Prime-Minister. As such, the role of Governor-General is often described as a ceremonial position. The Prime Minister of Australia is Malcolm Turnbull, leader of the Cabinet and head of government, the office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful political office in Australia. Despite being at the apex of executive government in the country, barring exceptional circumstances, the prime minister is always the leader of the political party or coalition with majority support in the House of Representatives. The only case where a senator was appointed minister was that of John Gorton. The Cabinet of Australia is the council of ministers responsible to Parliament
3.
Constitution of Australia
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The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the government of the Commonwealth of Australia operates, including its relationship to the States of Australia. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 became law on 9 July 1900, and entered into force on 1 January 1901. Other pieces of legislation have constitutional significance for Australia, even though the same person, Queen Elizabeth II, is the monarch of both countries, she acts in a distinct capacity as monarch of each. Under Australias common law system, the High Court of Australia and their decisions determine the interpretation and application of the constitution. However, the Constitution has continued to develop since then, with two laws having particularly significant impact on the status of the nation. However, impetus came from Britain and there was only lacklustre local support. These difficulties led to the failure of attempts to bring about federation in the 1850s and 1860s. The Federal Council could legislate on certain subjects, but did not have a permanent secretariat, the absence of New South Wales, the largest colony, also diminished its representative value. By the 1891 conference, significant momentum had been built for the federalist cause, under the guidance of Sir Samuel Griffith, a draft constitution was drawn up. However, these meetings lacked popular support, furthermore, the draft constitution sidestepped certain important issues, such as tariff policy. The draft of 1891 was submitted to colonial parliaments but lapsed in New South Wales, in 1895, the six premiers of the Australian colonies agreed to establish a new Convention by popular vote. The Convention met over the course of a year from 1897 to 1898, the meetings produced a new draft which contained substantially the same principles of government as the 1891 draft, but with added provisions for responsible government. To ensure popular support, the draft was presented to the electors of each colony, after one failed attempt, an amended draft was submitted to the electors of each colony except Western Australia. After ratification by the five colonies, the Bill was presented to the British Imperial Parliament with an Address requesting Queen Victoria to enact the Bill, finally, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1900. Western Australia finally agreed to join the Commonwealth in time for it to be an member of the Commonwealth of Australia. In 1988, the copy of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 from the Public Record Office in London was lent to Australia for the purposes of the Australian Bicentenary. As a result, since Australia was still legally a colony and this was resolved by the Statute of Westminster 1931, adopted by the Commonwealth via the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942. The Statute of Westminster freed the Dominions, including the Commonwealth, legally, this is often regarded as the moment of Australias national independence
4.
Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942
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The Statute of Westminster allowed the Dominion parliaments and governments to act independently of the British Parliament and Government. The Act is more important for its symbolic value than for the effect of its provisions. While Australias growing independence from the United Kingdom was well accepted and it also symbolised the shift in Australias foreign policy from a focus on the United Kingdom to the United States. Australias progression to independence was gradual and largely without incident. New South Wales was founded as a British colony in Sydney in 1788, other colonies split away from New South Wales or were separately established over the Australian continent in the ensuing decades. This accorded Australia somewhat greater independence and this was an important international demonstration of the independence of the Dominions. The Statute of Westminster 1931 gave legal effect to the Balfour Declaration, most importantly, it declared that the Parliament of the United Kingdom no longer had any legislative authority over the Dominions. Previously, the Dominions were legally colonies of the United Kingdom, the Statute made the Dominions de jure independent nations. The Statute took effect immediately over Canada, South Africa and the Irish Free State, however, Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland had to ratify the Statute through legislation before it would apply to them. Canada also requested certain exemptions from the Statute in regard to the Canadian Constitution, Australian politicians initially resisted ratification of the Statute. Latham had attended both the 1926 Imperial Conference and the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, and he had experience in international affairs. He preferred that the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Dominions not be codified in legislation, however, other politicians supported the Statute, and the new independence it gave to Australia. In 1930, shortly before the Statute was enacted, the Labor Prime Minister James Scullin recommended Sir Isaac Isaacs as the Governor-General of Australia, although King George V disapproved of Isaacs, the 1930 Imperial Conference upheld the procedure under the declaration, and so the King appointed Isaacs. The other Dominions supported this demonstration of political independence, four successive Prime Ministers – James Scullin, Joseph Lyons, Robert Menzies and Arthur Fadden – did not adopt the Statute. Before the 1940s, the United Kingdom had managed Australias foreign relations as a matter of course, curtins decision to formally adopt the Statute of Westminster in late 1942 was a demonstration to the international community that Australia was an independent nation. Since 7 November 1939, the Royal Australian Navy had operated subject to British imperial law, adopting the Statute of Westminster, so that Australia became able to amend applicable imperial law, avoided a potential repetition of this situation. The mens sentences were later further reduced, for a simple Act, it had a significant effect. Section 4 of the Statute provided that made by the Parliament of the United Kingdom would only have effect on a Dominion at the request of the government of that Dominion
5.
Australia Act
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While each Act gives its short title as Australia Act 1986, in Australia they are referred to, respectively, as the Australia Act 1986 and the Australia Act 1986. These nearly identical Acts were passed by the two parliaments, to come into effect simultaneously, because of uncertainty as to which of the two parliaments had the authority to do so. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 by federation of six British colonies, the Commonwealth Constitution provided for a Commonwealth Parliament, with legislative power on a range of specified topics, leaving the residue of legislative power to the States. That constitution was contained in a British statute, the United Kingdom Parliament retained ultimate legislative power in relation to Australia. The UK Parliaments power to legislate with effect for the Commonwealth itself was mostly ended with the Statute of Westminster 1931, when adopted by Australia in 1942 retroactive to 1939. The Statute provided that no future UK Act would apply to a Dominion as part of its law unless the Act expressly declared that the Dominion had requested and consented to it. Until then, Australia had legally been a colony of the United Kingdom. However, s 4 of the Statute only affected UK laws that were to apply as part of Australian Commonwealth law, thus, the Parliament of the United Kingdom still had the power to legislate for the states and territories. In practice, however, this power was almost never exercised, for example, in a referendum on secession in Western Australia in April 1933, 68% of voters favoured seceding from Australia and becoming a separate Dominion. As a result of decision in London, no action was taken in Canberra or Perth. The Australia Act ended all power of the UK Parliament to legislate with effect in Australia – that is, as part of the law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory. State laws would no longer be subject to disallowance or suspension by the Queen – a power that, anomalously, similarly, the Australia Act removed the power of the British government to be involved in the governing of an Australian State. Specifically, only the State Premier could now advise the Queen on appointment or removal of a State Governor, nonetheless, the Queen could still exercise any of her powers with respect to the State if she was personally present in the State. At federation in 1901, the court of each colony became the supreme court of that State. In 1903, a High Court of Australia was established, one of whose functions was to hear appeals from the State supreme courts, however, the British insisted on a compromise. Section 74 of the Constitution as enacted by the Imperial Parliament, and there could be an appeal with permission of the Privy Council. The Commonwealth Parliament was empowered to legislate to limit the path and it did so in 1968 and 1975. Predictably, the High Court proved reluctant to grant certificates for appeal to the Privy Council, the discretion was exercised only once, in 1912
6.
The Crown
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The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their sub-divisions, although the term is not only a metonym for the State. The Crown is a sole that represents the legal embodiment of executive, legislative. These monarchies are united by the union of their monarch. The concept of the Crown developed first in the Kingdom of England as a separation of the crown and property of the nation state from the person. The concept spread through English and later British colonisation and is now rooted in the lexicon of the other 15 independent realms. In this context it should not be confused with any physical crown, the concept of the Crown took form under the feudal system. Though not used this way in all countries that had this system, in England, all rights, land, for instance, was granted by the Crown to lords in exchange for feudal services and they, in turn, granted the land to lesser lords. One exception to this was common socage—owners of land held as socage held it only to the Crown. The Crown as ultimate owner of all property also owns any property which has become bona vacantia, the monarch is the living embodiment of the Crown and, as such, is regarded as the personification of the state. He office cannot exist without the office-holder, the Crown also represents the legal embodiment of executive, legislative, and judicial governance. While the Crowns legal personality is usually regarded as a sole, it can, at least for some purposes. Historically, the Crown was considered to be indivisible, two judgments—Ex parte Indian Association of Alberta and Ex parte Quark —challenged that view. The Crown in each of the Commonwealth realms is a similar, because both Canada and Australia are federations, there are also crowns in right of each Canadian province and each Australian state. The Succession to the Crown Law 2013 defined the Crown, for the purposes of implementing the Perth Agreement in Jersey law, as the Crown in right of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Legislation in the Isle of Man also defines the Crown in right of the Isle of Man as being separate from the Crown in right of the United Kingdom and this constitutional concept is also worded as the Crown in right of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The reserve powers of the Crown for each territory are no longer considered to be exercisable on the advice of the UK government, often cases are brought by the Crown according to the complaint of a claimant. The title of the case follows the pattern of R v Y. Thus R v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is R v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, where Miller is Gina Miller, in Scotland, criminal prosecutions are undertaken by the Lord Advocate in the name of the Crown
7.
Monarchy of Australia
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The monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary king or queen serves as the nations sovereign. The present monarch is Elizabeth II, styled Queen of Australia and she is represented in Australia by the governor-general, in accordance with the Australian constitution and letters patent from the Queen. In each of the states, the monarch is represented by a governor, the Australian monarch, besides reigning in Australia, separately serves as monarch for each of 15 other Commonwealth nations known as realms. This developed from the colonial relationship between these countries and the United Kingdom, but they are now independent of each other and are legally distinct. Likewise, on all matters relating to any Australian state, the monarch is advised by the ministers of the Crown of that state, the British government is thus considered a foreign power in regard to Australias domestic and foreign affairs. The sovereigns Australian title is currently Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. Typically, the monarch is styled King or Queen of Australia and is addressed as such when in Australia or performing duties on behalf of Australia abroad, prior to 1953, the title had simply been the same as that in the United Kingdom. Australia, however, wished to have the United Kingdom mentioned as well, thus, the resolution was a title that included the United Kingdom but, for the first time, also separately mentioned Australia and the other Commonwealth realms. The passage of a new Royal Style and Titles Act by the Parliament of Australia put these recommendations into law, Queen Elizabeth II signed her assent at Government House, Canberra, on 19 October 1973. Australia does not pay any money to the Queen, either for personal income or to support the royal residences outside Australia, only when the Queen is in Australia does the Australian government support her in the performance of her duties. This rule applies equally to members of the Royal Family. Succession is according to British laws that have incorporated into Australian law. By adhering to the Statute of Westminster in 1942, Australia agreed to change its rules of only in agreement with the UK. Parallel proclamations are made by the governors in each state, regardless of any proclamations, the late sovereigns heir immediately and automatically succeeds, without any need for confirmation or further ceremony. After an individual ascends the throne, he or she continues to reign until death. The legal personality of a component of the Australian state is expressed by reference to the sovereign. In criminal prosecutions, the state as a party is named as The Queen—for instance. However, the prosecutors themselves are referred to as representing the Crown, more commonly and conveniently, however, the entity is referred to directly—for example, as The Commonwealth or The State of New South Wales or simply New South Wales
8.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
9.
Governor-General of Australia
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The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the Australian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor-General is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia, when travelling abroad, the Governor-General is seen as the representative of Australia, and of the Queen of Australia, so is treated as a head of state. The Governor-General is supported by a staff headed by the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, a Governor-General is not appointed for a specific term, but is generally expected to serve for five years subject to a possible short extension. Since 28 March 2014, the Governor-General has been General Sir Peter Cosgrove, from Federation in 1901 until 1965,11 out of the 15 Governors-General were British aristocrats, they included four barons, three viscounts, three earls, and one prince. Since then, all but one of the Governors-General have been Australian-born, as of 2017, only one Governor-General, Dame Quentin Bryce, was a woman. The selection of a Governor-General is a responsibility for the Prime Minister of Australia, the candidate is approached privately to confirm whether they are willing to accept the appointment. The prime minister advises the monarch to appoint his nominee. This has been the procedure since November 1930, when James Scullins proposed appointment of Sir Isaac Isaacs was fiercely opposed by the British government, Scullin was equally insistent that the monarch must act on the relevant prime ministers direct advice. Both of these appointments had been agreed to despite British government objections, despite these precedents, George V remained reluctant to accept Scullins recommendation of Isaacs and asked him to consider Field Marshal Sir William Birdwood. However, Scullin stood firm, and, on 29 November, the King agreed to Isaacss appointment and this right to not only advise the monarch directly, but also to expect that advice to be accepted, was soon taken up by all the other Dominion prime ministers. This, among other things, led to the Statute of Westminster 1931, having agreed to the appointment, the monarch then permits it to be publicly announced in advance, usually several months before the end of the current Governor-Generals term. During these months, the person is referred to as the Governor-General-designate, the actual appointment is made by the monarch. Governors-General have during their tenure the style His/Her Excellency the Honourable, since May 2013, the style used by a former Governor-General is the Honourable, it was at the same time retrospectively granted for life to all previous holders of the office. From the creation of the Order of Australia in 1975, the Governor-General was, ex officio, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order, and therefore became entitled to the post-nominal AC. In 1986 the Letters Patent were amended again, and Governors-General appointed from that time were again, ex officio, until 1989, all Governors-General were members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and thus held the additional style the Right Honourable for life. The same individuals were also usually either peers, knights, or both, in 1989, Bill Hayden, a republican, declined appointment to the British Privy Council and any imperial honours. Dame Quentin Bryce was the first Governor-General to have had no title or pre-nominal style. Until 2015, the honour continued after the retirement from office of the Governor-General, formerly, the Governor-General automatically became a knight or dame upon being sworn in
10.
Peter Cosgrove
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General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, AK, MC is a retired senior Australian Army officer and the 26th and current Governor-General of Australia. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Cosgrove fought in the Vietnam War, from 1983 to 1984, he was commander of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and he later served as commander of the 6th Brigade and the 1st Division. Cosgrove rose to prominence in 1999, when he served as commander of the International Force for East Timor, Cosgrove was Australias Chief of Army from 2000 to 2002, and then Chief of the Defence Force from 2002 to 2005, receiving corresponding promotions to lieutenant general and general. In January 2014, Cosgrove was named to succeed Dame Quentin Bryce as Governor-General of Australia and he was sworn in on 28 March 2014, and created a Knight of the Order of Australia on the same date. Cosgrove was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 28 July 1947 and he was educated at Waverley College in Sydney, then followed his father, a warrant officer, into the Australian Army by attending the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1965. Lieutenant Peter Cosgrove was commissioned on 11 December 1968 and was allotted to the Royal Australian Infantry and he arrived in Vietnam on 3 August 1969 and was posted to 9th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment on 20 August 1969. On 10 October 1969, Lieutenant Cosgrove was commanding 5 Platoon, the platoon located an occupied bunker system in an area where, because of the proximity of allied troops, indirect fire support was difficult to obtain. In spite of this, he led his platoon in an assault on the bunkers without indirect fire support, capturing the system, on 16 October 1969,5 Platoon located another bunker system occupied by about a platoon of enemy. Lieutenant Cosgrove silently deployed his own platoon for an attack and his assault completely surprised the enemy causing them to flee, abandoning large quantities of food, stores and documents. The following day in the bunker system a party of enemy approached his right forward section and was engaged by the sentry. Knowing that the remainder of the section was elsewhere on other tasks, Lieutenant Cosgrove ran to the contact area, as a result of his actions, two enemy were killed and three weapons and four packs containing rice were captured. He was awarded the Military Cross for these actions, in 1980 he was awarded the National Medal. In the mid-1980s he commanded the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Cosgrove came to national fame in 1999 when, as a major general, he led the international forces in a peacekeeping mission to East Timor. The missions success made him one of Australias most respected and popular military leaders and he was promoted in 2000 to lieutenant general as Chief of the Army and in 2002 to general as Chief of the Defence Force. In 2004, the Foreign Minister Alexander Downer queried the judgement of Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty. Following a joint interview with the then Defence Minister Robert Hill, Cosgrove was accused of playing politics when he said that, on this occasion, however, Cosgrove expressed strong support for the Police Commissioner in his Australian best selling autobiography, My Story, published in 2006. On 3 July 2005, Cosgroves three-year appointment as Chief of the Defence Force was completed, Cosgrove served on the board of Australias main airline Qantas between July 2005 and January 2014 and is on numerous other boards as chairman or member. He served as Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University between November 2010 and January 2014, and is Honorary Patron in Chief of the ACT Veterans Rugby Club, Peter Cosgrove was appointed as Patron to the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association in 2015
11.
Government of Australia
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The Government of the Commonwealth of Australia is the government of the Commonwealth of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, the terms of this contract are embodied in the Australian Constitution, which was drawn up at a Constitutional Convention and ratified by the people of the colonies at referendums. Separation of powers is implied by the structure of the Constitution, the Australian system of government combines elements of the Westminster and Washington systems with unique Australian characteristics, and has been characterised as a Washminster mutation. Section 51 of the Constitution provides for the Commonwealth Governments legislative powers and allocates certain powers, all remaining responsibilities are retained by the six States. Further, each State has its own constitution, so that Australia has seven sovereign Parliaments, the High Court of Australia arbitrates on any disputes which arise between the Commonwealth and the States, or among the States, concerning their respective functions. The Commonwealth Parliament can propose changes to the Constitution, the Commonwealth Constitution also provides that the States can agree to refer any of their powers to the Commonwealth. This may be achieved by way of an amendment to the Constitution via referendum, more commonly powers may be transferred by passing other acts of legislation which authorise the transfer and such acts require the legislative agreement of all the state governments involved. This transfer legislation may have a clause, a legislative provision that nullifies the transfer of power after a specified period. In addition, Australia has several territories, two of which are self-governing, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, Australian citizens in these territories are represented by members of both houses of the Commonwealth Parliament. The territory of Norfolk Island was self-governing from 1979 until 2016, the other territories that are regularly inhabited—Jervis Bay, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands—have never been self-governing. The federal nature of the Commonwealth and the structure of the Parliament of Australia were the subject of protracted negotiations among the colonies during the drafting of the Constitution, the House of Representatives is elected on a basis that reflects the differing populations of the States. Thus New South Wales has 48 members while Tasmania has only five, but the Senate is elected on a basis of equality among the States, all States elect 12 Senators, regardless of population. This was intended to allow the Senators of the smaller States to form a majority, the ACT and the NT each elect two Senators. The third level of government after Commonwealth and State/Territory is Local government, in the form of shires, towns, the Councils of these areas are composed of elected representatives, usually serving part-time. Their powers are devolved to them by the State or Territory in which they are located, with this act, Australian law was made unequivocally sovereign, and the High Court of Australia was confirmed as the highest court of appeal. The theoretical possibility of the British Parliament enacting laws to override the Australian Constitution was also removed, the Legislature makes the laws, and supervises the activities of the other two arms with a view to changing the laws when appropriate. The Australian Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the Queen of Australia, a 76-member Senate, twelve Senators from each state are elected for six-year terms, using proportional representation and the single transferable vote, with half elected every three years. In addition to the state Senators, two senators are elected by voters from the Northern Territory, while another two senators are elected by the voters of the Australian Capital Territory
12.
Prime Minister of Australia
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The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the head of government of Australia. The individual who holds the office is the most senior Minister of the Crown, the leader of the Cabinet, the office is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and exists only through longstanding political convention and tradition. Despite this, in practice it is the most powerful position in Australia. The individual who holds the office is commissioned by the Governor-General of Australia, almost always and according to convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party or largest party in a coalition of parties in the House of Representatives. However, there is no requirement that the prime minister sit in the House of Representatives. The only case where a member of the Senate was appointed minister was John Gorton. Malcolm Turnbull has held the office of Prime Minister since 15 September 2015, the Prime Minister and Treasurer are traditionally members of the House, but the Constitution does not have such a requirement. Before being sworn in as a Minister of the Crown, a person must first be sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council if they are not already a member. Membership of the Federal Executive Council entitles the member to the style of The Honourable for life, the senior members of the Executive Council constitute the Cabinet of Australia. The Prime Minister is, like ministers, normally sworn in by the Governor-General. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the Prime Minister is said to hand in the commission, in the event of a Prime Minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, the Governor-General can terminate the commission. Despite the importance of the office of minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be entrenched in Australia by the authors of the Constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail them. The formal title of the portfolio has always been simply Prime Minister, except for the period of the Fourth Deakin Ministry, Page was the leader of the smaller party in the governing coalition, the Country Party. He held the office for three weeks until the UAP elected a new leader, Robert Menzies, in August 1941 Menzies resigned as prime minister. In July 1945 John Curtin died suddenly and his deputy, Frank Forde, was sworn in the next day as prime minister, although the Labor Party had not had an opportunity to meet and elect a new leader. Forde served for eight days until Ben Chifley was elected leader, Chifley was then sworn in, replacing Forde, who became Australias shortest-serving prime minister. Harold Holt disappeared while swimming on 17 December 1967 and was declared presumed dead on 19 December, the governor-general, Lord Casey, commissioned the Leader of the Country Party, John McEwen, to form a government until the Liberal Party elected a new leader
13.
Malcolm Turnbull
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Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is the 29th and current Prime Minister of Australia. The Turnbull Government was re-elected at the 2016 federal election though with a bare one-seat majority, Turnbull attended Sydney Grammar School before going to the University of Sydney, where he attained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws. Turnbull then attended Brasenose College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, elevated to the Howard Cabinet in January 2007, he briefly served as Minister for the Environment and Water. Following the defeat of the Liberal Government at the 2007 federal election, Turnbull declared himself a candidate in the subsequent leadership election, following a period of poor opinion polling, Turnbull challenged and defeated Nelson by four votes and became Leader of the Opposition. This led to persistent tensions within the Liberal Party, with Turnbulls support for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme proposed by the Rudd Government in late 2009 eventually causing a split. Tony Abbott, who was opposed to the Scheme, subsequently challenged Turnbull, Turnbull was subsequently sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia the following day and formed the Turnbull Government. However, at the closest federal majority result since the 1961 election, Malcolm Turnbull was born in Sydney on 24 October 1954 to Bruce Bligh Turnbull and Coral Magnolia Lansbury. Turnbulls maternal grandmother, May Lansbury, was born in England, Turnbulls father was a hotel broker. Turnbulls mother was an actor, a writer, an academic. Turnbull suffered asthma as a young child, Turnbulls parents separated when he was nine, with Turnbulls mother leaving first for New Zealand, and then the United States. Turnbull was then raised by his father, Turnbull is of direct paternal Scottish descent, his great-great-great grandfather John Turnbull arrived in 1802 in New South Wales and became a tailor. During his childhood, he practised Presbyterianism before becoming a Roman Catholic, Turnbull spent his first three years of school at Vaucluse Public School. He then attended the St Ives preparatory school at Sydney Grammar School as a boarder, in senior school he was a boarder at the former Randwick campus of the school while attending classes at the main College Street campus on a partial scholarship. He was senior school co-captain in 1972, as well as winning the Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition, excelling particularly in the subjects such as English. However, contrary to certain sources, Turnbull was not the dux of his year at Sydney Grammar. In 1987, in memory of his father, he set up the Bruce Turnbull means-tested scholarship at Sydney Grammar. In 1973, Turnbull attended the University of Sydney and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977, during his studies, he was active in student politics, serving as board director of the University of Sydney Union. He also worked as a political journalist for Nation Review, Radio 2SM, in 1978, Turnbull won a Rhodes Scholarship and attended Brasenose College, Oxford, where he studied for a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from 1978 to 1980, graduating with honours
14.
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
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The Deputy Prime Minister of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The office of Deputy Prime Minister was created as a portfolio in 1968. The Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister, the current Deputy Prime Minister of Australia since 18 February 2016 is Barnaby Joyce. He is the National Party leader in the Parliament of Australia and they are the junior party in a coalition with the Liberal Party of Australia, led by Prime Minister of Australia and Liberal Party leader Malcolm Turnbull. Originally the position of deputy Prime Minister was an unofficial or honorary position, the unofficial position acquired more significance following the 1922 federal election, which saw the governing Nationalist Party lose its parliamentary majority. While Pages only official title was Treasurer, he was considered as a deputy to Bruce, until 1968 the term was used unofficially for the second-highest ranking minister in the government, especially while the Coalition was in government. Under the Coalition agreement between the Liberals and Country Party, when in government, the position was held by the leader of the Country Party and that continues to be case when the Coalition is in government. In the case of Labor governments, the deputy leader was. McEwen was sworn in as Prime Minister on the understanding that his commission would continue only so long as it took for the Liberals to elect a new leader, the Liberal leadership ballot was rescheduled for 9 January 1968. As it turned out, McMahon did not stand, and Senator John Gorton was elected, McEwen reverted to his previous status as the second-ranking member of the government, as per the Coalition agreement. Since 1968 only two Deputy Prime Ministers have gone on to become Prime Minister, Paul Keating and Julia Gillard, in November 2007, when the Australian Labor Party won government, Julia Gillard became Australias first female, and first foreign-born, Deputy Prime Minister. In practice, only National party leaders or Labor Party deputy leaders have held the position, the duties of the Deputy Prime Minister are to act on behalf of the Prime Minister in his or her absence overseas or on leave. The Deputy Prime Minister has always been a member of the Cabinet and this has not occurred since the office was created as a portfolio in 1968. The most recent former deputy minister to die was Lionel Bowen. The official site of the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
15.
Barnaby Joyce
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He was sworn in as Minister for Agriculture in the Abbott Government on 18 September 2013. Water Resources was added to his portfolio on 21 September 2015 in the Turnbull Government, prior to entering Parliament Joyce worked as an accountant. At the 2004 Federal Election Joyce was elected as a Senator and he became leader of The Nationals in the Senate on 17 September 2008, succeeding Nigel Scullion. As a senator, Joyce crossed the floor nineteen times during the term of the Howard Government, in April 2013 Joyce was pre-selected by the National Party to contest the House of Representatives seat of New England in New South Wales for the 2013 federal election. He resigned from the Senate on 8 August 2013 to contest the election and won New England for the Nationals with a margin of 21.1 percent. Joyce is the person in the history of the Australian Parliament to have represented one state in the Senate. Joyce was born in Tamworth, New South Wales, and raised in Woolbrook, as one of six children from a sheep and cattle farming family. His father, James Joyce, was born in New Zealand and moved to Australia to study science at the University of Sydney. He served in the Australian Army Reserve from 1994 to 1999, at university Joyce met his wife, Natalie, and they married in 1993. After graduating, Joyce moved around northern New South Wales and Queensland and he worked in the accounting profession from 1991 to 2005 until he became a senator. He is a fellow of CPA Australia and he and his wife have four daughters and live just outside of Tamworth, New South Wales. Joyce was elected to the Senate in the 2004 election representing the National Party, his term commenced on 1 July 2005 and ran until 30 June 2011. He was re-elected at the 2010 election as a member of the Liberal National Party, Joyce regained the seat that the Nationals lost to the One Nation Party in 1998, defeating the One Nation Senator Len Harris. The Liberals won three seats in Queensland, Joyce won 6.5 percent of the vote on first preferences, well short of the 14. One Nation, the Liberal Party and the Democrats had sitting Senators, Joyce said before taking his seat in July 2005 that he would not be a cipher and that the government should not take his support for granted. Because the Liberals campaigned against Joyce, he never felt bound to the Liberal Party, Joyces maiden speech to the Senate on 16 August 2005 was widely reported in the Queensland media. He expressed his desire to see the power of Australias retailing duopoly, Coles Myer and Woolworths Limited, reduced so as to small business. He also espoused the virtues of free enterprise, particularly at the small business, on 17 August 2005 the government announced a package of A$30 billion to improve telecommunications services in regional and rural areas
16.
Federal Executive Council (Australia)
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The Federal Executive Council is a body established by the Constitution of Australia to advise the Governor-General. The Governor-General is bound by convention to follow the advice of the Executive Council on almost all occasions and this power is used to legally enact the decisions of the Cabinet, which has no de jure authority. The Federal Executive Council is the Australian equivalent of Executive Councils in other Commonwealth realms, and is similar to the councils of Canada. The Federal Executive Council consists of all current and former Commonwealth ministers, membership is governed by Section 64 of the Constitution, which stipulates that once appointed to a ministerial role, a person shall also be a member of the Executive Council. Membership is usually for life, however only those serving in the current ministry are actually involved in Council activities, members of the Executive Council are entitled to the style The Honourable. The Governor-General presides over meetings of the Executive Council, but is not a member, the position of Vice-President of the Executive Council is usually given to a Member of the Cabinet, and no additional salary or allowance is paid. The appointment of Sir James Killen to this post in 1982 was controversial because the office was seen as a given that he held no Ministerial portfolio. He was nevertheless considered a member of the Ministry by virtue of this office, the Governor-General has the power to dismiss any member of the Executive Council, but that power is rarely exercised in practice. It might be exercised if, hypothetically, a minister or former minister were convicted of a criminal offence. One notable case was that of the Queensland Senator Glen Sheil, fraser then advised Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen not to include Sheil in the ministry—advice that Cowen was required by convention to follow. Sheils appointment as an Executive Councillor without portfolio was terminated on 22 December, meetings do not require the Governor-Generals attendance, but the Governor-General must be notified of the meeting in order for it to be valid. A quorum for meetings is the Governor-General and two serving ministers or assistant ministers, if the Governor-General is not in attendance, quorum is the Vice-President and two serving ministers or assistant ministers. In the absence of the Vice-President, quorum is three ministers, one of whom, a minister, will preside. In practice, meetings will only be attended by a number of Councillors rather than the full Cabinet. The Council acts as a formal ratification body for decisions of the Cabinet
17.
Cabinet of Australia
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The Cabinet of Australia is the Australian Governments council of senior Ministers of the Crown, responsible to Parliament. The ministers are appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, Cabinet meetings are strictly private and occur once a week where vital issues are discussed and policy formulated. The Cabinet is also composed of a number of Cabinet committees focused on governance, outside the Cabinet there is an Outer Ministry and also a number of Assistant Ministers, responsible for a specific policy area and reporting directly to a senior Cabinet minister of their portfolio. The Cabinet, the Outer Ministry, and the Assistant Ministers collectively form the full Commonwealth Ministry of the government of the day, the Constitution of Australia does not recognise the Cabinet as 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 Australias highest formal governmental body established by Chapter II of the Constitution of Australia. In practice, the Federal Executive Council meets solely to endorse, all members of the Cabinet are members of the Executive Council. While the Governor-General is a presiding officer, they almost never attend Executive Council meetings. A senior member of the Cabinet holds the office of Vice-President of the Executive Council, until 1956 Cabinet comprised all ministers. This practice has continued by all governments since, with the exception of the Whitlam Government. When the Labor Party first held office under Chris Watson, Watson assumed the right to choose members of the Cabinet. In 1907, however, the party decided that future Labor Cabinets would be elected by members of the Parliamentary Labor Party, the Caucus, the Prime Minister retained the right to allocate portfolios. In practice, Labor Prime Ministers exercised a predominant influence over who was elected to Labor Cabinets, before the 2007 election, Kevin Rudd announced that if Labor won the election he would dispense with this tradition and appoint the ministry himself. In fact, the Caucus rule requiring the election of ministers remains in place, at the first Caucus meeting after the election, Rudd announced the members of his chosen ministry, and the Caucus then elected them unopposed, thus preserving the outward form of Caucus election. Following the 2010 federal election the Australian Labor Party secured the support of three independents and one Green member of the House of Representatives to enable it to form a government. On 11 September 2010, the Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced her new Cabinet which included the former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as Minister for Foreign Affairs, members of both the House of Representatives and Senate are eligible to serve as ministers and parliamentary secretaries. A minister does not have to be a member of either house, the Prime Minister and Treasurer are traditionally members of the House of Representatives, but the Constitution does not have such a requirement. As amended in 1987, the Minister of State Act 1952 permits up to 30 ministers, as members of one house cannot speak in the other, ministers in each house serve as representatives of colleagues in the other for answering questions and other procedures. As of December 2016 every government since federation has had senators serve as ministers, the Senate typically provides one-quarter to one-third of the ministry
18.
Parliament of Australia
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It consists of three elements, the Queen of Australia, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General, through both Houses, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westminster System. The upper house, the Senate, consists of 76 members, twelve for each state, Senators are elected using the single transferable vote proportional representation system and as a result, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for power. The governing party or coalition rarely has a majority in the Senate and usually needs to negotiate with other parties and this tends to lead to the chamber being dominated by two major parties, the Liberal/National Coalition and the Labor Party. The government of the day must achieve the confidence of this House in order to gain and remain in power, although elections can be called early, each 3 years the full House of Representatives and half of the Senate is dissolved and goes up for reelection. The two Houses meet in separate chambers of Parliament House on Capital Hill in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, the Commonwealth of Australia came into being on 1 January 1901 with the federation of the six Australian colonies. The inaugural election took place on 29 and 30 March and the first Australian Parliament was opened on 9 May 1901 in Melbourne by Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V. The only building in Melbourne that was enough to accommodate the 14,000 guests was the western annexe of the Royal Exhibition Building. After the official opening, from 1901 to 1927, the Parliament met in Parliament House, Melbourne and it had always been intended that the national Parliament would sit in a new national capital. This was a compromise at Federation due to the rivalry between the two largest Australian cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which wished to become the new capital. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the capital city in 1908. A competition was announced on 30 June 1914 to design Parliament House, however, due to the start of World War I the next month, the competition was cancelled. It was re-announced in August 1916, but again postponed indefinitely on 24 November 1916, in the meantime, John Smith Murdoch, the Commonwealths Chief Architect, worked on the design as part of his official duties. He had little enthusiasm for the project, as he felt it was a waste of money. Nevertheless, he designed the building by default, the construction of Old Parliament House, as it is called today, was commenced on 28 August 1923 and completed in early 1927. It was built by the Commonwealth Department of Works, using tradesmen, the final cost was about £600,000, which was more than three times the original estimate. It was designed to house the parliament for a maximum of 50 years until a permanent facility could be built, the building was opened on 9 May 1927 by the Duke and Duchess of York. The opening ceremonies were both splendid and incongruous, given the sparsely built nature of Canberra of the time and its small population, the building was extensively decorated with British Empire and Australian flags and bunting
19.
Australian Senate
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The Australian Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I, there are a total of 76 senators,12 senators are elected from each of the six states and two from each of the two autonomous internal territories. Senators are popularly elected under the single vote system of proportional representation. As a result of proportional representation, the features a multitude of parties vying for power. Senators normally serve fixed terms, unless the Senate is dissolved earlier in a double dissolution. Following a double half the state senators serve terms ending on the third 30 June following the election with the rest serving three years longer. The term of the territory senators expires at the time as there is an election for the House of Representatives. The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 established the Senate as part of the new system of government in newly federated Australia. From a comparative perspective, the Australian Senate exhibits distinctive characteristics. Unlike upper Houses in other Westminster system governments, the Senate is not a body with limited legislative power. Rather it was intended to play – and does play – an active role in legislation, the Constitution intended to give less populous states added voice in a Federal legislature, while also providing for the revising role of an upper house in the Westminster system. In practice, however, most legislation in the Australian Parliament is initiated by the Government and it is then passed to the Senate, which has the opportunity to amend the bill or refuse to pass it. In the majority of cases, voting takes place along party lines, since 2015, armed officers of the Australian Federal Police have been placed on duty to protect both chambers of the Federal Parliament. The system for electing senators has changed several times since Federation, the original arrangement involved a first-past-the-post block voting or winner takes all system, on a state-by-state basis. This was replaced in 1919 by preferential block voting, block voting tended to produce landslide majorities and even wipe-outs. For instance, from 1920 to 1923 the Nationalist Party of Australia had 35 of the 36 senators, and from 1947 to 1950, the Australian Labor Party had 33 of the 36 senators. From the 1984 election, group ticket voting was introduced in order to reduce a high rate of voting that arose from the requirement that each candidate be given a preference. As a result of the changes, voters may assign their preferences for parties above the line, or individual candidates below the line, both above and below the line voting now use optional preferential voting
20.
President of the Senate (Australia)
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The President of the Australian Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer of the house, the House of Representatives, is the Speaker. The Senate has always been an elected body. Since 7 July 2014, the President has been Stephen Parry, the Deputy President is Sue Lines. The President shall cease to hold his office if he ceases to be a senator and he may be removed from office by a vote of the Senate, or he may resign his office or his seat by writing addressed to the Governor-General. The President is elected by the Senate in a secret ballot, the President is assisted by an elected Deputy President. The traditional practice has been that the government nominates a Senator to be elected as President, neither Government nor Opposition Senators supported that candidacy. The position of President has been held by Senators representing the least populous states and territories. There have been 24 presidents of the Senate since 1901, of these 15 have come from the least populous states or the Australian Capital Territory, and 9 have come from the three most populous states. Following the election of the Howard government at the 1996 election, Labors Mal Colston became an independent MP, unlike the Speaker the President has a deliberative, but not a casting vote. This is because the Senate is in theory a states house, the Presidents principal duty is to preside over the Senate, to maintain order in the Senate, uphold the Standing Orders and protect the rights of backbench Senators. He or she is assisted by the Deputy President and a panel of Acting Deputy presidents, the President, in conjunction with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, also administers Parliament House, Canberra, with the assistance of administrative staff. The President has accountability obligations to the Parliament for the Department of the Senate, clerk of the Australian Senate The President of the Senate, Senate Brief No 6, March 2017
21.
Scott Ryan (Australian politician)
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Scott Michael Ryan is an Australian politician. He has been a Senator representing the state of Victoria for the Liberal Party of Australia since the 2007 federal election, Ryan has served as the Special Minister of State since July 2016 and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cabinet since January 2017 in the Turnbull Government. Ryan was born on 28 August 1973 in Brisbane, Queensland and he was educated at St Kevins College, Melbourne and graduated from the University of Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Arts. While at university, he served as President of the Melbourne University Liberal Club and was a member of the Australian Liberal Students Federation and he started his career as a tutor of political science at St Marys College, a constituent college of the University of Melbourne. He then worked in corporate affairs for pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and he also worked as a speechwriter and political advisor. In 2008, he was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs in Melbourne, Ryan was a member of the executive of the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party, holding the office of Vice President. He has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 2008 and he was elected to serve a six-year term in the Senate at the 2007 federal election, after being preselected in the third position on the Coalition ticket in Victoria. In 2016, he was elected to serve a six-year term. Ryan served as the Minister for Vocational Education and Skills following a rearrangement in the First Turnbull Ministry and they have a son and reside in Melbourne. Parliamentary info page Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Scott Ryan on TheyVoteForYou. org. au
22.
Australian House of Representatives
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The Australian House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Australia. It is referred to as the house, with the Senate being referred to as the upper house. The House is almost always dissolved earlier, usually alone but sometimes in a double dissolution of both Houses, a member of the House may be referred to as a Member of Parliament, while a member of the Senate is usually referred to as a Senator. The government of the day and by extension the Prime Minister must achieve, the House of Representatives currently consists of 150 members, elected by and representing single member districts, known as electoral divisions. The number of members is not fixed, but can vary with boundary changes resulting from electoral redistributions, the most recent overall increase in the size of the House, which came into effect at the 1984 election, increased the number of members from 125 to 148. It reduced to 147 at the 1993 election, returned to 148 at the 1996 election, each division elects one member using full-preference Instant-runoff voting. This was put in place after the 1918 Swan by-election, which Labor unexpectedly won with the largest primary vote, the Nationalist government of the time changed the lower house voting system from first-past-the-post to full-preference preferential voting, effective from the 1919 general election. This system has remained in place since, allowing the Coalition parties to safely contest the same seats, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 established the House of Representatives as part of the new system of dominion government in newly federated Australia. The House is presided over by the Speaker, Members of the House are elected from single member electorates. One vote one value legislation requires all electorates to have approximately the number of voters with a maximum 10% variation. However, the quota for the number of voters in an electorate is determined by the number of voters in the state in which that electorate is found. Meanwhile, all the states except Tasmania have electorates approximately within the same 10% tolerance, voting is by the preferential system, also known as instant-runoff voting. A full allocation of preferences is required for a vote to be considered formal and this allows for a calculation of the two-party-preferred vote. Under Section 24 of the Constitution, each state is entitled to members based on a quota determined from the latest statistics of the Commonwealth. These statistics arise from the census conducted under the auspices of section 51, the parliamentary entitlement of a state or territory is established by the Electoral Commissioner dividing the number of the people of the Commonwealth by twice the number of Senators. This is known as the Nexus Provision, the reasons for this are twofold, to maintain a constant influence for the smaller states and to maintain a constant balance of the two Houses in case of a joint sitting after a double dissolution. The population of state and territory is then divided by this quota to determine the number of members to which each state. Under the Australian Constitution all original states are guaranteed at least five members, the Federal Parliament itself has decided that the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory should have at least one member each
23.
Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
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The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer in the house is the President of the Senate. The office of Speaker was created by section 35 of the Constitution of Australia, the authors of the Constitution intended that the House of Representatives should as nearly as possible be modelled on the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The Speaker is the officer of House of Representatives debates. The Speaker is also responsible for maintaining order during debate, the office of Speaker is currently held by Tony Smith since 10 August 2015. The Deputy Speaker is Mark Coulton, who was elected Deputy Speaker on 30 August 2016, if the Speaker is absent the Deputy Speaker becomes the Acting Speaker. The Second Deputy Speaker is Rob Mitchell, the Clerk of the Australian House of Representatives conducts the election. In accordance with longstanding tradition, the MPs who move and second the nomination of the successful candidate drag him or her to the chair after his election, unlike the Speaker of the House of Commons in Britain, the Speaker generally remains an active member of their party. If a party member, the Speaker will continue to party meetings. There were two exceptions to this, the first Speaker, Frederick Holder and Peter Slipper, who resigned from their respective parties upon election as Speaker, and sat as independents. A Speaker ceases to hold office if, for any reason. Because the Speaker is always the nominee of the governing party, while the Opposition usually nominates one of its own members for Speaker after a general election, this is understood to be a symbolic act, and party discipline is always followed in any ballot. By reason of section 40 of the Constitution, while in the Chair, a Speaker does not have a vote, but if there is a tie in votes. Most Speakers have been senior backbenchers of the party holding office at the start of a new Parliament, two were former state premiers, Holder and Watt. Bronwyn Bishop was elected Speaker on 12 November 2013, as the Coalitions first female Speaker of the House, the Parliament was the first Australian federal parliament to have had three Speakers, Harry Jenkins, Peter Slipper, and Anna Burke. The name Speaker originates from olden times in the United Kingdom House of Commons, mr Speaker was a description rather than a title, the speaker being the Member of Parliament chosen to speak for them to the king. The first recorded use of the term Speaker was in 1377, during earlier times when the king was very powerful, he would usually only call the Parliament together to get it to agree to levy taxes. The speaker would report parliaments decisions to the king, which proved to be if it was not what the king wanted to hear
24.
Bill Shorten
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Shorten led Labor at the 2016 federal election at which the Liberal/National Coalition retained majority government. Following the 2010 federal election he was elevated to Cabinet and served as Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, from June 2013 he served as Minister for Education and Minister for Workplace Relations until the defeat of the Rudd Government later that year. Prior to entering Parliament, he was the secretary of the Australian Workers Union from 2001 to 2007. He was also the president of the Labor Party in his state of Victoria. Shorten was born in Melbourne, where his father, William Robert Shorten—from Tyneside, England—was a waterside worker and his mother, Ann Shorten, was a lawyer and university academic of Irish descent. Shorten has a brother, Robert. Shorten was educated at St Marys Catholic Primary School in Malvern East, Xavier College and Monash University and he also gained a Master of Business Administration from Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne in 2001. In 1994, Shorten began his career as a trainee organiser under the ACTUs Organising Works program at the AWU. Before taking this post, Shorten had decided to enter Victorian state politics, however, he quickly gave this up to pursue his career with the union. His time as secretary was marked by a reform of the unions structures, Shorten was elected as the AWUs national secretary in 2001 and was re-elected in 2005. He resigned as Victorian state secretary of the AWU in August 2007 and he was an active member of the Labor Party and was a member of the partys national executive until 2011, as well as the administrative committee of the Victorian branch. He was also director of the Superannuation Trust of Australia and the Victorian Funds Management Corporation, from December 2005 until May 2008 he was the Victorian state president of the Labor Party. He was also a member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions executive, until early 2006, he was a board member of GetUp. org. au. During his time as AWU national secretary, Shorten was the chief executive of the Australian Netball Players Association. Shorten also served on the board of the Australian Cricketers Association. Shorten became active in the Labor Party while still a student, working part-time for federal Labor Minister Gareth Evans and he also worked for Bill Landeryou, Minister and later Leader of the Government in the Victorian Legislative Council during the Kirner Labor Government. After graduating, he worked for eighteen months as a lawyer for Maurice Blackburn Cashman, in 2005, Shorten announced that he would seek selection as the Labor candidate for the seat of Maribyrnong, which was already held by Labor MP and Shadow Minister Bob Sercombe. Justifying his challenge to an incumbent Labor MP, Shorten said. we havent won an election since 1993
25.
Shadow Cabinet of Australia
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Neither the Shadow Cabinet nor the Shadow Ministers have any official status in the Parliament of Australia. The Shadow Cabinets membership is determined by the rules and practices of the Opposition party, since the 2013 Labor leadership ballot resulting from the 2013 Australian federal election, the Shadow Cabinet has been led by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten of the Australian Labor Party. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of the Liberal/National Coalition has led the Turnbull Government since the 2015 Liberal leadership ballot, following the narrow defeat at the 2016 election, the Australian Labor Party reelected Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek as leader and deputy leader respectively. On 23 July 2016, the Shadow Cabinet was announced
26.
Judiciary of Australia
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The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the court of appeal on matters of both federal and State law. The large number of courts in Australia have different procedural powers and characteristics, different jurisdictional limits, different remedial powers, under the Australian Constitution, federal judicial power is vested in the High Court of Australia and such other federal courts as may be created by the federal Parliament. These courts include the Federal Court of Australia, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, Federal jurisdiction can also be vested in State courts. The Supreme Courts of the states and territories are courts of record with general. They can try any justiciable dispute, whether it be for money or not, like the Supreme Courts, the Family Court and Federal Court are superior courts of record, which means that they have certain inherent procedural and contempt powers. But unlike their Supreme Court counterparts, their subject matter jurisdiction must be granted by statute, the High Court has limited trial powers, but very rarely exercises them. It has ample power to transfer cases started there to another, more appropriate court, common law and equity are administered by the same courts, in a manner similar to that of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873. Legal and equitable remedies may be pursued in the one action in the one court, judges are appointed by the executive government, without intervention by the existing judiciary. Once appointed, judges have tenure and there are restrictions on their removal from office, for example, a federal judge may not be removed from office except by the Governor-General upon an address of both Houses of Parliament for proved misbehavior. Judges in Australia are appointed by the Executive government of the relevant jurisdiction, Federal judges may only serve until age 70. There is no limit on the length of service of State court judges. For example, in New South Wales, judges must retire at age 72, the hierarchy consists of a variety of courts and tribunals at both the federal and state and territory levels, with the High Court being the highest court in the Australian judicial system. The High Court has described the concept of a court as having no ready application in Australia to federal courts. Despite this, Australian courts are frequently characterised as either superior or inferior, the Federal Court and the Supreme Courts of each State and Territory are generally considered to be superior courts. There is no definition of the term superior court. In many respects Australian superior courts are similar to the Senior Courts of England, inferior courts are those beneath superior courts in the appellate hierarchy, and are generally seen to include the Magistrates and District Court of each State as well as the Federal Circuit Court. These courts among them have jurisdiction over Commonwealth law, that is, the High Court is the highest court in Australia
27.
High Court of Australia
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The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. The High Court is mandated by Constitution section 71, which vests in it the power of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Court was constituted by, and its first members were appointed under and it now operates under Constitution sections 71 to 75, the Judiciary Act, and the High Court of Australia Act 1979. It is composed of seven Justices, the Chief Justice of Australia, currently Susan Kiefel and they are appointed by the Governor-General of Australia, on the advice of the federal government, and under the constitution must retire at age 70. Since 1979, The High Court has been located in Canberra, the majority of its sittings are held in the High Court building, situated in the Parliamentary Triangle, overlooking Lake Burley Griffin. With an increasing utilisation of video links, sittings are also held in the state capitals. The High Court exercises both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction, the High Court is the court of final appeal with the ability to interpret the common law for the whole of Australia, not just the state or territory in which the matter arose. The High Courts broad jurisdiction is similar to that of the Supreme Court of Canada, as such, the court is able to develop the common law consistently across all the states and territories. This role, alongside its role in constitutional interpretation, is one of the courts most significant and this broad array of jurisdiction enables the High Court to take a leading role in Australian law and contributes to a consistency and uniformity among the laws of the different states. The original jurisdiction of the High Court refers to matters that are heard in the High Court. The Constitution confers actual and potential original jurisdiction, Section 75 of the Constitution confers original jurisdiction in regard to all matters, The conferral of original jurisdiction creates some problems for the High Court. For example, challenges against immigration-related decisions are brought against an officer of the Commonwealth within the original jurisdiction of the High Court. However, the inclusion of constitutional matters in section 76, rather than section 75, in practice, section 75 and section 75 are broad enough that many constitutional matters would still be within jurisdiction. The 1998 Constitutional Convention recommended an amendment to the constitution to prevent the possibility of the jurisdiction being removed by Parliament, failure to proceed on this issue suggests that it was considered highly unlikely that Parliament would ever take this step. The requirement of a matter in section 75 and section 76 of the means that a concrete issue must need to be resolved. The High Courts appellate jurisdiction is defined under Section 73 of the Constitution, however, section 73 allows the appellate jurisdiction to be limited with such exceptions and subject to such regulations as the Parliament prescribes. Parliament has prescribed a large limitation in section 35A of the Judiciary Act 1903 and this requires special leave to appeal. Special leave is granted only where a question of law is raised that is of public importance, therefore, while the High Court is the final court of appeal, it cannot be considered a general court of appeal
28.
Law of Australia
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The law of Australia comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law. The constitutional framework of Australia is a combination of elements of the Westminster, the federal legislature has the power to pass laws with respect to a number of express areas, which apply to the whole of Australia and override any State laws to the extent of any inconsistency. However, beyond those areas the States legislatures generally have plenary power to enact laws on any subject. At both the federal and State levels, the law of Australia is largely derived from the common law system of English law. The High Court of Australia is the highest court in Australia, unlike the United States, there is only one common law of Australia rather than common laws for each of the several jurisdictions of the States and territories. The legal institutions and traditions of Australian law are monocultural in character, under the English conception of international law at the time, when uninhabited lands were settled by English subjects the laws of England immediately applied to the settled lands. As such, Aboriginal laws and customs, including native title to land, were not recognised, since Queensland and Victoria were originally part of New South Wales, the same date applies in those States for the reception of English law. South Australia adopted a different date for reception, as did Western Australia, the earliest civil and criminal courts established from the beginnings of the colony of New South Wales were rudimentary, adaptive and military in character. Although legality was not always observed, the courts limited the powers of the Governor, by 1824, a court system based in essence on the English model had been established through Acts of the British Parliament. Inferior courts were established, including courts of General or Quarter Sessions. Representative government emerged in the 1840s and 1850s, and a measure of autonomy was given to local legislatures in the second half of the nineteenth century. Colonial Parliaments introduced certain reforms such as secret ballots and female suffrage, nevertheless, Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament extending to the colonies could override contrary colonial legislation and would apply by paramount force. New doctrines of English common law continued to be treated as representing the law of Australia. For example, the doctrine of the case of Donoghue v Stevenson from which the modern negligence law derived, was treated as being latent already within the common law at the time of reception. Thus, although a British statute, this became Australias Constitution, following federation, Britains role in the government of Australia became increasingly nominal in the 20th century. However, there was momentum for Australia to obtain legislative independence. The Australian Government did not invoke the provisions of the statute until 1942, the High Court of Australia also followed the decisions of the Privy Council during the first half of the twentieth century. Complete legislative independence was established by the Australia Act 1986
29.
Elections in Australia
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Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, though there are variations between them. Part IV of Chapter 1 of the Australian Constitution briefly deals with eligibility for voting and it does not prescribe how elections should be conducted. Election campaigns and associated political advertisements have some regulation, Public funding of political parties and party registration was introduced in 1983. Voting is almost entirely conducted by paper ballot and is compulsory for adults, the informal vote is not usually significant, but a donkey vote is more common. They may, however, have an impact in marginal seats. The Parliament of Australia consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, the House of Representatives has 150 members, elected for a maximum term of three years in single-member constituencies. Elections are conducted by a system of preferential voting, electors in the two territories elect senators for non-fixed terms that are defined by the term of the House of Representatives. State senators serve fixed terms, except in the case of a double dissolution. In the event of a dissolution, the terms of all the members of the Senate. Although elections for the House of Representatives have usually corresponded to half-elections of the Senate, under the Constitution, the House of Representatives lasts no more than three years after it first meets, but may be dissolved earlier. After the House is dissolved or expires, writs for election must be issued within 10 days, the next House must meet within 140 days of the writs being issued. The terms of representing the states are of fixed duration. The terms of representing the territories are not fixed, and are tied to the dates of elections for the House of Representatives. Where a House is dissolved early, House and Senate elections may be asynchronous until either the House is again dissolved sufficiently early or a double dissolution occurs. The Australian Constitution requires that in half-Senate elections the election of State senators must take place one year before the places become vacant. As the terms of half the senators end on 30 June, there is no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives, and elections for half the Senate only have taken place in the past. There is a government and electorate preference for Senate elections to take place simultaneously with those of the House of Representatives
30.
Electoral system of Australia
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The Australian electoral system has evolved over 150 years of democratic government, including through the Australian Parliament, instituted in 1901. Federal elections and referendums are conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission, the earliest electoral roll in Australia dates to the 1840s, for the then colony of New South Wales. Following federation in 1901, State electoral rolls were used for federal elections until a Commonwealth electoral roll was compiled, a permanent Commonwealth electoral roll was compiled in 1908. For some years afterwards, the States also compiled their own State electoral rolls, since 1984, the Commonwealth electoral roll has been compiled and maintained by the Australian Electoral Commission. State and local elections are based upon the Commonwealth electoral roll. Though each state and territory regulates its own part of the electoral roll, the one enrolment application or update form can be used for Commonwealth, state and local rolls. The electoral roll is compiled on a basis, in alphabetical order of surname. Until 1988 electoral rolls were compiled by polling division and sub-division, lord Howe Island is recorded as part of New South Wales, while the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island are recorded on the Northern Territory roll. A person can vote if enrolled on an electoral roll. Compulsory enrolment for federal elections was introduced in 1912, today, enrolling to vote is mandatory for Australian citizens over the age of 18. Failure to enroll can incur a fine, however, citizens who later enroll themselves are protected from prosecution for not enrolling in the previous years by section 101 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Enrolment is voluntary for residents of Norfolk Island, residents in Australia who had been enrolled as British subjects in 1984 can continue to be enrolled. Nevertheless, about 1.3 million people eligible to vote had not been enrolled prior to the 2013 federal election. At June 2014 there were 14.9 million electors on the roll, to be eligible to enroll, a person must be an Australian citizen, at least 18 years old and have lived at the current address for at least one month. Special rules apply to citizens going or living outside the country, to personnel and to prisoners. Homeless people or those otherwise with no fixed address have a problem with registration. Each state and territory can regulate its own part of the Commonwealth electoral roll, a protection in Section 101 exists for offences prior to enrolment for those enrolled in such a way by the Electoral Commissioner. The qualification of an elector for local government elections generally do not require that they be Australian citizens, federal and state electoral rolls are closed for new enrolments or update of details before each election
31.
Australian federal election, 2016
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It was the first double dissolution election since the 1987 election and the first under a new voting system for the Senate that replaced group voting tickets with optional preferential voting. After a week of vote counting, still no party had won seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives to form a majority government. Many political commentators predicted a hung parliament such as occurred at the 2010 election, Turnbull claimed victory later that day. In the closest federal majority result since the 1961 election, the ABC declared on 11 July that the incumbent Coalition would be able to form a majority government. In the 150-seat House of Representatives, the one-term incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government was re-elected with a reduced 76 seats, the Coalitions victory marked the first time since 2004 that a government had been reelected with an absolute majority in the House of Representatives. Resulting from the national two-party swing against the government, the Labor opposition picked up a significant number of previously government-held seats − totaling 69 seats, on the crossbench the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team, Katters Australian Party, and independents Wilkie and McGowan won a seat each. On 19 July the Australian Electoral Commission announced a re-count for the Coalition-held, at the start of the Herbert re-count, Labor led by eight votes. The AEC announced on 31 July that Labor had won Herbert by 37 votes, the final outcome in the 76-seat Australian Senate took over four weeks to complete despite significant voting changes. Earlier in 2016, legislation changed the Senate voting system from a single transferable vote with group voting tickets to an optional-preferential single transferable vote. The final Senate result was announced on 4 August, Liberal/National Coalition 30 seats, Labor 26 seats, Greens 9 seats, One Nation 4 seats and Nick Xenophon Team 3 seats. Former broadcaster and founder of the Justice Party Derryn Hinch, won a seat, while Jacqui Lambie, Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm, the number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20. The Liberal/National Coalition will require at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority and this approach differs to the recount method, whereby the Senators who would have been elected in a normal half-Senate election are allocated a six-year term instead. By choosing the order elected method rather than the recount method, Labor, independents, Andrew Wilkie, Cathy McGowan Members in italics did not re-contest their House of Representatives seats at this election. Notes 1 As a result of the 2015 boundary redistribution, the New South Wales Liberal-held seats of Barton, Dobell,2 A re-count commenced on 19 July in the Queensland division of Herbert. Prior to the re-count, Labor was provisionally ahead of its LNP candidate by eight votes, on 31 July the Australian Electoral Commission announced Labor had won Herbert by 37 votes. The LNP was considering a challenge to the result. The final Senate result was announced on 4 August, the Labor opposition won 26 seats, a gain of one − a Senator in Western Australia. The number of crossbenchers increased by two to a record 20, the Liberal/National Coalition will require at least nine additional votes to reach a Senate majority, an increase of three
32.
Australian federal election, 2013
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A federal election to determine the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013.6 percentage point two-party swing. Labor had been in government since the 2007 election, Abbott was sworn in by the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce as Australias 28th Prime Minister on 18 September 2013 along with the Abbott Ministry and the members of the House of Representatives. The 44th Parliament of Australia opened on 12th November 2013, which is taken to be the commencement of the term of members of the House of Representatives. The new senators were sworn in by the next Governor-General Peter Cosgrove on 7 July 2014, the proclamation dissolving the House of Representatives and formally beginning the election period, had been issued by the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, on 5 August 2013. The writs of election were issued by Bryce for the election of members of the House of Representatives. Voting in Australias federal elections has been compulsory since 1925, for the House of Representatives, a preferential ballot system has been in use since 1919, in single-member seats. For the Senate – the proportionally representative upper house – a single vote system has been in use since 1949. Elections are conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission, a special half-Senate election was conducted on 5 April 2014 in Western Australia as a result of 1,375 lost ballot papers. Independents, Andrew Wilkie, Cathy McGowan The Senate has 76 seats, forty seats were up for election, six in each of the six states, two for the ACT and two for the Northern Territory. The terms of the four senators from the territories commenced on election day, Muir announced he would vote in line with Palmer United. The Coalition government required the support of at least six non-coalition Senators to pass legislation, a record number of candidates stood at the election. Preference whisperer Glenn Druery organised tight cross-preferencing between over 30 minor parties as part of his Minor Party Alliance. Sports Wayne Dropulich won a Senate seat on a primary vote of 0.2 percent in Western Australia. Motorings Ricky Muir won a seat on a record-low primary vote of 0.5 percent in Victoria. Family Firsts Bob Day won a seat on a vote of 3.8 percent in South Australia. All three were involved with the Minor Party Alliance, Xenophon and larger parties including the incoming government announced they would look at changes to the GVT system. Most Senate votes cast in Western Australia were subject to a formal recount, during the recount it was determined that 1,375 WA Senate ballot papers could not be located. After the final recount the result was declared which changed the last two predicted WA Senate spots from Palmer and Labor back to Sports and Green
33.
Australian federal election, 2010
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A federal election was held on Saturday,21 August 2010 for members of the 43rd Parliament of Australia. Six crossbenchers held the balance of power, Greens MP Adam Bandt and independent MPs Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply. Independent MP Bob Katter and National Party of Western Australia MP Tony Crook declared their support for the Coalition on confidence, the resulting 76–74 margin entitled Labor to form a minority government. The Prime Minister, government ministers and parliamentary secretaries were sworn in on 14 September 2010 by the Governor-General Quentin Bryce, the Coalition was reduced from 37 to 34 and Labor was reduced from 32 to 31. The two remaining seats were occupied by Xenophon and Victorias new Democratic Labor Party Senator John Madigan, Family First Party Senator Steve Fielding was defeated. These changes took effect in the Senate on 1 July 2011, more than 14 million Australians were enrolled to vote at the time of the election. The election was conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission, Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, a loss of eleven and a gain of seven respectively. Labor won their largest two-party preferred vote in Victoria and Tasmania since official two-party records began in 1949, on the crossbench, one member of the Australian Greens, one member of the National Party of Western Australia and four independent members held the balance of power. After gaining the support of four crossbenchers Labor was able to form a minority government, on the crossbenches, Adam Bandt won the first seat for the Greens at a general election in the seat of Melbourne. He had previously announced he would align with Labor in the event of a hung parliament, on 1 September the Greens declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply. Andrew Wilkie, a former Greens candidate and now independent, was elected as the Member for Denison, on 2 September 2010 he declared his support for Labor on confidence and supply. Tony Crook won the seat of OConnor for the National Party of Western Australia, there was dispute over affiliation, with some classing Crook as a member of the Coalition and including him in their Coalition totals. The WA National Party subsequently issued a statement saying in part, Crook says, In every news report and press report we see, my number is being allocated in with the Coalition and it shouldnt be. On 6 September Crook declared his support for the Coalition on confidence and supply, on 6 May 2012, it was announced that Crook would join the Nationals party room and be formally part of the Coalition. Bob Katter, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott, all independents, were re-elected, both Katter and Windsor were successful at previous elections, while Oakeshott was elected at the 2008 Lyne by-election. All are former members of the National Party, a party in the Coalition. However, all three said they would be open to negotiating with either side to form government and they said they would engage in discussion as a bloc but vote individually. On 7 September, Katter declared his support for the Coalition on confidence, later that day, Windsor and Oakeshott declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply
34.
States and territories of Australia
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Australia is a federation of six states, together with ten federal territories. The Australian mainland consists of five of the six federated states, the state of Tasmania is an island about 200 kilometers from the mainland. The remaining seven territories are classified for some purposes as external territories, aside from the Australian Antarctic Territory, which is Australias claim to part of Antarctica, Australia is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area. Since 2015, federal control has also extended to the formerly self-governing territory of Norfolk Island. Three of the territories are inhabited, the others are uninhabited. The term geographic Australia is used by the Australian government to describe the area covered by demographic statistics such as national population figures and this area comprises Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands in addition to the six states and three mainland territories. Norfolk Island is the territory with a native population that is not part of geographic Australia. Both territories were reincorporated as the Northern Territory at the end of this period, from 1923 to 1968, the United Nations Trust Territory of Nauru was under Australian administration, until independence as the Republic of Nauru. From 1949 to 1975, the Territory of Papua and New Guinea was a territory of Australia, the states originated as separate British colonies prior to Federation in 1901. Upon Federation, the six colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, the territories, by contrast, are from a constitutional perspective directly subject to the Commonwealth Government, laws for territories are determined by the Australian Parliament. Most of the territories are directly administered by the Commonwealth Government, in the self-governing territories, the Australian Parliament retains the full power to legislate, and can override laws made by the territorial institutions, which it has done on rare occasions. For the purposes of Australian intergovernmental bodies, the Northern Territory, each state has a Governor, appointed by the Queen, which by convention she does on the advice of the state Premier. The Administrator of the Northern Territory, by contrast, is appointed by the Governor-General, Jervis Bay Territory is the only non-self-governing internal territory. Until 1989, it was administered as if it were a part of the ACT, although residents of the Jervis Bay Territory are generally subject to laws made by the ACT Legislative Assembly, they are not represented in the Assembly. They are represented in the Parliament of Australia as part of the Electoral Division of Fraser in the ACT, in other respects, the territory is administered directly by the Federal Government through the Territories portfolio. The external territory of Norfolk Island possessed a degree of self-government from 1979 until 2015, each state has a bicameral parliament except Queensland, which abolished its upper house in 1922. The lower house is called the Legislative Assembly, except in South Australia and Tasmania, Tasmania is the only state to use proportional representation for elections to its lower house, all others elect members from single member constituencies, using preferential voting. The upper house is called the Legislative Council and is elected from multi-member constituencies using proportional representation
35.
Governors of the Australian states
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The governors of the Australian states are the representatives of the Queen of Australia in each of Australias six states. The state governors are not subject to the authority of the governor-general. In practice, with few exceptions the governors are required by convention to act on the advice of the state premiers or the members of a states Cabinet. The office of governor is the oldest constitutional office in Australia, the title was first used with the Governor of New South Wales, and dates back to 1788 to the day on which the area became the first British settlement in Australia. Each of the subsequent five states in Australia was also founded as a British colony, the settlement which became Queensland was founded in 1824, but was not separated from New South Wales until 1859. New South Wales and Tasmania were founded as penal colonies, Tasmania in particular was run as a virtual prison camp in its early years. The Governors were also commanders-in-chief, and the troops under their command were the basis of their authority. From the 1820s, however, the number of free settlers in the colonies led to a process of constitutional reform which gradually reduced the powers of the governors. New South Wales was given its first legislative body, the New South Wales Legislative Council, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, which were not founded as penal settlements, moved rapidly towards constitutional government after their establishment. However, the states insisted on retaining their separate links to the Crown, the post of governor was again called into question during the Depression of the 1930s, when the cost of maintaining six vice-regal establishments drew criticism from the labour movement and others. During this period some states left the position unfilled as a measure for some years. But no state attempted to abolish the post of governor, all governors at this time were British, and most were from the upper classes and political conservatives, and Labor governments always suspected that they had an enemy in Government House. Most governors, however, tried to act impartially, and some were genuinely popular, from the 1940s the states, particularly those with Labor governments, began to appoint Australians to the post of governor. The first colonies were penal settlements and the colonial governors were military officers who ruled under martial law. Once the governors role moved from the executive to the ceremonial, although a few members of the peerage served as governors, the Australian colonial capitals were small towns and considered not grand enough to attract senior members of the British aristocracy. Even when Australians replaced Britons as governors, most continued to be retired Army, the last British-born governor of an Australian state was Rear Admiral Sir Richard Trowbridge, who was Governor of Western Australia from 1980 to 1983. The British Government retained the authority to intervene in the governments of the states under the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865. As a result, the state continued to be formally appointed by the Queen on the advice of the British Foreign Secretary
36.
Premiers of the Australian states
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The Premiers of the Australian states are the heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Commonwealth of Australia. They perform the function at the state level as the Prime Minister of Australia performs at the national level. The territory equivalents to the Premiers are the Chief Ministers of the Northern Territory, the Queen of Australia and the State Governors are the formal repositories of executive power, however, in practice they act only on the advice of State Premiers and Ministers. Each of the Australian states is governed under the Westminster system of parliamentary government, each state has an elected legislature. Following a General Election, the State Governor appoints as Premier the Member of the house of the State legislature who can command a simple majority of votes on the floor of the house. The Governor is the head of Government, but in practice acts only on the advice of the Premier, the Australian states were founded as British colonies, and executive power was held by a Governor appointed by the British Government. From the 1820s the power of the Governors was gradually transferred to bodies, at first appointed, later partly elected. Victoria gained full responsible government in 1855, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania in 1856, Queensland in 1859. Until the rise of the Australian Labor Party in the 1890s, ministries were usually formed on the basis of personal or factional loyalties, and rose and fell with great frequency as loyalties changed. Colonial politics were regarded as parochial, corrupt and cynical. Victorian Premier James Munro, for example, fled the colony to escape his creditors in 1890, the first minority Labor government was formed by Anderson Dawson in Queensland in 1899, and the first majority Labor government was led by James McGowen in New South Wales in 1910. Since about 1910 state politics have followed much the same party pattern as Australian national politics, since 1952, every premier of every state has been a member of the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party of Australia, or the National Party of Australia. The most important transfer of power came in 1943, when in the interests of unity during World War II the states gave up their power to levy their own income taxes to the Commonwealth. Since then the states finances have essentially been controlled by the Commonwealth, for many decades, the Premiers met with each other and the Prime Minister at Premiers Conferences. Since 1992, such meetings occur as the Council of Australian Governments, which includes the Chief Ministers of the territories. On 21 July 2006, South Australian Premier Mike Rann was appointed Chairman of a new Council for the Australian Federation, a council which aims to improve state-federal ties. With the exception of South Australia, every state and territory of Australia has had a head of government, all. The governments led by Lawrence, Kirner, Keneally and Giddings were defeated at subsequent elections, anna Bligh and Annastacia Palaszczuk are the only women who have received a popular mandate as Premier of an Australian state
37.
Local government in Australia
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Local government in Australia is the third tier of government in Australia administered by the states and territories, which in turn are beneath the federal tier. Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and two referenda in the 1970s and 1980s to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful, every state government recognises local government in their respective constitutions. Unlike Canada, or the United States there is one level of local government in each state. In August 2016 there were 547 local councils in Australia, despite the single level of local government in Australia, there are a number of extensive areas with relatively low populations which are not a part of any local government area. Despite this, they occupy a role in each state. State-based departments oversee local councils and may intervene in their affairs, the first official local government in Australia was the Perth Town Trust, established in 1838, only three years after British settlement. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840, the City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation, however local government was regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. In the 1970s, the Whitlam Government expanded the level of funding to local governments in Australia beyond grants for road construction, general purpose grants become available for the first time. Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics, each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Victoria saw the number of local councils reduced from 210 to 78, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland saw some reductions in the number of local governments while Western Australia and New South Wales rejected compulsory mergers. New South Wales eventually forced the merging of some councils, the main purpose of amalgamating councils was for greater efficiency and to improve operations, but forced amalgamation of councils is sometimes seen as a dilution of representative democracy. An increase in the range of services offered by councils, the council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced a larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia, in 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils, Local governments are subdivisions of the states and the Northern Territory. Although they are all identical in function, Australian local governments have a variety of names. The term local government area is used to refer collectively to all local governments regardless of status, whilst the local governing body itself is generally known as a council. Today, the borough, city, district, municipality, region, shire, town, community government, Aboriginal shire
38.
Local government areas of New South Wales
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Local government authorities provide a wide range of services. The most important of these are the services of administration, health, community amenities, recreation and culture, roads. Councils also provide a range of trading activities, mainly in areas of NSW. These trading activities include water supply, sewerage services, gas services, some areas retain designations they held under prior legislation, even though these titles no longer indicate a legal status. Many councils now choose not to use any title, and simply refer to themselves as councils, e. g. Northern Beaches Council. The smallest local government area by area in the state is the Municipality of Hunters Hill, the formation of local govermment in New South Wales predates the formation of responsible government in the state. The Sydney Corporation was formed in 1842, a body to manage primary services such as street lighting. The Municipalities Act,1858 introduced a system of local government, Municipalities were compulsorily incorporated by legislation in 1876, the third Municipalities Act,1897 consolidated municipal law, and in 1905 legislation was enacted to establish shires. The Local Government Act,1906 reformed the system, replaced by the Local Government Act,1919. Maximum flexibility was given in respect to provision, with some constraints. In regard to regulatory functions, proper attention had to be given to due process, the NSW Government has undertaken periodic reviews of local government since the early 1900s. Reforms included providing enfranchisement for women and for residents who did not own property in the LGA, standardising land valuation systems, the Barnett Committee Review of Local Government Areas, conducted during 1973-74, sought to create stronger economic LGAs through a substantial reduction in council numbers. The Barnett Report recommended the merging of the then 223 existing local government entities into 97 districts. However by 1980 and after references to the NSW Local Government Boundaries Commission. Bains review had major influence on the engagement of more general managers, councillors becoming policy makers. However, only four councils entered into voluntary mergers in order to avoid potential forced amalgamations, the Sproats Inquiry into the structure of local government in eight council areas of the Inner City and Eastern Suburbs of Sydney was commissioned by the state government in October 2000. The Carr government abandoned its policy of no forced mergers after the 2003 state election, in October 2013, the NSW Government released the findings of an independent review of local government in New South Wales. Included in the report were 65 recommendations to the Government, the IPART proposed a series of council mergers and amalgamation in both metropolitan and regional areas which proposed a reduction in the number of councils from 152 to 112
39.
Local government in Victoria
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Local government in the Australian state of Victoria describes the 79 municipal districts often referred to as local government areas. They are constituted as cities, shires, rural cities and, in one case, in addition to the LGAs, there are also 10 coastal islands and ski resorts which are unincorporated areas and administered either by the state or management boards. At present, the councils not controlled by administrators have a total of 611 councillors, after the elections in October 2016, this number will increase due to changes in electoral structure and administrators leaving some councils. Up till 1994 there had been 210 LGAs, when Jeff Kennett, the councils of Benalla and Mansfield split subsequent to this to arrive at the current number. Both bodies continued after the creation of Victoria as a separate colony, Road districts were established pursuant to legislation passed in 1853. From 1862 many road districts became shires pursuant to the District Councils Bill 1862, to become a shire, the road district had to be over 100 square miles in size and have annual rate revenue of over £1000. There were 96 road districts or shires created by 1865, promotion to town or city status was dependent on the gross revenue of the council. Such promotion was not automatic, but it was granted often, the clauses have been amended many times by parliament, but since 2006 the Constitution Act has required a referendum to further alter them. Five shires became rural cities but were dissolved with the 1994 restructure, in 1992 there were 65 cities in Victoria, more than there were in England at the time despite a significantly lower population. In 1994, the Jeff Kennett government restructured local government in Victoria and his reforms dissolved 210 councils and sacked 1600 elected councillors, and created 78 new councils through amalgamations. In suburban Melbourne 53 municipalities were reduced to 26, the new local government areas were headed by commissioners appointed by the State Government, democratically elected councils did not return until 1996. The current total of 79 LGAs arose when the Shire of Delatite was split in 2002 into the Rural City of Benalla and the Shire of Mansfield. A new City of Sunbury was proposed to be created from part of the City of Hume after the 2016 council elections, all local government areas are governed in a similar fashion, with an elected council, one of whom is the mayor. The City of Melbourne and the City of Greater Geelong have a elected mayor. The average area of a district within the Melbourne metropolitan area is 285 square kilometres. In practice, this is understood as referring to the distribution between urban centres and rural areas. The term borough, used of the Borough of Queenscliffe, is not defined by the act but has retained for the single borough which survived the reforms of the 1990s. Under the repealed Local Government Act 1958, boroughs, towns and cities were defined on the basis of area, population, in practice, boroughs were and are small towns
40.
Local government in Queensland
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Queensland is divided into 77 local government areas which may be called Cities, Towns, Shires or Regions. The Municipalities Act 1858 allowed for the creation of a municipality upon the petition of not less than 50 householders within a defined area, if no counter-petition with more signatures was received, the Governor was able to declare a municipality in the region. Once a municipality had been proclaimed, ratepayers could elect a council to represent them, the first to be declared was Brisbane, with a population of 5,000 and an area of 14.25 square kilometres. On 16 November, a petition containing 91 signatures was received seeking to have Ipswich, on 10 December 1859, the same day that the letters patent were published in Queensland, the petition was regazetted. On 3 March 1860 the Town of Ipswich was proclaimed, following this, eight other councils obtained municipality status under the Act, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Maryborough, Warwick, Drayton, Gladstone, Bowen and Dalby. By 1879, almost all of Queensland was under some form of administration, either as a municipality under the Local Government Act 1878. In September 1864, the first comprehensive Queensland local government legislation, the Act allowed municipalities to charge rates, borrow money, enact bylaws, control or regulate public infrastructure and utilities, and provide public amenities such as gardens and hospitals. The system for creating new municipalities was redesigned, once this had been done, the Governor could proclaim the change, and residents could then elect a council to represent them. Only qualified voters could stand for elections, which were conducted annually with one-third of the councillors retiring at each election. Once the council was elected, they selected a mayor from among their number, for the first time, municipalities could be divided into wards upon their own request—from two wards for a population under 1,000, to four wards for a population over 5,000. The Queensland Government passed the Local Government Act 1878 in August of that year, according to the Act, the function of municipal councils was to maintain the good rule and government of the municipality, and to provide public services and amenities. It made provision for the creation of municipalities to be known as Cities, Boroughs or Shires. Any man or woman over the age of 21 who was liable to be rated on any property in the district was eligible to vote in elections, in most other respects, the Local Government Act followed on from the 1864 Act. The Act was modelled on the Victorian Local Government Act 1874, the Governments response was the Divisional Boards Act 1879, which intended to extend local government to those areas of Queensland which could not be included in municipalities. The Act divided all lands in the Colony not already included into municipalities into 74 divisions, elections were to be conducted by postal ballot. In 1915–1917 and again in 1949, significant changes were made to local government in south-eastern Queensland, the Local Authorities Act Amendment Bill was passed in late 1920. It introduced adult franchise into local government elections, bringing them into line with the state, from July 1921, local councils were elected every three years instead of annually. Minimum standards of competency were required for town/shire clerks, a City had to be proclaimed by the Governor following certain criteria being met
41.
Local government areas of Western Australia
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The Local Government Act 1995 also makes provision for regional local government, established by two or more local governments for a particular purpose. Nonetheless, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands are not part of Western Australia, historically, two types of local government existed – municipalities, which represented towns or condensed urban areas, and road districts, which represented all other regions. For instance, the Perth Road District was the precursor to the City of Stirling, only a few cities – Perth, Fremantle, Subiaco, South Perth and Nedlands – existed prior to 1961. On 1 July 1961, all road districts became shires, and all municipalities became towns
42.
Local government areas of South Australia
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The organisations, often called local government areas are constituted and managed in accordance with the Local Government Act 1999. They are grouped below by region, as defined by the Local Government Association of South Australia, district Councils Act 1887 List of cities and towns in South Australia Shires of Australia. Local Government Association of South Australia Local Government Regions of SA – clickable maps
43.
Local government areas of Tasmania
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Local government areas in the Australian state of Tasmania describes the 29 organisations and processes by which towns and districts can manage their own affairs. The LGAs are grouped by region and this article also includes lists of towns, suburbs and localities of Tasmania. Greater Hobart contains six LGAs, Brighton Council, containing the Hobart suburbs of Bridgewater, Gagebrook, Old Beach, and the towns of Brighton, Pontville, and Tea Tree. Sorell Council, containing the towns of Bream Creek, Dodges Ferry, Copping, Dunalley, Kellevie, Lewisham, Marion Bay, Midway Point, municipality of Tasman, containing the towns and settlements of Koonya, Murdunna, Nubeena, and Port Arthur. Huon Valley Council, containing the towns and settlements of Cygnet, Dover, Franklin, Geeveston, Port Huon, Glen Huon, Huonville, glamorgan Spring Bay Council, containing the towns and settlements of Bicheno, Coles Bay, Orford, Swansea, and Triabunna. The north-east area councils contain three LGAs, Break ODay Council, containing the towns and settlements of Fingal, St Helens, St Marys, dorset Council, containing the towns and settlements of Branxholm, Bridport, Derby, Scottsdale, and Winnaleah. Flinders Council, containing Cape Barren Island and Flinders Island and its settlements of Emita, the Launceston area councils contain four LGAs, George Town Council, containing the towns and settlements of Bell Bay and George Town. Meander Valley Council, containing the Launceston suburbs of Blackstone Heights and Prospect, the towns and settlements of Carrick, Deloraine, Hagley, Hadspen, Mole Creek, west Tamar Council, containing the towns and settlements of Beaconsfield, Beauty Point, Exeter, Legana, and Riverside. Central Coast Council, containing the towns of Forth, Penguin, Turners Beach, Ulverstone, circular Head Council, containing the towns of Marrawah, Smithton, and Stanley. City of Devonport, containing the city of Devonport, kentish Council, containing the towns and settlements of Cradle Mountain, Railton, and Sheffield. King Island Council, containing King Island and the settlement of Currie, Latrobe Council, containing the towns and settlements of Hawley Beach, Latrobe, Port Sorell, and Shearwater. Waratah-Wynyard Council, containing the towns and settlements of Savage River, Somerset, Waratah, west Coast Council, containing the towns and settlements of Queenstown, Rosebery, Strahan, Tullah, and Zeehan. The Central councils contain three LGAs, Central Highlands Council, containing the settlements of Bothwell, Bronte Park, Derwent Bridge, Hamilton, Liawenee, Miena, Ouse, and Tarraleah. Northern Midlands Council, containing the settlements of Avoca, Campbell Town, Cressy, Evandale, Liffey, Longford, southern Midlands Council, containing the settlements of Bagdad, Campania, Oatlands, and Ross. See Former local government areas of Tasmania Tasmania has had an amount of former LGAs. In 1907,149 LGAs were reduced by mergers and amalgamation to 53 LGAs, by the time of a large scale overhaul in 1993,46 LGAs were reduced to 29 LGAs. List of localities in Tasmania Government of Tasmania Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives#Tasmania Map of Local Government Areas
