Australia is a constitutional monarchy, which means that the King is our head of state. The Governor-General of Australiais addressed as His/Her Excellencydenoting his/her rank the vice-royal representative of the monarchto a Commonwealth nation. [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). The dismissal of the Whitlam Government by Governor-General Sir John Kerr was perhaps the most dramatic and controversial event in Australia's constitutional and political history. Governors-general were expected to exercise a supervisory role over the Australian Government in the manner of a colonial governor. The Australian Government was merely asked, as a matter of courtesy, whether they approved of the choice or not. The office of "governor-general" was previously used in Australia in the mid-19th century. [48] Under the Governor-General Act 1974, each new commission has resulted in a pay increase. [66], In 1965 the Menzies conservative government appointed an Australian, Lord Casey, and thereafter only Australians have held the position. They are appointed on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, usually for a term of 5 years. 87 following. Get to know the people and work of the Parliamentary Education Office, contact us and discover how to use our website. Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Badge Flag of the Governor-General Incumbent David Hurley since 1 July 2019 Viceregal Style His Excellencythe Honourable Status Representative of the Head of state Commander in chief Residence Government House(Canberra) Admiralty House(Sydney) Seat Canberra Nominator Prime Minister of Australia Individual items of correspondence of this type will not be brought to the attention of the Governor-General and senders should not expect a reply. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley will represent Australia at King Charles coronation in May. 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. Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson had been offered the governorship of South Australia in 1895 and of Victoria in 1910, but refused both appointments. The constitutional crisis of 1975 raised the possibility of the prime minister and the governor-general attempting to dismiss each other at the same time. Three governors-general have resigned their commission. The Governor-General encourages, articulates and represents the things that unite Australia as a nation. Section 1 of the Australian Constitution says that the Parliament is made up of the King, the Senate and the House of Representatives. On Thursday 2 March 2023, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) p. resided at a meeting of the Federal Executive Council. A second Australian (William McKell) was appointed in 1947; he was followed by three more Britons, each chosen by Sir Robert Menzies. 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". General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK CVO MC (Retd) Sydney NSW. John Robert Kerr (1914-1991), lawyer, judge, and governor-general, was born on 24 September 1914 at Balmain, Sydney, eldest of eight children of New South Wales-born parents Harry Kerr, boilermaker, and his wife Laura May, ne Cardwell. The salutation for a letter should be "Your Excellency" or "Dear Governor-General". [35][36] Hasluck's successor John Kerr made state visits to eight countries, but Kerr's successor Zelman Cowen made only a single state visit to Papua New Guinea as he wished to concentrate on travelling within Australia. The couple will then travel to Berlin, Brandenburg and Hamburg in Germany, where the trip wraps up on March 31. It is generally held that the governor-general may use powers without ministerial advice in the following situations: The use of the reserve powers may arise in the following circumstances: The above is not an exhaustive list, and new situations may arise. Governor-General of Australia General David Hurley was a retired Chief of Defence Force and former Governor of New South Wales. Free shipping for many products! The constitution describes the parliament of the commonwealth as consisting of the Monarch, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The governor-general travels in a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI limousine for ceremonial occasions, such as the State Opening of Parliament. All states except South Australia and Tasmania have provided at least one appointee. Some, however, have been notable in their own right, such as Dame Alexandra Hasluck, Lady Casey and Michael Bryce. opening and attending national and international meetings and conferences, attending exhibitions and sporting events, attending functions as an official patron of organisations, visiting regions or areas to meet people involved in a particular group or industry. The recipients have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring, the Governor-General said. In 1945, John Curtin nominated Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, to the post the first and only royal officeholder. These means the Governor-General is a part of both the Parliament and the executive government, and carries out tasks on behalf of the King. The royal assent brings such laws into effect, as legislation, from the date of signing. The Governor-General has specific constitutional and statutory powers. To contact Government House fill in the form located at http://www.gg.gov.au/contact.php or phone: 02 6283 3533. Such decisions are usually taken on the advice of the prime minister, although that is not stated in the constitution. 1,093 talking about this. [50] Until 2001, Governors-General did not pay income tax on their salary; this was changed after Elizabeth II agreed to pay tax.[49]. SA Premier Steven Marshall said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary would replace current Governor Hieu Van Le. By convention, this may only be upon advice from the prime minister, who retains responsibility for selecting an immediate replacement or letting the vacancy provisions take effect. [6] Since 1 July 2019, the governor-general has been General David Hurley.[8][9]. The first governor-general, Lord Hopetoun, asked to be recalled to Britain in 1903 over a dispute about funding for the post. Recipients come from right across the country and from all walks of life. Holding and possiblyexercisingthe Reserve Powers. [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 Governor-General engaging in ceremonial duties. These provisions make it clear that the Monarch's role in the parliament is in name only and the actual responsibility belongs to the governor-general. attending the opening of a new Parliament and making a speech about what the new government intends to do, administering the oath of office to the Prime Minister, ministers, judges and other officials, meeting foreign heads of state and ambassadors. As the Balfour Declaration of 1926, later implemented as the Statute of Westminster 1931, put it: It is desirable formally to place on record a definition of the position held by the Governor-General as His Majesty's representative in the Dominions. The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, The Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General. These fall roughly into three categories: constitutional and statutory duties, formal ceremonial duties, and non-ceremonial social duties. [60], In 1919, Prime Minister Billy Hughes sent a memorandum to the Colonial Office in which he requested "a real and effective voice in the selection of the King's representative". 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. In 1947, Labor appointed a second Australian Governor-General, William McKell, who was in office as the Labor premier of New South Wales. Australia will be represented at the coronation of King Charles III by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley, it has been confirmed. Historically the governor-general has also served as Chief Scout of Australia. South Australia was also the first state to appoint a woman as governor, when Dame Roma Mitchell took office in 1991. The Governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia.In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level.In particular the governor has the power to appoint and dismiss the premier of Queensland and all other ministers in the cabinet . On 8 May 1953 Slim was sworn in as governor-general of Australia. [39] In 1941 and 1942, the Curtin Government advised the governor-general to declare war on several Axis powers, but then had King George VI make identical proclamations on Australia's behalf. Term of Office. Tel: (02) 6283 3604 - hear from some recipients. Lord De L'Isle was Secretary of State for Air in Winston Churchill's cabinet from 1951 to 1955. On 6 May 2021, when Morrison took the treasury and home affairs ministries with Hurley's approval, the governor general says in his program that he attended two ceremonies where Order of . 48.7k Followers, 87 Following, 826 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Governor-General of Australia (@gg_australia) gg_australia. Leading Australias response, celebration and acknowledgement at commemorative events. The governor-general is supported by a staff (of 80 in 2018[7]) headed by the official secretary to the governor-general of Australia. 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]. Lord Northcote was Governor of Bombay. The governor-general now wears an ordinary lounge suit if a man or day dress if a woman. From the creation of the Order of Australia in 1975, the governor-general was, ex officio, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the order, and therefore became entitled to the post-nominal AC. [26] This view was also held by Senior Judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania Andrew Inglis Clark, who, with W. Harrison Moore (a contributor to the first draft of the constitution put before the 1897 Adelaide Convention and professor of law at the University of Melbourne), postulated that the letters patent and the royal instructions issued by Queen Victoria were unnecessary "or even of doubtful legality". In 1986 the letters patent were amended again, and governors-general appointed from that time were again, ex officio, entitled to the post-nominal AC (although if they already held a knighthood in the order that superior rank was retained). He spent much of his retirement in Europe but returned to Australia several times in the 1980s . The Governor-General of Australia is His Majesty The King's representative . Early governors-general were British and were appointed by the queen or king on the recommendation of the Colonial Office. "[22] The changes occurred in 1984 when Queen Victoria's letters patent and instructions were revoked and replaced with new letters patent,[23] on Prime Minister Bob Hawke's advice, who stated that this would clarify the governor-general's position under the constitution.[24][25]. [49] The current salary is $425,000 and there is a generous pension. Governors-general have during their tenure the style His/Her Excellency the Honourable and their spouses have the style His/Her Excellency. In practice, the associated powers over the Australian Defence Force are only exercised on the advice of the prime minister or minister for defence, on behalf of cabinet. The Governor-General does not have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the government but has a role in both the government and the Parliament. [18], Such further powers are currently set out in letters patent of 2008 from Queen Elizabeth II; these contain no substantive powers, but provide for the case of a governor-general's absence or incapacity. The salutation for a letter should be "Your Excellency" or "Dear Mrs Hurley ". 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. She was the first woman to be the Governor-General. It is also, in the same section, declared to be "exercisable" by the Governor-General as the Queen's representative. There have been only Australian occupants since then, although Sir Ninian Stephen (19821989) had been born in Britain. Theyre almost always humble to a fault but I urge recipients, for today, to put aside that humility - its important they know how much they are valued.. Section 5 states that "the Governor-General may appoint such times for holding the sessions of the Parliament [] prorogue the Parliament [and] dissolve the House of Representatives." On this occasion the governor-general, Sir John Kerr, dismissed the government of Gough Whitlam when the Senate withheld Supply to the government, even though Whitlam retained the confidence of the House of Representatives. Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce AD, CVO (ne Strachan; born 23 December 1942) was the 25th Governor-General of Australia, from September 2008 to March 2014. 'What does being recognised mean to me?' The Constitution sets out some specific tasks for the Governor-General, including: The Governor-General's ceremonial and constitutional roles are closely related. This was not because of any lack of regard for Isaacs personally, but because the British government considered that the choice of Governors-General was, since the 1926 Imperial Conference, a matter for the monarch's decision alone. Buckingham Palace on Friday announced details of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla's first overseas trip since assuming their titles after Queen Elizabeth's death. He was appointed in July 1900, returning to Australia shortly before the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. 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 official cars of the governor-general fly the Flag of the Governor-General of Australia and display St. Edward's Crown instead of number plates. Appointment The Governor-General is appointed by the Crown, in practice on the advice of Australian Ministers of the Crown. I've spent the morning watching Hurley wander between tables of war widows (average age 81, according to the governor general), microphone in hand, leading them in song over cucumber and smoked . The office of governor-general for the Commonwealth of Australia was conceived during the debates and conventions leading up to federation.