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The name of the government in the Constitution of Australia is the "Government of the Commonwealth". [15] This was the name used in many early federal government publications. [16] However, in 1965 Robert Menzies indicated his preference for the name "Australian Government" in order to prevent confusion with the new Commonwealth of Nations. [17]
Australia is a federation, with different powers and responsibilities for the three levels of government: the federal government, the states and territories and local government. The federal nature and the structure of the Parliament of Australia were the subject of protracted negotiations among the colonies during the drafting of the ...
The states and territories are the second level of government of Australia. [2] The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the federal government. [3]
The Australian states were founded as British colonies, and executive power was held by a governor (or sometimes a lieutenant-governor) appointed by the British government (see Governors of the Australian states). From the 1820s the power of the governors was gradually transferred to legislative bodies, at first appointed, later partly elected ...
Before the formation of the Commonwealth in 1901, the six Australian colonies were self-governing colonies, with parliaments which had come into existence at various times between 1825, when the New South Wales Legislative Council was created, to 1891, when Western Australia became the last of the colonies to gain full self-government.
Each portfolio is led by one or more government ministers who are members of the federal parliament, appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister. [1] As of December 2023, there are 1,334 government entities reportable to the Australian Government Organisations Register. This includes: [2] [3]
Each of Australia's State parliaments are understood to have been vested with plenary power; additionally, their constitutions are able to be altered by simple acts of the State legislature. In this respect, they may be understood as sovereign legislatures exclusively at the State level. They are not truly sovereign legislatures however, as ...
The current federal government structure was established in 1901 by the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, 1901. The first three national elections resulted in minority governments. The world’s first ever Labor Party Prime Minister took office in Australia in 1904, though Labor governed in minority.