Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)

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The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is a ministry of the Australian federal government . It is the ministry of the prime minister and his cabinet . In the broadest sense, it is comparable to the Federal Chancellery in Berlin .

history

From the establishment of Australia as a state in 1901 until 1911, there was no such ministry assigned to the incumbent Prime Minister, but rather the Department of Foreign Affairs (German: Foreign Ministry ). Only then did the Prime Minister's Department exist until it was transformed into the Ministry for the Prime Minister and his Cabinet in 1971.

organization structure

prime minister

The Prime Minister sets the guidelines for Australian policy and also decides on the responsibilities of the individual ministries and appoints the ministers. Cabinet decisions de facto always require the consent of the prime minister and cannot be taken against his will. The power of the prime minister is limited by a number of restrictions, because if he is replaced as chairman of his party or if the House of Representatives withdraws his confidence in a vote of no confidence, he must resign from his office or be dismissed by the governor general.

Ministry

According to its own information, the department's task is to bring the policies of the Prime Minister and his cabinet into a coherent, coordinated and externally comprehensible form, to coordinate the central government programs, to support official visits, events and celebrations and to manage state property.

The competencies of this ministry extend considerably further than in the states using the Westminster system , only the New Zealand Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has comparable competencies.

The ministry is divided into different departments, in a cabinet, economic, industrial, infrastructure and environment, national security, social policy and people, resources, communication and international department. There are also other special departments that temporarily deal with individual political problems.

The position of Secretary of the Department is similar to that of Cabinet Secretary in Great Britain and Canada .

There has been a national security advisor in Australia since December 2008; from 2008 to 2011 this was Major General Duncan Lewis and since 2011 this has been Margot McCarthy .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Department . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet , accessed April 24, 2018 .