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The Speaker's chair in the House of Representatives

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Politics of Australia take place within the framework of parliamentary democracy. This article describes the federal government of Australia See Australian governments for other jurisdictions In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. TalkCommonewalth realm.-->The monarchy For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the monarch of Australia (currently Elizabeth II Queen of Australia) Major General Philip Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC (born 12 December[[ 937]] was the 24th Governor-General of Australia The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Federal Executive Council is the formal body holding executive authority under the Constitution of Australia. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The Parliament of Australia or Commonwealth Parliament is the legislative branch of government of Australia. The Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate This is a List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition, who in Australian Federal Politics is a Member of Parliament in the Brendan John Nelson, MP (born 19 August 1958 is an Australian politician and former Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia, as leader See also Politics of Australia Australia elects a Legislature the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia using various electoral systems see This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. The Australian House of Representatives is elected from 150 single-member districts called Divisions. Background Following the federation of 1856 - New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria 1857 - South Australia Issues The 1972 Election was largely focused on domestic policy issues and the role of the federal government in resolving these issues Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975 All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for Background and Issues The election is remembered for the "fistful of dollars" advertisements run by the government offering tax cuts to voters Issues The mood in the electorate was moving against the Fraser Government by 1980 Background The coalition government led by Malcolm Fraser had to contend with a parlous economic situation with high inflation and high unemployment Federal elections were held in Australia on 11 July 1987 following the granting of a double dissolution on 5 June by the Governor-General Sir House of Reps preference flows The Democrats contested 138 electorates with preferences slightly favouring Labor (54 Results House of Representatives preference flows The Nationals had candidates in 13 seats where Three-cornered-contests existed Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 November, 2001. Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13 The next Australian federal election will elect members of the 43rd Parliament of Australia and must be held on or before 16 April 2011 In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. There are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian Courts the federal stream and the state and territory stream The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates The Commonwealth of Australia is made up of 8 states and territories controlled under a federal system of government In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. The Governors of the Australian states are the representatives in the six states of Australia of Australia's monarch Queen Elizabeth II. The Premiers of the Australian states are the de facto heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Commonwealth of Australia. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia. For elections to the Australian Parliament see the Australian electoral system. } The Australian Capital Territory (ACT is the Capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and its smallest self-governing internal territory The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then The Northern Territory of Australia is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the Queensland Government. The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then The form of the Government of Tasmania is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1890 although it has been amended many times since then Australia has two tiers of subnational government state (or territory government and local government. Political parties in Australia lists political parties in Australia. The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. The Country Liberal Party (CLP is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the Liberal and National parties The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor Political party in Australia. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The foreign relations of Australia have spanned from the country's time as Dominion and later Realm of the British Empire to become steadfastly allied with Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent The Parliament of Australia or Commonwealth Parliament is the legislative branch of government of Australia. The other presiding officer is the President of the Senate. The President of the Australian Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia.

The office of Speaker is created by the Constitution of Australia. The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates The authors of the Constitution intended that the House of Representatives should be as nearly as possible a replica of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords

Section 35 of the Constitution provides:

The House of Representatives shall, before proceeding to the despatch of any other business, choose a member to be the Speaker of the House, and as often as the office of Speaker becomes vacant the House shall again choose a member to be the Speaker.

The Speaker is elected by the House of Representatives in a secret ballot. The Clerk conducts the election. The Clerk of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Australia is responsible for managing the Department of the House The first Speaker, Sir Frederick Holder, sat as an independent after his election as Speaker, but since his death in 1909 the Speakership has been a partisan office and the nominee of the government party has always been elected. Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Unlike the Speaker of the House of Commons in Britain, the Speaker continues to attend party meetings, and at general elections stands as a party candidate. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords

There is no convention in Australia that the Speaker should not be opposed in his or her constituency, and three Speakers (Groom in 1929, Nairn in 1943 and Aston in 1972) have been defeated at general elections. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Because the Speaker is always the nominee of the governing party, there is no expectation that a Speaker will continue in office following a change of government. While the Opposition sometimes nominates one of its own members for Speaker after a general election, this is understood to be a symbolic act, and party discipline is always followed in any ballot.

Although Australian Speakers are supposed to behave with reasonable impartiality, they see it as part of their duty to support the Government of the day in getting its business through the House, and generally rule in favour of the Government on the frequent points of order raised by Opposition members. Speakers are regularly accused of favouring the Government, and on occasion motions of dissent in the Speaker's rulings or motions of no confidence in the Speaker are moved. These are always defeated along party lines.

On the other hand, the Speaker is not an active political figure like the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer&mdashor speaker &mdashof the United States House of Representatives. He or she does not take part in debates in the House, does not vote in the House except in the (rare) event of a tied vote, and does not speak in public on party-political issues (except at election time in his or her own constituency). He or she is expected to conduct the business of the House in an impartial manner, and generally does so. The Speaker is assisted by two elected Deputy Speakers, one of whom, by convention, comes from the Opposition party.

The Speaker's principal duty is to preside over the House, although he is assisted in this by the Deputy Speakers and a panel of Acting Speakers, who usually preside during routine debates. The occupant of the Chair must maintain order in the House, uphold the Standing Orders (rules of procedure), rule on points of order, and protect the rights of backbench members. The Speaker, in conjunction with the President of the Senate, also administers Parliament House, Canberra, with the assistance of an administrative staff. The President of the Australian Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia.

Australian parliaments are notoriously rowdy, and the Speaker frequently exercises the disciplinary powers available under Standing Orders. The Speaker may summarily order a Member to excuse him or herself from the House for one hour. For more serious offences, the Speaker may "name" a Member: he says "I name the Honourable Member for X," following the House's convention that Members are always referred to by their electorate. The House then votes on a motion to suspend the Member for 24 hours. (The House also had the power to expel a Member, but this happened only once, in 1920 – the member was Hugh Mahon. Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Hugh Mahon ( 6 January 1857 – 28 August 1931) was an Irish -born Australian politician and a member of the first Commonwealth Under Section 8 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act, 1987 [1] the House no longer has the power to expel a member from membership of the House. )

Most Speakers have been senior backbenchers of the party holding office at the start of a new Parliament, or at the time of the death or resignation of an incumbent Speaker. Four Speakers have been former government ministers (Watt, Groom, Cameron and Sinclair), one a former Parliamentary Secretary (Martin), and one (Snedden) both a former minister and a former Leader of the Opposition. This is a List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition, who in Australian Federal Politics is a Member of Parliament in the There is no convention in Australia that Speakers should resign from Parliament on the end of their term: two Speakers (Makin and Scholes) have become Cabinet ministers after having been Speaker.

There have been several memorable clashes between Speakers and the governments which caused them to be elected.

• In 1929 Speaker Sir Littleton Groom declined to come into the House and cast a vote in committee when his vote would have saved the Bruce government from defeat. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sir Littleton Ernest Groom, KCMG ( 22 April 1867 – 6 November 1936) was an Australian Commonwealth Minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC (15 April 1883&ndash25 August 1967 was an Australian politician and As a result he was expelled from the Nationalist Party and defeated in his constituency at the subsequent election. Stanleybrucejpg|right|150px|thumb| Stanley Bruce, Nationalist Prime Minister of Australia 1923-1929]] The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political
• In 1975 the Whitlam government refused to support Speaker James Cope when he named a government minister for disrespect to the Chair: normally this would have resulted in the minister's suspension from the House. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916 known as Gough Whitlam (ˈɡɒf goff is an Australian former politician and 21st James Francis Cope ( 26 November 1911 &ndash 3 February 1999) was an Australian politician The Speaker resigned on the spot, although he was under no obligation to do so.
• In 1982 Speaker Sir Billy Snedden refused to insist that an opposition frontbencher, Bob Hawke, retract an allegation that the Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, was a liar. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Sir Billy Mackie Snedden KCMG QC (31 December 1926 27 June 1987 was an Australian politician representing the Liberal Party. Robert James Lee (Bob Hawke, AC (born 9 December 1929 was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia and longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister John Malcolm Fraser, AC, CH (born 21 May 1930 is an Australian Liberal politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. Snedden stood his ground despite furious demands from government members that Hawke either be made to retract or be named.

For more information on Speakers of Houses of Parliament, see Speaker. The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a legislative body

Speakers of the House of Representatives

Notes