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Clerk of the Australian House of Representatives

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The Clerk of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Australia is responsible for managing the Parliamentary Department of the House of Representatives. The Clerk is a non-elected administrative officer under the Parliamentary Service Act 1999.[1][2] The term of the Clerk of the House of Representatives is now limited by law to 10 years. On 12 August 2019, Claressa Surtees became the first female Clerk of the House.

The Department of the House of Representatives provides services to support the efficient conduct of the House of Representatives, its committees and certain joint committees as well as a range of services and facilities for House Members in the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The Department also undertakes activities to promote the work of the House in the community and is responsible for the conduct of the Parliament's international and regional relations.[3] The Clerk of the Australian House of Representatives conducts the election for Speaker.

The Department of the House of Representatives is not part of the Executive Government of Australia, being instead responsible to the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, who has accountability obligations for the department to the House of Representatives.

Since 1999, the terms of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Clerk of the Senate have been limited to 10 years. The change did not apply to the incumbents.

Clerks of the House

There have been 16 Clerks of the House. The longest-serving was Frank Green, who held the position for over 18 years.[4] The shortest-serving was John McGregor, who held the position for 27 days. He collapsed while the House was speaking on a condolence motion for his predecessor Walter Gale, who had died in office a month earlier. McGregor was taken to Canberra Hospital where he died.[5]

George Jenkins, the clerk of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, was seconded to the Federal Parliament for its first few months and acted as Clerk of the House during that time before the position was filled permanently.[4]

# Clerk Term start Term end Duration
– Sir George Henry Jenkins CMG (acting) 1 May 1901 6 July 1901 66 days
1 Charles Cashel Gavan Duffy 8 July 1901 31 January 1917 15 years, 207 days
2 Walter Augustus Gale CMG 1 February 1917 27 July 1927 10 years, 176 days
3 John Robert McGregor 1 September 1927 28 September 1927 27 days
4 Ernest William Parkes CMG 27 October 1927 22 March 1937 9 years, 146 days
5 Frank Clifton Green CBE MC 23 March 1937 25 June 1955 18 years, 94 days
6 Albert Allan Tregear CBE 27 June 1955 31 December 1958 3 years, 187 days
7 Sir Alan George Turner CBE 1 January 1959 10 December 1971 12 years, 343 days
8 Norman James Parkes CBE 11 December 1971 31 December 1976 5 years, 20 days
9 John Athol Pettifer CBE 1 January 1977 15 July 1982 5 years, 195 days
10 Douglas Maurice Blake AM VRD 16 July 1982 30 July 1985 3 years, 14 days
11 Alan Robert Browning 31 July 1985 22 March 1991 5 years, 234 days
12 Lyndal McAlpin Barlin AM 23 March 1991 26 July 1997 6 years, 125 days
13 Ian Charles Harris AO 27 July 1997 4 December 2009 12 years, 130 days
14 Bernard Clive Wright AO 4 December 2009 31 December 2013 4 years, 27 days
15 David Russell Elder 1 January 2014 9 August 2019 5 years, 220 days
16 Claressa Anne Surtees 12 August 2019 Incumbent 5 years, 89 days

See also

References

  1. ^ Practice
  2. ^ Parliamentary Service Act 1999
  3. ^ Department of the House of Representatives
  4. ^ a b "Appendix 5—Clerks of the House of Representatives". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Tragic Scene in Parliament - Death of Mr J.R. McGregor". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 September 1927.
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