National Cabinet (Australia)
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Australia |
|---|
 |
| Constitution |
|
|
 Australia portal |
The National Cabinet is a special intergovernmental decision-making forum composed of the head of the Commonwealth (the Prime Minister) and the premiers and chief ministers of the Australian states and territories, established on 18 March 2020 to coordinate the national response to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.
History and description
The formation of the National Cabinet was announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday 18 March 2020 following a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments[1] on 13 March 2020. It was created via the "National Partnership on Covid-19 Response" agreement[2] to "coordinate and deliver a consistent national response to COVID-19".[3][4][5]
It has been described as akin to Australia's War Cabinet during the Second World War.[6]
Meetings of the Cabinet are held using secure video conferencing .[5]
Role and responsibilities
The National Cabinet is responsible for endorsing and coordinating national actions in response to 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. It is advised by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, which is composed of the Chief Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, Brendan Murphy, and the Chief Health Officers of the states and territories.[7]
The Prime Minister said that the National Cabinet has "the status of a cabinet meeting" at a federal level, meaning it has the same confidentiality and Freedom of Information protections as the federal cabinet, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.[5]
The legal authority for much of this structure is based on practice and convention, contained in the official Cabinet Handbook;[8] strictly speaking, based on the Westminster system, cabinet decisions do not of themselves have legal authority. This comes from the Federal Executive Council, which gives legal force to decisions made by the cabinet. "Members of the Cabinet must publicly support all Government decisions made in the Cabinet, even if they do not agree with them. Cabinet ministers cannot dissociate themselves from, or repudiate the decisions of their Cabinet colleagues unless they resign from the Cabinet".[5]
Current membership
| Name | Office held | In office since | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Morrison MP | Prime Minister of Australia | 24 August 2018 | Liberal | |
| Gladys Berejiklian MP | Premier of New South Wales | 23 January 2017 | Liberal | |
| Daniel Andrews MP | Premier of Victoria | 4 December 2014 | Labor | |
| Annastacia Palaszczuk MP | Premier of Queensland | 14 February 2015 | Labor | |
| Mark McGowan MLA | Premier of Western Australia | 17 March 2017 | Labor | |
| Steven Marshall MP | Premier of South Australia | 19 March 2018 | Liberal | |
| Peter Gutwein MHA | Premier of Tasmania | 20 January 2020 | Liberal | |
| Andrew Barr MLA | Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory | 11 December 2014 | Labor | |
| Michael Gunner MLA | Chief Minister of the Northern Territory | 31 August 2016 | Labor | |
Meetings and press releases
- 29 March 2020: The Cabinet noted that the rate of increase of the spread of COVID-19 was slowing, but overall numbers were still increasing and welcomed the new coronavirus app and WhatsApp channel released by the Government. It announced new limits to indoor and outdoor gatherings to two persons only (with some exceptions); discussed further social distancing measures; gave further advice to senior citizens; and agreed to a moratorium on evictions for the coming six months for both commercial and residential tenancies suffering financial distress.[9]
See also
- Cabinet of Australia
- Council of Australian Governments
- Loan Council
- National Security Committee
- War Cabinet of Australia
References
- ^ PM tells Australians to 'stop hoarding' as he announces sweeping measures to slow spread of coronavirus Guardian AustraliaSarah Martin 18 March 2020
- ^ National Partnership on Covid-19 Response
- ^ The national cabinet is key to our coronavirus response. Here's how it will need to work Michael Shoebridge Canberra Times 18 March 2020
- ^ Press Conference Transcript Prime Minister's Office Press Conference Transcript 15 March 2020
- ^ a b c d Burton, Tom (18 March 2020). "National cabinet creates a new federal model". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Inside Morrison’s Covid-19 war cabinet The Saturday Paper Karen Middleton Edition No. 293 March 21–27 2020
- ^ "Coronavirus measures endorsed by National Cabinet". Prime Minister of Australia. Media release. Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, (2019). Cabinet Handbook (PDF) (13th ed.). ISBN 978-1-925364-00-2. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
CC BY 4.0
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "National Cabinet Statement". Prime Minister of Australia. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
Further reading
- Shoebridge, Michael (18 March 2020). "The national cabinet is key to our coronavirus response. Here's how it will need to work". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 30 March 2020.