Prime Minister (Australia)
The Prime Minister of Australia is in fact the most powerful politician in his country . He is the head of government at the federal level and acts on behalf of the Governor General , the representative of the Australian head of state. With rare exceptions, the Prime Minister of Australia is also the leader of the largest parliamentary group represented in the Australian House of Representatives and is nominated by them for this office. The list of Prime Ministers of Australia names all previous Prime Ministers.
The Lodge in Canberra is the Prime Minister's official residence; Kirribilli House in Sydney serves as a second residence.
Position of power
The prime minister's political power derives directly from his position as chairman of the cabinet. Cabinet decisions de facto always require the consent of the prime minister, so they cannot be taken against his will. The Prime Minister determines the guidelines for politics and also decides on the layout of the individual ministries. He also appoints the ministers.
Powers of the governor general, such as approving laws, dissolving parliament, calling new elections or carrying out appointments, are generally only exercised at the request of the prime minister. This is done by the Federal Executive Council , the advisory and ratification body of the executive branch in Australia, which advises the Governor General in his work or actually guides him. The Prime Minister is an ex officio member of this council.
The prime minister's power is limited by a number of restrictions. 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.
Bills must be approved by both houses of parliament (House of Representatives and Senate) as part of the legislative process . The Senate often has a different political majority than the House of Representatives, whose majority appoints the Prime Minister.
Appointment and resignation
The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor General in accordance with Article 64 of the Australian Constitution . However, this constitutional article does not explicitly name the office of prime minister, but only speaks of ministers per se. In practice, this means that the office of prime minister is derived directly from the role of chairman of the cabinet. The Prime Minister must therefore be a member of the House of Representatives.
Since the fathers of the Australian constitution based it on the Westminster system , the office of prime minister has existed since its entry into force. This attachment is also the reason why this office is not expressly mentioned in the constitution.
After being sworn in by the governor general, the prime minister receives his certificate of appointment ( letters patent ). As soon as he resigns, is voted out or is deposed, he has to return this to the Governor General ( hand in the commission ).
In theory, the governor general can dismiss the prime minister at any time. However, political customs severely limit this possibility.
In rare cases, the governor general can appoint a prime minister who is not the leader of the largest parliamentary group in the house of representatives. Most often this is the case after the death or resignation of a prime minister. The person who, at the time of appointment, has the greatest chance of being supported by the majority of the members of the House of Representatives in the future will then be appointed. In most cases this applies to the Deputy Prime Minister.
Two prime ministers should be mentioned here to whom the rule just described did not apply.
- Edmund Barton : He was appointed January 1, 1901, although it was not known at the time whether he would become the majority leader in the House of Representatives. Its composition was not yet determined at this point, because the first Australian parliamentary elections did not take place until March 29, 1901. However, the election result confirmed Edmund Barton in his office.
- Malcolm Fraser : In connection with the then worsening national crisis, he was appointed Prime Minister by Governor General Sir John Kerr on November 11, 1975 . In this way, his predecessor Gough Whitlam was removed from office, although the latter still enjoyed the trust of the majority of the House of Representatives. Only the early parliamentary elections on December 13, 1975, which ended in favor of Malcolm Fraser, ultimately legitimized him in office. The governor general's actions were controversial and went down in history as the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 .
