Government of Queensland
The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government". The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then. Since 1901 Queensland has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Australian Constitution regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth.
Queensland is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom. Executive power is exercised by the Premier of Queensland and the Cabinet, who are appointed by the Governor, but who hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly. The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the Queensland Parliament until its abolition in 1922. Consequently, the Queensland Legislative Assembly is the only unicameral state parliament in Australia.[1]
Legislative power rests with the Parliament of Queensland, which consists of the Crown, represented by the Governor of Queensland, and the Queensland Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Assembly generally sits at Parliament House, Brisbane and it currently consists of one member from each of the 89 electorates.[1] In Queensland general elections must be held every three years.[1]
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[edit] Government Ministerial Portfolios
The following people are Ministers in the current Cabinet.[2]
- Premier and Minister for Reconstruction: Anna Bligh
- Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for State Development and Trade: Andrew Fraser
- Attorney-General, Minister for Local Government and Special Minister of State: Paul Lucas
- Minister for Health: Geoff Wilson
- Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services: Neil Roberts
- Minister for Energy and Water Utilities: Stephen Robertson
- Minister for Main Roads, Fisheries and Marine Infrastructure: Craig Wallace
- Minister for Education and Industrial Relations: Cameron Dick
- Minister for Agriculture, Food and Regional Economies: Tim Mulherin
- Minister for Employment, Skills and Mining: Stirling Hinchliffe
- Minister for Finance and the Arts: Rachel Nolan
- Minister for Environment: Vicky Darling
- Minister for Transport and Multicultural Affairs: Annastacia Palaszczuk
- Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Sport: Phil Reeves
- Minister for Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women: Karen Struthers
- Minister for Tourism, Manufacturing and Small Business: Jan Jarratt
- Minister for Government Services, Building Industry and Information and Communication Technology: Simon Finn
- Minister for Disability Services, Mental Health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships: Curtis Pitt
[edit] Courts and Tribunals
Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of Queensland and a system of subordinate courts, but the High Court of Australia is the final arbitrator of most legal questions, other federal courts have jurisdiction on matters which fall under the ambit of the Federal Government as defined by the Australian Constitution. Other Queensland courts include the Children's Court of Queensland, Coroners Court of Queensland, District Court of Queensland and the Magistrates' Court of Queensland.
[edit] Departments
After the 2009 Queensland state election a restructure of Queensland departments resulted in there being a total of 13 main departments.[3] These include;
- Department of Communities
- Department of Community Safety including Emergency Management Queensland, the Queensland Ambulance Service and the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service
- Department of Education and Training
- Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation including the former Department of Mines and Energy which is now known as Mines and Energy, the former Queensland Department of Primary Industries which became Primary Industries and Fisheries and Tourism Queensland.
- Department of Environment and Resource Management which includes Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the former Department of Natural Resources and Water
- Queensland Health
- Department of Infrastructure and Planning
- Department of Justice and Attorney-General
- Queensland Police
- Department of Premier and Cabinet
- Department of Public Works
- Department of Transport and Main Roads which now includes the former Department of Main Roads and Queensland Transport
- Queensland Treasury
[edit] Restructures
The Department of Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Industry Development was abolished on 13 September 2007. The Office of Fair Trading and the Wine Industry Development Division became part of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. The Tourism Division became Tourism Queensland.
The Department of Natural Resources and Water has had a number of former titles and responsibilities including Department of Natural Resources and Mines and the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water.
In 2004, the Queensland Housing Commission was merged in the Department of Housing, which was abolished in 2009, with the Department of Communities taking over its role.
Queensland Health will be split into two new departments from 1 July 2012. These have been named Health and Hospitals Queensland and the Health Corporate Services Authority.
[edit] Agencies
- Queensland Water Commission
- Residential Tenancies Authority
- Queensland Heritage Council
- Queensland Competition Authority
[edit] Government owned corporations
The government is responsible for a number of corporations, of which the responsible minister typically holds a 100% ownership stake in. These include Queensland Rail, SunWater, Golden Casket, Stanwell Corporation, Tarong Energy, Powerlink Queensland, Energex, CS Energy, Ergon, South Bank Corporation, Mackay Port Authority, Cairns Port Authority, Port of Brisbane, Port of Townsville, Office of Government Owned Corporations, Ports Corporation of Queensland and Queensland Investment Corporation.[4] In 2006, Peter Beattie privatised a number of government owned electricity retailers.[5]
On June 2, 2009 the government announced the 'Renewing Queensland Plan' that would sell state-owned railway, port and forestry assets to raise $15 billion, and avoid a further $12 billion required in future capital investment.[6][7] On 18 May 2010, Queensland Forestry Plantations was the first commercial business to be sold.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "System of government". Queensland Government. 4 August 2009. http://www.qld.gov.au/government/system-of-government.html#section-the-parliament. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
- ^ Directory of Queensland Ministers and Portfolios
- ^ "Departments: Queensland Government". The State of Queensland. http://www.qld.gov.au/government/departments/. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
- ^ "Government owned corporations: Queensland Government". The State of Queensland. http://www.qld.gov.au/government/other-government-bodies/corporations.html. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
- ^ Peter Beattie (2 April 2011). "Bligh, Newman vie for a changed Queensland". The Australian (News Limited). http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/bligh-newman-vie-for-a-changed-queensland/story-fn59niix-1226031832382. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ Marissa Calligeros (2 June 2009). "Queensland asset sales to reap $15 billion". Brisbane Times. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-asset-sales-to-reap-15-billion-20090602-bthd.html. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
- ^ "Queensland assets sale". www.qld.gov.au. http://www.qld.gov.au/assetssale/. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
[edit] External links
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- Queensland Government web site
- List of Queensland Government non-departmental bodies
- Get involved — Queensland Government community engagement website.
- Queensland Parliament
- The Premier of Queensland
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