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Australian cabinet position
The Leader of the Government in the Senate (historically also known as the Leader of the Senate ) is the
government's most senior
cabinet minister in the
Australian Senate and the main government spokesperson in the Senate.
[1]
[2] His or her
Opposition counterpart is the
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate .
[3]
The current Leader of the Government in the Senate is
Penny Wong , elected unanimously to the position on 23 May 2022, replacing
Simon Birmingham . The current Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate is
Don Farrell .
Role and history
According to
constitutional convention , the government is formed in the
House of Representatives and the
Prime Minister is a member of that chamber and the Prime Minister is the leader of the Government in the House of Representatives. The Leader of the Government in the Senate has duties and privileges that parallel those of the Prime Minister, in that he or she has overarching responsibility for all policy areas and acts as the government's principal spokesperson in the upper house. He or she is also entitled to sit at the table of the Senate, and has priority in gaining recognition from the
President of the Senate during debate.
[3] Another similarity is that the leader typically announces changes to government officeholders in the Senate, including ministers, leadership and whips. The leader also has some responsibility for appointing government senators to committees, a role filled in the House of Representatives by the
Leader of the House .
[4]
The position of Leader of the Government in the Senate does not have a constitutional basis, but has existed since the first parliament in 1901 through longstanding parliamentary convention. Although it has similarities to the
Senate Majority Leader in the United States and the
Leader of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, it was not based on either of those, but rather on the position of Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council found in Australia's colonial parliaments. Because government is formed in the House rather than the Senate, there is no guarantee that the Leader of the Government will be drawn from the largest party in the Senate. Unlike the Prime Minister, there is no requirement for the Leader of the Government to command the confidence of the chamber. It is not a cabinet post in its own right, and the holder of the office has always held at least one ministerial portfolio (though sometimes only the mostly honorific
Vice-Presidency of the Executive Council ).
The longest-serving Leader of the Government in the Senate was
George Pearce , who held the position for a cumulative total of 15 years in three separate terms between 1914 and 1937. Uniquely, from 10 January to 1 February 1968, the positions of Prime Minister and Leader of the Government in the Senate were held by the same person,
John Gorton . After the
disappearance of Harold Holt , Gorton – a senator –
was elected leader of the Liberal Party and thus ascended to the prime ministership. In line with constitutional convention, he resigned from the Senate to contest
a by-election to the House of Representatives.
List of Leaders of the Government in the Senate
Leader
Term began
Term ended
Portfolio
[5]
Party
Prime Minister
Term in office
Deputy
Richard O'Connor
9 May 1901
[6]
[7]
24 September 1903
V-P Exec. Council
Protectionist
Barton
2 years, 96 days
James Drake
Tom Playford
24 September 1903
[8]
27 April 1904
V-P Exec. Council
Protectionist
Deakin
216 days
Gregor McGregor
27 April 1904
[9]
18 August 1904
V-P Exec. Council
Labor
Watson
113 days
Anderson Dawson
Josiah Symon
18 August 1904
[10]
5 July 1905
Attorney-General
Free Trade
Reid
321 days
James Drake
Tom Playford
5 July 1905
[11]
[12]
31 December 1906
[n 1]
Defence
Protectionist
Deakin
1 year, 179 days
John Keating
Robert Best
20 February 1907
[5]
[14]
13 November 1908
V-P Exec. Council
Protectionist
1 year, 267 days
Gregor McGregor
13 November 1908
[15]
[16]
2 June 1909
V-P Exec. Council
Labor
Fisher
201 days
George Pearce
Edward Millen
2 June 1909
[17]
29 April 1910
V-P Exec. Council
Commonwealth Liberal
Deakin
331 days
Robert Best
Gregor McGregor
29 April 1910
[18]
[19]
24 June 1913
V-P Exec. Council
Labor
Fisher
3 years, 56 days
George Pearce
Edward Millen
24 June 1913
[20]
17 September 1914
Defence
Commonwealth Liberal
Cook
1 year, 85 days
James McColl
George Pearce
17 September 1914
[21]
[22]
17 February 1917
Defence
Labor
Fisher
2 years, 153 days
Albert Gardiner
Hughes
National Labor
Patrick Lynch
Edward Millen
17 February 1917
[23]
9 February 1923
Nationalist
5 years, 357 days
George Pearce
George Pearce
9 February 1923
[24]
[25]
19 October 1929
Nationalist
Bruce
6 years, 252 days
Victor Wilson
John Daly
22 October 1929
[26]
3 March 1931
Labor
Scullin
1 year, 132 days
John Barnes
3 March 1931
[27]
6 January 1932
V-P Exec. Council
Labor
309 days
George Pearce
6 January 1932
[28]
29 November 1937
United Australia
Lyons
5 years, 327 days
Alexander McLachlan
29 November 1937
[29]
7 November 1938
Postmaster-General
United Australia
343 days
George McLeay
8 November 1938
[30]
7 October 1941
United Australia
2 years, 333 days
Page
Menzies
Fadden
Joe Collings
7 October 1941
[31]
[32]
20 September 1943
Interior
Labor
Curtin
1 year, 348 days
Richard Keane
20 September 1943
[33]
26 April 1946
Trade and Customs
Labor
2 years, 218 days
Forde
Chifley
Bill Ashley
17 June 1946
[34]
19 December 1949
Labor
3 years, 185 days
Neil O'Sullivan
21 February 1950
[35]
8 December 1958
Liberal
Menzies
8 years, 290 days
Bill Spooner
8 December 1958
[36]
2 June 1964
[37]
Liberal
5 years, 178 days
Shane Paltridge
Shane Paltridge
10 June 1964
[38]
19 January 1966
[39]
Defence
Liberal
1 year, 230 days
Denham Henty
Denham Henty
26 January 1966
[40]
16 October 1967
Supply
Liberal
Holt
1 year, 263 days
John Gorton
John Gorton
16 October 1967
1 February 1968
Liberal
108 days
Denham Henty
McEwen
Himself
Ken Anderson
28 February 1968
[n 2]
5 December 1972
Liberal
Gorton
4 years, 281 days
Annabelle Rankin
McMahon
Reg Wright
Lionel Murphy
19 December 1972
[42]
9 February 1975
Labor
Whitlam
2 years, 52 days
Ken Wriedt
10 February 1975
[43]
11 November 1975
Labor
274 days
Reg Withers
12 November 1975
[44]
7 August 1978
[45]
Liberal
Fraser
2 years, 268 days
John Carrick
7 August 1978
[46]
11 March 1983
Liberal
4 years, 216 days
John Button
11 March 1983
[47]
24 March 1993
Industry, Technology and Commerce
[n 4]
Labor
Hawke
10 years, 13 days
Keating
Gareth Evans
24 March 1993
[48]
6 February 1996
[n 5]
Foreign Affairs
Labor
2 years, 319 days
Robert Hill
11 March 1996
[49]
20 January 2006
Liberal
Howard
9 years, 315 days
Nick Minchin
Nick Minchin
27 January 2006
[50]
3 December 2007
Liberal
1 year, 310 days
Helen Coonan
Chris Evans
12 December 2007
[51]
[52]
4 February 2013
Labor
Rudd
5 years, 54 days
Stephen Conroy
Gillard
Stephen Conroy
4 February 2013
[53]
[54]
26 June 2013
Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Labor
142 days
Penny Wong
Penny Wong
26 June 2013
[55]
[56]
18 September 2013
Finance and Deregulation
Labor
Rudd
84 days
Jacinta Collins
Eric Abetz
18 September 2013
[57]
[58]
21 September 2015
Employment
Liberal
Abbott
2 years, 2 days
George Brandis
George Brandis
21 September 2015
20 December 2017
Attorney-General
V-P Exec. Council
Liberal
Turnbull
2 years, 90 days
Mathias Cormann
Mathias Cormann
20 December 2017
30 October 2020
Finance and the Public Service
V-P Exec. Council
Liberal
6 years, 129 days
Mitch Fifield
Simon Birmingham
Liberal
Morrison
Simon Birmingham
30 October 2020
23 May 2022
Finance
Trade, Tourism and Investment (to Dec 2020)
V-P Exec. Council
Liberal
3 years, 180 days
Michaelia Cash
Penny Wong
1 June 2022
Incumbent
Foreign Affairs
Labor
Albanese
1 year, 331 days
Don Farrell
See also
Notes
^ Playford lost his seat at the
federal election on 12 December. The year 1906 was the last in which terms ended in on the last day of December rather than June.
[13]
^ Anderson was appointed Leader of the Government before the second session of the 26th Parliament,
[41] and Gorton made his appointments on 28 February 1968.
[5]
^ Withers was appointed Vice-President of the Executive Council the day after the Dismissal as part of Fraser's Caretaker Cabinet, but he continued in that office for his entire tenure as Leader of the Government. On the same date, he was appointed caretaker
the Capital Territory ,
Special Minister of State , Minister for the Media, and
Tourism and Recreation . He served in those offices until 22 December, when Fraser's first full Cabinet was sworn in. The Senate did not meet during the period 12 November to 22 December 1975 (indeed it was dissolved for most of that time). Withers gained the Administrative Services portfolio as part of 22 December reshuffle.
^ Minister for Industry and Commerce 1983–1984.
^ Resigned to contest (successfully) the lower house seat of
Holt .
^ Minister for Environment 1996–98.
^ Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research 2011–13.
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^
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^
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^
a
b
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^
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^
a
b
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^
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^ Richard O'Connor, Leader of the Senate (13 August 1903).
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^ Australian Parliamentary Library.
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^ Australian Parliamentary Library.
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^ Australian Parliamentary Library.
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^ Australian Parliamentary Library.
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^
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^
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^
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^
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Components Parliamentary officers
Senate House of Representatives
Members Senate House of Representatives
Parliaments Procedure
Elections Locations See also