Who is head of the Senate in Australia?
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The current Leader of the Government in the Senate is Mathias Cormann. The current Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate is Simon Birmingham, who was appointed on the same date following the resignation of Mitch Fifield.
Leader of the Government in the Senate (Australia)
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The position is provided for by Section 17 of the Constitution of Australia. The Senate elects one of its members as president at the start of each new term, or whenever the position is vacant. This is usually—though not necessarily—a member of the party or coalition that holds the most seats in the Senate. The largest party in the Senate is not always the governing party, as government is determined by the House of Representatives. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives may consequently be from different parties.
President of the Senate (Australia)
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The Prime Minister of Australia is Scott Morrison, leader of the Cabinet and head of government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. 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, the office is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia specifically and exists through an unwritten political convention. 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 prime minister was that of John Gorton, who subsequently resigned his Senate position and was elected as a member of the House of Representatives (Senator George Pearce was acting prime minister for seven months in 1916 while Billy Hughes was overseas).
Politics of Australia
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The head of the department is the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, presently Frances Adamson, who reports to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, presently Senator Marise Payne. Subordinate ministers include the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, presently Senator Simon Birmingham; the Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific, presently Ann Ruston; and the Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, presently Mark Coulton MP, who support the administration of the department.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)
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The head of the department was the Secretary of the Department of Employment, Kerri Hartland, who reported to the Minister for Employment, Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash.
Department of Employment (Australia)
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The longest-serving Leader of the Government in the Senate was George Pearce, who held the position for a cumulative total of 15 years in three separate terms between 1914 and 1937. Uniquely, from 10 January to 1 February 1968, the positions of Prime Minister and Leader of the Government in the Senate were held by the same person, John Gorton. After the disappearance of Harold Holt, Gorton – a senator – was elected leader of the Liberal Party and thus ascended to the prime ministership. In line with constitutional convention, he resigned from the Senate to contest a by-election to the House of Representatives.
Leader of the Government in the Senate (Australia)
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The position of President of the Senate has been disproportionately held by Senators representing the least populous states and territories. There have been 25 presidents of the Senate since 1901. Of these 15 have come from the least populous states (Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania) or the Australian Capital Territory, and 10 have come from the three most populous states (New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland). All senate presidents have been members of major parties, though not necessarily the governing party.
President of the Senate (Australia)
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Australia is a constitutional monarchy. Although the term "Head of State" is not used in the Constitution, it was intended that the Commonwealth (like the colonies) would continue to recognise the British Sovereign."The Queen" (meaning Queen Victoria, defined to include "Her Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom"), was one of the three elements of Parliament, along with the Senate and the House of Representatives (section 1). Today, the Queen of Australia has replaced the Queen of the United Kingdom within Australia's parliament, but they happen to be the same person. The Monarch is represented in Australia by an appointed Governor-General. The executive power is vested in the Governor-General "as the Queen's representative" (section 61), as is the command-in-chief of the armed forces (section 68).
Australian constitutional law
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The question of whether the Queen or the governor-general is Australia's head of state became a political one in the years prior to the Australian republic referendum in 1999. Among arguments advanced in that campaign some were for retaining the office of governor-general as the monarch's (nominal) representative, and others were for a popularly elected head of state. Republicans included in their campaign the idea that the Queen is head of state and not Australian and, as such, should be replaced with an Australian citizen; this was summed up in their slogan "a mate for head of state". Opponents of the move to make Australia a republic claim in response that Australia already has an Australian as head of state in the governor-general, who, since 1965, has invariably been an Australian citizen. The governor-general in 2004, Major General Michael Jeffery, said at the time: "Her Majesty is Australia's head of state but I am her representative and to all intents and purposes I carry out the full role." However, the following year, he declined to name the Queen as head of state, instead saying in response to a direct question, "the Queen is the monarch and I represent her and I carry out all the functions of head of state." The governor-general normally represents Australia internationally, making and receiving state visits, but the Queen also carries out some official duties representing Australia outside Australia, such as in the United Kingdom.
Australian head of state dispute
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There are currently two serving female heads of government in Australia, Annastacia Palaszczuk (39th Premier of Queensland) who was elected on 14 February 2015, and Gladys Berejiklian (45th Premier of New South Wales) who was appointed on 23 January 2017. Three women currently serve as deputy heads of government in Australia; Jackie Trad (Deputy Premier of Queensland) since 14 February 2015, Nicole Manison (Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory) since 12 September 2016, Yvette Berry (Deputy Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory) since 31 October 2016, and Vickie Chapman (Deputy Premier of South Australia) since 19 March 2018. The tenures of these incumbents are accurate as of .
List of female heads of government in Australia