Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Politics and Policy
(1983–90) was known for its strong debating culture, and Hawke was considered a
good chair.
Ministers
As government has become more complex, the number of functions it undertakes
has required more ministers (see Table 1). Menzies split the ministry into the
Cabinet (12 members) and the outer ministry (10) by convention in 1956. Whitlam
at first overturned this practice, but later formalised an ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ ministry
because of the difficulties he faced in managing his oversized Cabinet. The Hawke
government moved to a portfolio system, which made the executive more clearly
hierarchical. Cabinet ministers would oversee large portfolio domains, like defence,
and be assisted by outer (assistant) ministers who would have responsibility for
a specific domain within the portfolio, such as veterans’ affairs. Several ministers
could work within one portfolio because the prime minister would outline their
specific responsibilities in charter letters. Outer ministers would only attend
Cabinet when matters directly relating to their portfolio were discussed. Reforms
in 1987 also added a third tier: parliamentary secretaries (junior ministers), who
support ministers or the prime minister but are not formally sworn in.
Ministers are formally delegated power via the Crown in section 64 of the
Constitution, but in practice via the prime minister. Ministers are responsible for
making decisions and administering their departments. The functions ministers
undertake are varied and include administrative and partisan aspects:
• administering their department
• designing and announcing policies and government decisions
• introducing and shepherding legislation through parliament
• implementing and enforcing legislation, policy programs and regulations
• advocating for and educating the public about government decisions
• managing appointments to government posts and statutory authorities within
their portfolio (e.g. High Court judges, telecommunications ombudsman or
ambassadors)
• making discretionary decisions (e.g. the right of immigration ministers to
overturn visa decisions made by their department)
• establishing inquiries
• submitting to and responding to scrutiny of their and their department’s
activities by parliament, the media, statutory authorities (where relevant) and
the public.
However, in contemporary politics, the prime minister is likely to have a
significant influence over many of the functions listed. In complex policy areas,
multiple ministers may try to co-ordinate their actions across government. Some
functions of the executive are beyond the scope of a single minister, including:
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