[11] When a new governor-general is to be appointed, the current prime minister recommends a name to the monarch, who by convention accepts that recommendation. Dunrossil died in office on 3 February 1961. The first Governor-General, the Earl of Hopetoun, was a previous governor of Victoria. [19] The constitution also provides that the governor-general is the monarch's "representative" in exercising the executive power of the Commonwealth (section 61) and as commander-in-chief of the armed forces (section 68). Frances Adamson announced as South Australia's new governor, replacing Stonehaven left for England on 2 October 1930. However, Scullin stood firm, saying he would be prepared to fight a general election on the issue of whether an Australian should be prevented from becoming governor-general because he was Australian. The Governor-General of Australia is His Majesty The King's representative . In the United Kingdom, the reserve powers of the monarch (which are typically referred to as the "royal prerogative")[29] are not explicitly stated in constitutional enactments, and are the province of convention and common law. Following the proclamation of the King in London, proclamations have been read across Australia, including outside New South Wales' Parliament House.A crowd . Please read ourPrivacy Statement, The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, The Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General, E-mail the Governor-General or Government House, Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley's biography, Receiving a congratulatory message from the Governor-General, The Governor-General's Official residences. received Ms Minoli Perera, Ambassador- designate to Zimbabwe. After elections, or when a government loses or wins a majority in the Australian House of Representatives , the Governor General is the person who legally decides that the prime minister has the numbers to lead a government. [20], Australian Solicitor-General Maurice Byers stated in 1974: "The constitutional prescription is that executive power is exercisable by the governor-general although vested in the Queen. The first female Governor-General was the Honourable Dame Quentin Alice Bryce AD, CVO, who served from 2008 to 2014. The governor-general travels in a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI limousine for ceremonial occasions, such as the State Opening of Parliament. The office of governor-general for the Commonwealth of Australia was conceived during the debates and conventions leading up to federation. Message from the Governor-General "Congratulations to the outstanding Australians recognised in today's Honours List. The Governor-General wearing a shirt and tie sits at a desk with a pen in hand. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. During Elizabeth II's 2011 visit to Australia, she and the Duke of Edinburgh were driven in a Range Rover Vogue. Through her private secretary, she wrote that she "has no part in the decisions which the Governor-General must take in accordance with the Constitution". 2014-2019. South Australia was also the first state to appoint a woman as governor, when Dame Roma Mitchell took office in 1991. Videos are posted by the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General. On 16 December 2018, prime minister Scott Morrison announced that the next governor-general would be General David Hurley, then-governor of New South Wales. Administrator of the government - Wikipedia These powers remain in section 59 of the Constitution of Australia, but today are regarded as dead letters. After the initial confusion of the Hopetoun Blunder, he appointed the first prime minister of Australia, Edmund Barton, to a caretaker government, with the inaugural 1901 federal election not occurring until March. A temporary vacancy also occurred in 2003 when Peter Hollingworth stood aside. The Governor-General is appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister and performs a large number of functions which are defined by the Constitution. Scullin cited the precedents of the prime minister of South Africa, J. The Parliamentary Education Office (PEO) educates Australians about, and inspires their enthusiasm for, Australias parliamentary democracy. Place of birth. The annual salary during Michael Jeffery's term was $365,000. 1. Introduction to Australia and its system of government In our opinion it is an essential consequence of the equality of status existing among the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations that the Governor-General of a Dominion is the representative of the Crown, holding in all essential respects the same position in relation to the administration of public affairs in the Dominion as is held by His Majesty the King in Great Britain, and that he is not the representative or agent of His Majesty's Government in Great Britain or of any Department of that Government. On 18 March 2020,[32] a human biosecurity emergency was declared in Australia owing to the risks to human health posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, after the National Security Committee met the previous day. The executive power of the Commonwealth, by section 61 of the Constitution, is declared to be vested in the Queen. The King and Queen Consort will first head to France on March 16, where they will undertake engagements in Paris and Bordeaux. At the start of Chapter 2 on executive government, the constitution says "The executive power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Queen and is exercisable by the Governor-General as the Queen's representative". In 1975, Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam advised the Queen that Sir Colin Hannah, then Governor of Queensland, should have his dormant commission revoked for having made public and partisan anti-Whitlam Government political statements, in violation of the convention that state governors and federal governors-general remain neutral and above politics. Get to know the people and work of the Parliamentary Education Office, contact us and discover how to use our website. Lord Casey was Governor of Bengal in between his periods of service to the Australian Parliament. The events themselves are still contested: the performance . The Governor-General has an important role in the governing of Australia. The governor-general also has a ceremonial role: hosting events at either of the two official residencesGovernment House in the capital, Canberra, and Admiralty House in Sydneyand travelling throughout Australia to open conferences, attend services and commemorations, and generally provide encouragement to individuals and groups who are contributing to their communities. That role can become controversial, however, if the governor-general becomes unpopular with sections of the community. Governor-General Quentin Bryce signs Julia Gillard's commission as prime minister of Australia at Government House, Canberra, 24 June 2010. Most spouses of governors-general have been content to be quietly supportive. Governors of the Australian states - Wikipedia In recent years best bet is to be a three or four star general. Please note that all correspondence isprocessed by the Office before coming to the attention of the Governor-General. Each year the Governor-General hosts or attends hundreds ofevents around the country and meet tens of thousands of Australians. For any requests relating to the booking of school tours of Government House, Canberra please use ouremail formand selectSchool Bookings. The Governor-General is the chief-of-state when the monarch is not in Australia. [51] However, for official business, the current choice of car is an armoured BMW 7 Series.[52]. [30] In Australia, however, the powers are explicitly given to the governor-general in the constitution; it is their use that is the subject of convention.[31]. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley will represent Australia at King Charles coronation in May. "It was a great honour for me to have an audience with King Charles. The office of "governor-general" was previously used in Australia in the mid-19th century. The most notable use of the reserve powers occurred in November 1975, in the course of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Defence Minister Malcolm Fraser, who opposed the call out, was responsible for informing Hasluck of the prime minister's lack of consultation. The governor-general of Australia is the head of the executive branch of the federal government, serving as the representative of the Australian monarch (currently Charles III). And it is exercisable by the Queen's representative, not her delegate or agent. Such assent has usually been given during a scheduled visit to Australia by Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor-General. However, it remained unclear just whose prerogative it now became to decide who new governors-general would be. New details have emerged about the role Australia will play at the coronation of King Charles III, as the government responds to questions about a visit to Australia by the monarch. The governor-general makes state visits overseas on behalf of Australia, during which an administrator of the government is appointed. The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia. Travelling widely to encourage and acknowledge individuals and groups making a substantial contribution to the community, Responding quickly and compassionately on behalf of all Australians to natural disasters and events of national significance. "I think that that will be an enormous occasion.". Through our accessible, immersive, experiential programs and resources, the PEO fosters informed, engaged and active citizens of all ages. Everything you need to know about the role, function, structure and people of the Australian Parliament. In Commentaries on the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, Garran noted that, since the Australian executive is national in nature (being dependent on the nationally elected House of Representatives, rather than the Senate), "the Governor-General, as the official head of the Executive, does not in the smallest degree represent any federal element; if he represents anything he is the image and embodiment of national unity and the outward and visible representation of the Imperial relationship of the Commonwealth".[34]. The salutation for a letter should be "Your Excellency" or "Dear Mrs Hurley ". The recipients have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring, the Governor-General said. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | Governor-General of the Governor-General of Australia - Simple English Wikipedia, the free Australia - Government and society | Britannica acting as Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. In 1976, the letters patent for the order were amended to introduce the rank of Knight and Dame to the order, and from that time the governor-general became, ex officio, the Chancellor and Principal Knight of the order. The most important power is found in section 58: "When a proposed law passed by both Houses of Parliament is presented to the Governor-General for the Queen's assent, he shall declare that he assents in the Queen's name." 826 posts. Secondly lead a very successful life Reaching top of profession and be a bridge builder within you that profession. Until 2015, the honour continued after the retirement from office of the governor-general. Who will represent Australia at King Charles coronation? Lord Stonehaven (as John Baird) was Minister for Transport in the Cabinets of Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin; and after his return to Britain he became Chairman of the UK Conservative Party. In recent decades the typical term of office has been five years. In a very real sense, they represented the British Government. Each recipient has something in common someone nominated them. Kerr determined that he had both the right and the duty to dismiss the government and commission a new government that would recommend a dissolution of the Parliament. I've been invited to his coronation, on the first Saturday in May, I will attend along with the Governor-General, with other guests as well who have been invited by the Palace," he said. Sir, "David Hurley named next governor general of Australia", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_governors-general_of_Australia&oldid=1140852633, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 02:42. [57] They exercised this power several times. All times AEDT (GMT +11). The position came into being with the adoption of the new national constitution on 1 January 1901, and has been held by 27 people since then. Then, the Governor-General, as Chancellor of the Order of Australia and Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, invested Air Marshal Kevin Short AO, Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force. 48.7K followers. They are entitled to the courtesy style Her Excellency or His Excellency during the office-holder's term of office. ", To join the conversation, please connection to land, culture and community. Permission should be sought from Office of the Governor-General for third-party or commercial uses of this image. Macquarie joined the British army as a boy and served in North America . The chief scout is nominated by the Scouting Association's National Executive Committee and is invited by the president of the Scout Association to accept the appointment. Form letters or emails generated as part of a broader campaign will not be responded to. Both of these appointments had been agreed to despite British government objections. In an address to the Sydney Institute, January 2007, in connection with that event, Sir David Smith, a retired official secretary to the governor-general of Australia who had been Kerr's official secretary in 1975, described the constitution as conferring the powers and functions of Australia's head of state on the governor-general in "his own right".