Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Politics and Policy
goodoftherestofthecommunity,thememberforthatplaceoughttobeasfar,as
any other, from any endeavour to give it effect. [Emphasis in original.] 12
Forming government
Afteranelection,thepoliticalpartythatsecuresthemostvotesintheHouse
of Representatives is asked to form government. An essential characteristic of
the Westminster system is that the government must be able to maintain the
support of parliament (particularly the House of Representatives) on issues of
money and confidence. The requirement for governments to retain the support of
the parliament explains why very close elections that result in a hung parliament
or minority government are particularly problematic. In that case, it is incumbent
upon the government to advise the governor-general that they have the support
oftheparliament–whicheffectivelymeansthattheywouldsurvivevotesofno
confidence and would be able to get their budget passed.
Historically, at the federal level, Australia has had very few hung parliaments
or minority governments. The first occurred in 1940 and the second happened 70
yearslater,whenJuliaGillard’sLabormanagedtowingovernmentonthebackofthe
support of three independents and the Greens Party. 13 In 2018, the Liberal–National
Party (LNP) lost the Wentworth by-election. Until the 2019 federal election, the
Morrison-led federal government held only 75 of the 151 seat House of Representatives.
This made its relationship with the crossbench (the independents and
minor party members) crucial, as every piece of legislation the government wanted
passed had to be negotiated. Smaller parliaments with fewer members are more
likely to have minority governments, as are parliaments where the lower house has
multi-member seats.
The 2015 Queensland election result brought into focus the workings of the
largely dormant constitutional mechanisms for forming government, as outlined
below. It is significant to note the calm approach of the governor in awaiting the
declaration of seats before inviting anyone to become the new premier.
Case example: appointing a government in a ‘hung parliament’
The Queensland state election held on 31 January 2015 resulted in some significantly
unusualoutcomes.Firstly,neithermajorpartysecuredamajorityinitsownright.
Secondly, the premier going into the election, Campbell Newman, lost his seat, and
thus the premier advising the governor after the election was no longer a member
of the state’s only house, the Legislative Assembly. Thirdly, the results in some seats
were close and it took some time to determine the outcomes in those seats.
12 Burke 1986.
13 Before the formation of the party system, most governments did not hold majorities.
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