Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Executive government
When the Australian colonies sought self-government in the 1850s, this meant
‘responsible government’ as practised in Westminster. Responsible government
meansthattheexecutivemustbeformedfromwithinthelegislatureandisresponsible
to the legislature. Responsibility is twofold: the executive (the government,
or more specifically the Cabinet) is collectively responsible to the legislature and
each individual minister is also responsible to the legislature. The implication is
that if the executive loses the confidence of the legislature, it must resign. Losing
the confidence of the parliament is not the same as losing a vote on a single
piece of legislation. In that case, it would be up to the government to decide if
it could reasonably continue or run the risk of a failed motion of no confidence.
In contemporary Australian politics, this is rare because of party discipline and
because governments have enjoyed majorities in the House of Representatives.
However, the recent hung parliaments in 2010–13 and 2018–19 have demonstrated
that this institutional design is still potent, despite decades of dormancy.
Modern Australia differs from the UK because at Federation the decision
was made to borrow features from the USA and Switzerland. Australia not only
became federal, it also became meaningfully bicameral, creating a very powerful
second chamber, the Senate. 8 These institutional differences have proven important
forshapinghowtheexecutiverelatestothelegislatureandwhatpowersitcan
exercise.Asnoted,theSenatehasnearequalpowerstotheHouse.Sincethe
mid-1960s, governments have had their legislative programs thwarted by the Senate
and, more often, have been forced to adopt changes to their policy programs.
However, loss of confidence by the Senate does not see the defeat of the government
–thegovernmentrarelyenjoysamajorityinthatchamber.Thisisbecausethe
executive is only responsible to, and must retain the confidence of, the House of
Representatives. It is for this reason that some scholars argue that Australia is ‘semiparliamentary’
or ‘not parliamentary’. 9
The governor-general
The governor-general acts as the Queen’s representative in Australia, as outlined
in sections 61 to 64 of the Constitution. The governor-general and her Executive
Council appear both powerful and dominant. Indeed, you might be forgiven for
thinking the governor-general is the most important institution in the Australian
executive. After all, no election can be held and no law can come into force unless
assented to by the governor-general. The governor-general also has the power to
withdraw the commission and terminate appointment of the government – and
Sir John Kerr did so in 1975. But, in practice, the post is largely ceremonial and
‘dignified’. The powers of Crown authority are now exercised by the prime minister
8 Galligan 1995.
9 Bach 2003.
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