Cabinet of Australia
Appearance
The Cabinet of Australia (whose members also serve in the Executive Council of Australia) is the council of senior ministers, responsible to parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Prime Minister and serve at his pleasure, although officially the Governor General controls their appointments. The Cabinet meets once a week to discuss vital issues. Outside of the cabinet there are a number of junior ministers, responsible for a specific policy area and reporting directly to a senior minister.
Present Australian Cabinet
Note: Ministers marked with (NAT) are representatives of the National Party of Australia. All others are from the Liberal Party of Australia
- Prime Minister: John Howard
- Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Transport and Regional Services: John Anderson (NAT)
- Treasurer: Peter Costello
- Minister for Trade: Mark Vaile (NAT)
- Minister for Foreign Affairs: Alexander Downer
- Attorney General: Philip Ruddock
- Minister for Defence & Government Senate Leader: Senator Robert Hill
- Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations: Kevin Andrews
- Minister for Finance and Administration & Government Deputy Senate Leader: Senator Nick Minchin
- Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs: Senator Amanda Vanstone
- Minister for Industry, Tourism & Resources: Ian Macfarlane
- Minister for Health and Ageing: Tony Abbott
- Minister for Education, Science and Training: Dr. Brendan Nelson
- Minister for Environment and Heritage: Senator Ian Campbell
- Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts: Senator Helen Coonan
- Minister for Family and Community Services: Senator Kay Patterson
- Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: Warren Truss (NAT)