The Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales is a government position in the
State of
New South Wales, Australia, acting as a deputy to the
Governor of New South Wales
The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...
. The office was first created in October 1786, before the arrival of the First Fleet, to act as a deputy to the first governor,
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales.
Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 until ...
. At that time the Lieutenant-Governor, or its equivalent of "
Administrator of the Government
An administrator (administrator of the government or officer administering the government) in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general.
...
", was filled by military officers and was a position only created when needed or in times of long absences by the Governor. Since 1872 this office has been held concurrently by the
Chief Justice of New South Wales but the position may be retained by the Chief Justice after their retirement from the
Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Role
Originally, the lieutenant-governor had a legislative role with a seat on the first
Legislative Council of New South Wales in 1824; this was later phased out due to the lessening of the powers of the state governor. The role of the governors are enshrined in part 2A of the New South Wales Constitution Act (1902). The office itself has no standing powers but holds a
dormant commission to act in the governor's position when needed.
The current role of the lieutenant-governor is to take up the duties of the governor if the governor dies, resigns, or is absent such as in September 2008, when, in the absence of Governor
Marie Bashir, the Lieutenant-Governor,
James Spigelman
James Jacob Spigelman (born 1 January 1946) is a former Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011. He was also Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales from 1998 to 2012. He served on the Court of Final App ...
, administered the swearing in of the new cabinet of the
Nathan Rees government.
If the Lieutenant-Governor becomes incapacitated while serving in the office of governor or is absent when the Governor is also absent, the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court is sworn in as the
Administrator
Administrator or admin may refer to:
Job roles Computing and internet
* Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database
* Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum
* N ...
. This occurred in May 1973 when
Sir Leslie Herron died suddenly while the governor,
Sir Roden Cutler was overseas.
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 ...
became the administrator until Cutler was able to return.
Personal Details Sir John Kerr
State Records of NSW. Retrieved 4 January 2010[
]
Lieutenant-governors and administrators of NSW
References
External links
Official Website of the Governor of New South Wales
{{Government of New South Wales
*
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 ...
New South Wales-related lists
Government of New South Wales