Caretaker government of Australia
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In Australian political and constitutional terminology, a caretaker government is a government of Australia from when the House of Representatives is dissolved by the Governor-General prior to a general election to a period after the election, until the next ministry is appointed. A caretaker government is expected to conduct itself in accordance with a series of well-defined conventions administered by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, but there is no law compelling the caretaker government to do so. Under normal circumstances, there is no separate appointment of a caretaker government. The incumbent
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
simply puts the government into "caretaker mode". During the
1975 Australian constitutional crisis The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, also known simply as the Dismissal, culminated on 11 November 1975 with the dismissal from office of the prime minister, Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), by Governor-General Sir ...
, the Governor-General,
Sir John Kerr Sir John Robert Kerr (24 September 1914 – 24 March 1991) was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He is primarily known for his involvement in the 1975 constit ...
, appointed a new government headed by Malcolm Fraser, subject to Fraser's agreement that he would immediately advise a general election, and his government would operate on a caretaker basis in the meantime. It was a unique set of circumstances, leading to a unique solution.


Caretaker conventions

Australian constitutional practice calls for a government to continue in office even after parliament has been dissolved, during the election period and then into the next parliament only until the next government can be formed. The Prime Minister can however resign office and advise the Governor-General or Governor at any time to appoint a new government. The operation of the Australian political system ensures that a
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
is always maintained and that caretaker governments abide by the conventions. A document entitled "Guidance on Caretaker Conventions" is administered by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Section 1.2 of the Caretaker Conventions states that a caretaker government operates until the election result clearly indicates that either the incumbent party has retained power, or in the case where there is to be a change of government, until the new government is appointed by the Governor-General. Section 1.6 indicates that these conventions are not legally binding, and do not constitute "hard and fast rules". In practice, any flouting of the conventions by a caretaker government would immediately come to light, and could go against them in the election campaign. There are occasions when major appointments or decisions cannot wait until after the election, and the opposition would normally be consulted about them, ensuring a bipartisan approach.


Caretaker government conduct

Caretaker provisions explicitly recognise that after the dissolution of parliament, the business of government must continue and that "ordinary matters of administration" must be addressed. Provisions allow for the normal operations of all government departments. However, the caretaker conventions impose some restrictions on the conduct of the caretaker government. The conventions broadly include the following: * The Government will cease taking major policy decisions except on urgent matters and then only after formal consultation with the Opposition. The conventions apply to the making of decisions, not to their announcement. Accordingly, the conventions are not infringed if decisions made before dissolution are announced during the caretaker period. However, when possible, decisions would normally be announced ahead of dissolution. One major exception to these conventions is when an Australian
Government budget A government budget is a document prepared by the government and/or other political entity presenting its anticipated government revenues, tax revenues (Inheritance tax, income tax, corporation tax, import taxes) and proposed government expenditu ...
update comes close to a likely election date, the Government may list “decisions taken but not yet announced and not for publication” that could be announced during the caretaker period, often as pre-election
pork barrelling ''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. The usage originated in American English, and i ...
. * The Government will cease making major appointments of public officials but may make acting or short-term appointments. * The Government will avoid entering major contracts or undertakings during the caretaker period. If it is not possible to defer the commitment until after the caretaker period for legal, commercial or other reasons, a minister could consult the Opposition, or agencies could deal with the contractor and ensure that contracts include clauses providing for termination in the event of an incoming government not wishing to proceed. Similar provisions cover tendering. * The Government ordinarily seeks to defer such major international negotiations, or adopts observer status until the end of the caretaker period. * The Australian Public Service adopts a neutral stance while continuing to advise the Government. There are several cases, notably the pricing of Opposition election promises, in which the APS conducts an investigation and report for the benefit of the electorate at large.


Post-election

If the incumbent prime minister will after an election continue to command a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, the incumbent government ceases to operate in a caretaker mode. When an opposition party or coalition wins enough seats at a general election to be able to command a majority in the House of Representatives, the convention is for the incumbent Prime Minister to publicly concede defeat and, still in caretaker mode, give formal advice to the Governor-General of no longer being able to govern and advising who should be invited to form government, which is usually the leader of the party or coalition of parties who now commands a majority of votes in the House of Representatives. The Governor-General requests the incumbent Prime Minister and his or her Ministers to remain in office on a caretaker basis until a new government is sworn in, and contacts the nominated successor and invites him or her to form a government. The nominated successor accepts the invitation and undertakes to inform the Governor-General when the new Ministry is in a position to be sworn in. That can be delayed by the counting of votes in closely contested seats or by the processes by which ministers are chosen under the relevant party's rules. In the meantime, the caretaker government continues in office until the government is sworn in. If it is unclear to the incumbent prime minister who will be able to command a majority in the House of Representatives, the prime minister may delay advising the Governor-General as to a potential change of government, and may negotiate an agreement with cross-bench members as to whether they will vote with a future government on questions of confidence and supply, and may even delay a final decision until the next House of Representatives sits, to let the House "test the numbers" by a formal vote in the House, or may advise the Governor-General to hold fresh elections. In most cases, several weeks can elapse between an election and the swearing-in of a new government. An exception came in 1972, when
Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the h ...
had himself and his deputy,
Lance Barnard Lance Herbert Barnard AO (1 May 19196 August 1997) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1974 and held senior ministerial office in the Whitlam Government, most no ...
, sworn in as a two-man government on 5 December, only three days after the election, as soon as Labor's victory over the Coalition was beyond doubt. That lasted until Whitlam's full ministry was sworn in on 19 December. More recently, in 2022,
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
was sworn in just two days after Labor's electoral victory, so he could attend the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue as prime minister.


Exceptional situations


The 1901 caretaker government

The first Australian federal government, headed by Prime Minister
Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to b ...
, was sworn in on 1 January 1901, the day on which the
Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western ...
took effect, whereby the six colonies of
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, Victoria,
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
,
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...
and
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
became states of the Commonwealth of Australia. The first election for the new
Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor- ...
was not held until 29 and 30 March 1901. In the meantime, Barton's government operated in a caretaker capacity but, due to the need to quickly establish administrative processes and make important appointments, they were not as inhibited by the caretaker conventions as later governments were.


Outbreak of WWI, 1914

In June 1914, a double dissolution election was called for 5 September, with the incumbent government duly going into caretaker mode. However, Britain declared war against Germany in August, and Australia went onto a war footing. The caretaker conventions had to be relaxed because of the state of war, with the support of all major parties.


See also

*
Purdah (pre-election period) The pre-election period (formely known as Purdah ()) is the period in the United Kingdom between the announcement of an election and the formation of the new elected government. It affects civil servants, who must be politically impartial, preven ...
– similar concept in British parliamentary system * Lame duck (politics)


References

{{Parliament of Australia Government of Australia Elections in Australia Caretaker governments