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PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA
The office of Prime Minister is in practice the most powerful political office in the Commonwealth of Australia. The Prime Minister is head of government for the Commonwealth and holds office on commission from the Governor-General. Barring exceptional circumstances, the Prime Minister is always the leader of the political party with majority support in the House of Representatives. Since 1996 the office-holder has been John Howard of the Liberal Party.
The Prime Minister's official residence is the Lodge in Canberra, however Mr Howard has made Kirribilli House in Sydney his primary residence since taking up the office of Prime Minister. Kirribilli House was intended to be used only when the Prime Minister was in Sydney on official business.
Appointment
The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General under section 64 of the Australian Constitution. Section 64 of the Constitution empowers the Governor-General to appoint Ministers of State, and requires such Ministers to be members of the House of Representatives or the Senate. These Ministers are ex officio members of the Federal Executive Council and constitute the Cabinet. The Prime Minister in practice is the leader of the Cabinet. By convention, he or she will always be a Member of the House of Representatives.
The Prime Minister is, like other ministers, normally sworn in by the Governor General and then presented with the Commission (Letter patent) of office. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the Prime Minister is said to "hand in the commission" and actually does so by returning it to the Governor General.
Despite the importance of the office of Prime Minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be sufficiently entrenched in Australia by the authors of the constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail them.
In rare circumstances, the Governor-General may appoint someone other than the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives to be Prime Minister. At the time of Federation, no parliament had yet been established, so Edmund Barton was temporarily appointed as Prime Minister until elections were held. Following the death or resignation of the Prime Minister, the Governor-General will appoint as Prime Minister the person most likely to have majority support in the House of Representatives - in most circumstances, the Deputy Prime Minister. More controversially, during the 1975 constitutional crisis, Malcolm Fraser was appointed as Caretaker Prime Minister to replace Gough Whitlam. Theoretically the Governor-General can dismiss the Prime Minister or any other Minister at any time, but his or her power to do so is heavily circumscribed by convention.
Powers
Most of the Prime Minister's powers derive from his or her position as the head of the Cabinet and as head of the party (or coalition of parties) in control of the House of Representatives. In practice, the Federal Executive Council will act to ratify all decisions made by the Cabinet, and in practice, decisions of the Cabinet will always require the support of the Prime Minister.
The powers of the Governor-General - to assent to legislation, to dissolve and prorogue Parliament, to call elections, and to make appointments - are exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The power of the Prime Minister is subject to a number of limitations. If the Prime Minister is removed as leader of his or her party, or if he or she loses a vote of no-confidence in the House of Representatives, he or she must resign the office or be dismissed by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister must receive the support of both houses of Parliament to pass any legislation (though secondary legislation, called Regulations, can be made by ministerial decree). The Prime Minister's party normally will have a majority in the House of Representatives, and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Australian politics, so getting legislation through the House is usually a formality. Attaining the support of the Senate can be more difficult, since there the Government will often be in a minority.
Prime Ministerial salary and benefits
Salary
The Prime Minister is the second highest-paid government employee after the Governor General.A Raise for 2006 was approved by Parliament and Prime Minister Howard in 2006 because other officials who receive annual cost-of-living increases had salaries approaching the Prime Minister ie:The Treasurer. Consequently, to raise the salaries of the other federal employees, the Prime Ministers salary had to be raised as well. .
Travel
While traveling, the Prime Minister is able to conduct all the functions of the office aboard a plane when he or she are in and out of the country. The Prime Minister also utilizes a motorcade, in which the Prime Minister himself rides in a Prime Ministerial limousine.
Post-Prime Ministerial Post
Prime Ministers continue to have benefits after leaving office such as, free office space, the right to hold a Life Gold Pass and budgets for office help and staff assistance. Life Gold Pass entitles eligible former Prime Ministers to travel within Australia for "non-commercial" purposes at government expense.
After a Prime Minister leaves office, the title "Prime Minister" may continue to be applied to that person for the rest of his life. Former Prime Ministers continue to be important national figures, and in some cases go on to successful post-prime ministerial careers. Notable some examples have included Edmund Barton as Judge of the High Court; George Reid was High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Fadden becoming Treasurer in another Prime Ministers office.
As of 2006, there are four living former Prime Ministers: Gough Whitlam,Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. The most recently deceased Prime Minister is John Gorton, who died 19 May 2002. Gough Whitlam is currently the oldest living Australian Prime Minister.
History
Since the framers of the Australian constitution from the beginning intended it to largely follow the Westminster system, the office of Prime Minister has existed since the inauguration of the Commonwealth.
List of Prime Ministers
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Graphical timeline
See also
External links
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