Skip to main content. Five facts about the Governor-General Government. Thursday, 11 July In addition to welcoming visiting Heads of State to Australia and representing Australia at overseas events, one of his ceremonial duties is to receive the credentials of all incoming Ambassadors and High Commissioners.
Got a milestone coming up? State Governors considered to be more readily available in cases of urgency have been appointed as Deputies of the Governor-General with authority to exercise a wide range of powers and functions, including the making of recommendations with respect to the appropriation of revenues or moneys, the giving of assent to proposed laws and the making, signing or issuing of proclamations, orders, etc.
The same judge is also authorised to administer the oath or affirmation of allegiance to Members. In the Governor-General Act was amended to provide for the establishment of the statutory office of Official Secretary to the Governor-General. Annual reports of the Official Secretary have been presented to both Houses since Previous page : Chapter 1 The Queen. House of Representatives Practice Contents.
Australian Parliament House is currently closed to the public. To synchronise elections for the House with election for half the Senate; claimed business community concerns that if there were to be an election in the spring it should be held as early as possible ending electioneering atmosphere etc. The table does not include simultaneous dissolutions of both Houses granted by the Governor-General under s.
On four occasions reasons, if any, were not given to the House—for example, the House may not have been sitting at the time. As far as is known, the majority of dissolutions have taken place in circumstances which presented no special features. Where necessary, it is a normal feature for the Governor-General to grant a dissolution on the condition and assurance that adequate provision, that is, parliamentary appropriation, is made for the Administration in all its branches to be carried on until the new Parliament meets.
The precedents in Table 1. A feature of the precedents is that in , , and the grounds given included a perceived need to synchronise the election of the House of Representatives with a periodic election for half the Senate. The Governor-General is known to have refused to accept advice to grant a dissolution on three occasions: [49]. The advice of Prime Minister Fisher in the case consisted of a lengthy Cabinet minute which contained the following summary of reasons:.
Your Advisers venture to submit, after careful perusal of the principles laid down by Todd and other writers on Constitutional Law, and by leading British statesmen, and the precedents established in the British Parliament and followed throughout the self-governing Dominions and States, that a dissolution may properly be had recourse to under any of the following circumstances:. On 10 January , following the defeat of a national referendum relating to compulsory military service overseas, Prime Minister Hughes informed the House that the Government had considered it its duty to resign unconditionally and to offer no advice to the Governor-General.
A memorandum from the Governor-General setting out his views was tabled in the House:. On the 8th of January the Prime Minister waited on the Governor-General and tendered to him his resignation.
In doing so Mr. Hughes offered no advice as to who should be asked to form an Administration. The Governor-General considered that it was his paramount duty a to make provision for carrying on the business of the country in accordance with the principles of parliamentary government, b to avoid a situation arising which must lead to a further appeal to the country within twelve months of an election resulting in the return of two Houses of similar political complexion, which are still working in unison.
The Governor-General was also of the opinion that in granting a commission for the formation of a new Administration his choice must be determined solely by the parliamentary situation.
Any other course would be a departure from constitutional practice, and an infringement of the rights of Parliament. In the absence of such parliamentary indications as are given by a defeat of the Government in Parliament, the Governor-General endeavoured to ascertain what the situation was by seeking information from representatives of all sections of the House with a view to determining where the majority lay, and what prospects there were of forming an alternative Government.
As a result of these interviews, in which the knowledge and views of all those he consulted were most freely and generously placed at his service, the Governor-General was of the opinion that the majority of the National Party was likely to retain its cohesion, and that therefore a Government having the promise of stability could only be formed from that section of the House.
Investigations failed to elicit proof of sufficient strength in any other quarter. It also became clear to him that the leader in the National Party, who had the best prospect of securing unity among his followers and of therefore being able to form a Government having those elements of permanence so essential to the conduct of affairs during war, was the Right Honourable W.
Hughes, whom the Governor-General therefore commissioned to form an Administration. A further case which requires brief mention is that of Prime Minister Fadden who resigned following a defeat in the House on 3 October In specific circumstances set out in section 57 of the Constitution, following continued disagreement between the Senate and the House of Representatives over legislation, the Governor-General may dissolve both Houses simultaneously. The functions of the Governor-General in relation to the legislature are discussed in more detail elsewhere in the appropriate parts of the text.
The Crown in its relations with the legislature is characterised by formality, ceremony and tradition. For example, tradition dictates that the Sovereign should not enter the House of Representatives. Traditionally the Mace is not taken into the presence of the Crown. It is the practice of the House to agree to a condolence motion on the death of a former Governor-General, [62] but on recent occasions the House has not usually followed the former practice of suspending the sitting until a later hour as a mark of respect.
During debate in the House no Member may use the name of the Queen, the Governor-General or a State Governor disrespectfully, or for the purpose of influencing the House in its deliberations. It is acceptable for a Minister to be questioned, without criticism or reflection on conduct, regarding matters relating to the public duties for which the Governor-General is responsible.
Section 61 of the Constitution states two principal elements of executive power which the Governor-General exercises, namely, the execution and maintenance of the Constitution, and the execution and maintenance of the laws passed by the Parliament in accordance with the Constitution. The Constitution, however, immediately provides that in the government of the Commonwealth, the Governor-General is advised by a Federal Executive Council, [69] effecting the concept of responsible government.
As Head of the Executive Government, [72] in pursuance of the broad scope of power contained in section 61, the constitutional functions of the Governor-General, excluding those of historical interest, are summarised as follows:.
The judicial power of the Commonwealth is vested in the High Court of Australia, and such other federal courts that the Parliament creates or other courts it invests with federal jurisdiction.
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