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The office of Prime Minister of Australia is, in practice, the most powerful political office in the Australia. The Prime Minister is the head of government of Australia and holds office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia.

Barring exceptional circumstances, the Prime Minister is always the leader of the List of political parties in Australia with majority support in the Australian House of Representatives. The only case where a Senator was appointed Prime Minister was that of John Gorton.

John Howard is the current Prime Minister and was sworn in on 11 March 1996. He is the 25th Prime Minister since Federation of Australia and leads the Liberal Party of Australia.

Appointment The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General under section 64 of the Australian Constitution. This empowers the Governor-General to appoint Minister of State, and requires such Ministers to be members of the House of Representatives or the Senate, or become members within three months of the appointment. Before being sworn in as a Minister, a person must first be sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council if they are not already a member. The senior members of the Executive Council constitute the Australian Cabinet.

The Prime Minister is, like other ministers, normally sworn in by the Governor-General and then presented with the commission (Letters patent) of office. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the Prime Minister is said to "hand in the commission" and actually does so by returning it to the Governor-General. In the event of a Prime Minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, the Governor-General can terminate the commission. The Governor-General can also dismiss a Prime Minister by notifying the Prime Minister in writing of the termination of their commission.

Despite the importance of the office of Prime Minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be sufficiently entrenched in Australia by the authors of the Constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail them.

If a government cannot get its appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the House of Representatives, or the House passes a vote of confidence in the government, the Prime Minister is bound by convention to resign immediately. The Governor-General's choice of replacement Prime Minister will be dictated by the circumstances.

Following a resignation in other circumstances, or the death of a Prime Minister, the Governor-General will generally appoint as Prime Minister the person voted by the governing party as their new leader. There have been three notable exceptions to this:

• When Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, leader of the United Australia Party (UAP), died suddenly in April 1939, the Governor-General Lord Gowrie called on Sir Earle Page to become caretaker Prime Minister. Page was the leader of the smaller party in the governing coalition, the Country Party. He held the office for three weeks until the UAP elected a new leader, Robert Menzies.
• In August 1941, Menzies resigned as Prime Minister. The UAP was so bereft of leadership at this time that the Country Party leader Arthur Fadden was invited to become Prime Minister, although the Country Party was the smaller of the two conservative parties. The government depended on support from two independents, who two months later voted against Fadden's budget and brought the government down, paving the way for John Curtin to be appointed as Labor Prime Minister.
• In December 1967, Prime Minister Harold Holt led the Liberal Party in a governing coalition with the smaller Country Party. The Deputy Liberal leader, and Holt's presumed successor, was William McMahon. The Leader of the Country Party, John McEwen, was the Deputy Prime Minister. Holt disappeared while swimming on 17 December, and on 19 December was declared presumed dead. McEwen announced that (for reasons he would never explain) his party would not continue in coalition with the Liberals if it were under the leadership of William McMahon. Given that the election of McMahon as Liberal leader would destroy the coalition and destabilise the Parliament, the Governor-General, Lord Casey, commissioned John McEwen to form a coalition government, but his appointment was made on the basis that the new Liberal leader, when elected, would replace him. McEwen agreed to this so long as his formal commission made no mention of any time limit. McEwen was Prime Minister for 23 days, until the election of (then Senator) John Gorton.

There were some other cases where someone other than the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives was Prime Minister:

• Federation of Australia occurred on 1 January 1901, but elections for the first parliament were not scheduled until late March. In the interim, a caretaker government was necessary. In what is now known as the Hopetoun Blunder, the Governor-General Lord Hopetoun invited Sir William Lyne, the Premier of New South Wales of the most populous state New South Wales, to form a government. Lyne was unable to do so, and returned his commission in favour of Edmund Barton, who became the first Prime Minister, and led the inaugural government into and beyond the Australian federal election, 1901.
• Stanley Bruce led his Nationalist Party of Australia coalition government into the Australian general election, 1929, which was held on 12 October. Not only was his government defeated by the Australian Labor Party under James Scullin, but Bruce was defeated personally in his seat of Division of Flinders - to date, the only sitting Australian Prime Minister to suffer this fate. While Bruce's membership of the parliament ended on 12 October, he continued as caretaker Prime Minister for a further ten days until the election result was clear; his commission was terminated on 22 October and Scullin was sworn in as Prime Minister.
• Most controversially of all, during the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975, the Australian Labor Party Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed by Sir John Kerr, despite Labor having a majority in the House of Representatives. The Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party, Malcolm Fraser, was appointed as Prime Minister to replace Whitlam.

Theoretically the Governor-General can dismiss the Prime Minister or any other Minister at any time, but his or her power to do so is heavily circumscribed by convention.

Powers

Most of the Prime Minister's powers derive from his or her position as the head of the Cabinet, and through their leadership of the party (or coalition of parties) in the majority in the lower house. In practice, the Federal Executive Council will act to ratify all decisions made by the Cabinet, and in practice, decisions of the Cabinet will always require the support of the Prime Minister. The powers of the Governor-General - to Royal assent to legislation, to dissolve and prorogue Parliament, to call elections, and to make appointments - are exercised on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The power of the Prime Minister is subject to a number of limitations. If the Prime Minister is removed as leader of his or her party, or if the government they lead loses a vote of no-confidence in the House of Representatives, they must resign the office or be dismissed by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister's party will normally have a majority in the House of Representatives, and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Australian politics, so the passage of government-proposed legislation through the House is usually a formality. Attaining the support of the Senate can be more difficult, since there the government will often be in a minority.

Prime Ministerial salary and benefits Salary {| class="wikitable" align="right" style="margin:1ex 0 1ex 1ex"|+ Prime Ministerial pay history|-! Date established !! Salary|-| 2 June 1999 ] 2006 ] 2007 ]'s Report Number 1 of 2006 of Report on Ministers of State - Salaries Additional to the Basic Parliamentary Salary confirms the Prime Minister's additional salary as 160% of his parliamentary salary, ie. he earns in total 260% of the salary of an ordinary parliamentarian.

Benefits The Royal Australian Air Force's 34 Squadron transports the Prime Minister within Australia and overseas by specially converted Boeing Business Jets and smaller Challenger aircraft. The aircraft contain secure communications equipment as well as office, conference room and sleeping compartments. The call-sign for the aircraft whilst the Prime Minister is onboard is "Commonwealth One".

Prime Ministers also receive the opportunity to attend many significant cultural and sporting events from prime viewing positions.

The Prime Minister's official residence is The Lodge in Canberra, but not all Prime Ministers choose to make use of it. James Scullin preferred to live at the Hotel Canberra (now the Hyatt Hotel); Ben Chifley lived in the Kurrajong Hotel; and John Howard has made Kirribilli House in Sydney his primary residence. The official residences are fully staffed and catered for both the Prime Minister and his family. A considerable amount of official entertaining is conducted at these residences.

In June 2007, businessman and former President of the Liberal Party in Victoria, Michael Kroger, announced that he and other Australian businessmen, a group dubbed the "Melbourne Lodgers", were examining properties in Melbourne for the Prime Minister to use as a residence while in that city. Despite Kroger's political affiliation, he maintained that if bought, the residence would be offered for the use of all Prime Ministers regardless of party affiliation. Chief on the list was Stonnington Mansion in the suburb of Malvern, Victoria.Elder, John, "A place to call home? Maybe, prime minister", The Age, 17 June 2007. Accessed 31 August 2007.

Prime Ministers continue to have benefits after leaving office, such as free office space, the right to hold a Life Gold Pass and budgets for office help and staff assistance. The Life Gold Pass entitles the holder to travel within Australia for "non-commercial" purposes at government expense.

Former Prime Ministers continue to be important national figures, and in some cases go on to successful post-prime ministerial careers. Some notable examples have included: Edmund Barton, who was a judge of the High Court of Australia; George Reid (Australian politician), who was High Commissioner to the United Kingdom; and Arthur Fadden, who was Treasurer under another Prime Minister.

Living former Prime Ministers As of 2007, there are four living former Prime Ministers: Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. The most recently deceased Prime Minister is Sir John Gorton, who died on 19 May 2002. Gough Whitlam is the oldest living former Australian Prime Minister.

The greatest number of living former Prime Ministers at any one time was eight. This has occurred twice:

• between 7 October 1941 (when John Curtin succeeded Arthur Fadden) and 18 November 1941 (when Chris Watson died), the eight living former Prime Ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies, Page, Scullin and Watson
• between 13 July 1945 (when Ben Chifley succeeded Frank Forde) and 30 July 1947 (when Sir Joseph Cook died), the eight living former Prime Ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Hughes, Menzies, Page and Scullin.

Seven former Prime Ministers were alive during the periods 18 November 1941 - 13 July 1945, and 30 July 1947 - 13 June 1951.

No two former Prime Ministers have died in the same year. The former Prime Minister Stanley Bruce (August) and the then-incumbent Prime Minister Harold Holt (December) both died in 1967.

Prime Ministerial Births Seventeen Prime Ministers were born in the 19th century. The earliest-born Prime Minister was George Reid, born 25 February 1845. The first Prime Minister born in the 20th century was Sir William McMahon, born 23 February 1908.

The only two pairs of Prime Ministers who were born in the same year are:

• 1885 - John Curtin (January) and Ben Chifley (September)
• 1908 - Sir William McMahon (February) and Harold Holt (August).

History Since the framers of the Australian constitution from the beginning intended it to largely follow the Westminster system, the office of Prime Minister has existed since the inauguration of the Commonwealth on 1 January 1901.

List of Prime Ministers Below is a list of Prime Ministers of Australia by name, date assumed office, date left office, and political party.

The parties shown are those to which the Prime Ministers belonged at the time they held office. Several Prime Ministers belonged to parties other than those given before and after their prime ministerships.{| class="wikitable sortable" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2|- bgcolor=#cccccc! # !! Name !! Took office !! Left office !! Party !! Total Time In Office|- bgcolor=#F4E4FF|align=center| 1 || Edmund Barton [1901 [1903 ] || 2 years, 8 months, 24 days|- bgcolor=#F4E4FF|align=center| 2 || Alfred Deakin [1903 ] 1904 ] || 0 years, 7 months, 4 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8|align=center| 3 || Chris Watson [1904 ] 1904 ] || 0 years, 3 months, 21 days|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC|align=center| 4 || George Reid (Australian politician)|| 18 August 1904 ] 1905 ] || 0 years,10 months, 18 days|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC|align=center| - || Alfred Deakin [1905 ] 1908 ] || 3 years, 4 months, 9 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8|align=center| 5 || Andrew Fisher [1908 ] 1909 ] || 0 years, 6 months, 21 days|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC|align=center| - || Alfred Deakin [1909 ] 1910 ] || 0 years, 10 months, 28 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8|align=center| - || Andrew Fisher [1910 ] 1913 ] || 3 years, 1 month, 26 days|- bgcolor=#FFFFCC|align=center| 6 || Joseph Cook [1913 ] 1914 ] || 1 year, 2 months, 25 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8| - || Andrew Fisher [1914 ] 1915 ] || 1 year, 1 month, 11 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8| 7 || William Morris Hughes|| 27 October 1915 ] 1923 ] || 7 years, 3 months, 14 days|- bgcolor=#DDEEFF| 8 || Stanley Bruce [1923 ] 1929 ] || 6 years, 8 months, 14 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8| 9 || James Scullin [1929 ] 1932 ] || 2 years, 2 months, 16 days|- bgcolor=#DDEEFF| 10 || Joseph Lyons [1932 ] 1939 ] || 7 years, 3 months, 2 days|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC| 11 || Earle Page|| 7 April 1939 ] 1939 ] || 0 years, 0 months, 20 days|- bgcolor=#DDEEFF| 12 || Robert Menzies [1939 ] 1941 ] || 2 years, 4 months, 4 days|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC| 13 || Arthur Fadden [1941 ] 1941 ] || 0 years, 1 month, 9 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8| 14 || John Curtin [1941 ] 1945 ] || 3 years, 8 months, 29 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8| 15 || Frank Forde [1945 ] 1945 ] || 0 years, 0 months, 8 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8| 16 || Ben Chifley [1945 ] 1949 ] || 4 years, 5 months, 7 days|- bgcolor=#DDEEFF| - || Robert Menzies|| 19 December 1949 ] 1966 ] || 16 years, 1 month, 8 days|- bgcolor=#DDEEFF| 17 || Harold Holt [1966 ]Harold Holt is now presumed to have drowned on 17 December (his body was never recovered), but his commission as Prime Minister was not officially withdrawn until 19 December.) 1967 ] || 1 year, 10 months, 23 days|- bgcolor=#CCFFCC| 18 || John McEwen [1967 ] 1968 ] || 0 years, 0 months, 23 days|- bgcolor=#DDEEFF| 19 || John Gorton [1968 ] 1971 ] || 3 years, 2 months, 0 days|- bgcolor=#DDEEFF| 20 || William McMahon [1971 ] 1972 ] || 1 year, 8 months, 25 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8| 21 || Gough Whitlam [1972 ] 1975 ] || 2 years, 11 months, 7 days|- bgcolor=#DDEEFF| 22 || Malcolm Fraser [1975 ] 1983 ] || 7 years, 4 months, 0 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8| 23 || Bob Hawke [1983 ] 1991 ] || 8 years, 9 months, 10 days|- bgcolor=#FFE8E8| 24 || Paul Keating [1991 ] 1996 ] || 4 years, 2 months, 20 days|- bgcolor=#DDEEFF| 25 || John Howard [1996 ] || Currently in Office|}

Graphical timeline References See also

• Prime Minister
• Ballarat Botanical Gardens contains a collection of bronze busts of all Australian Prime Ministers set within Horse Chestnut Avenue.
• Australian Prime Ministers with military service
• List of Australian Prime Ministers by time served
• List of Australian Prime Ministers by state
• Deputy Prime Minister of Australia

External links

• Australia's Prime Ministers / National Archive of Australia
• Biographies of Australia's Prime Ministers / National Museum of Australia
• Official website of the Prime Minister of Australia
• Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

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The Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General.

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