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Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia






GOVERNMENT

 

The Commonwealth of Australia is a federation of states. Australia is a parliamentary democracy, generally modeled on the British system--but with a few differences. In Australia the primacy of parliament is limited by a written constitution. The Australian Constitution (called An Act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia) was ratified by the British parliament on July 9, 1900. It came into force on the first day of the 20th century, Jan. 1, 1901, the founding date of the Commonwealth of Australia.

 

The constitution of Australia may be described as an amalgam (смесь) of the constitutional forms of the United Kingdom and the United States. Like the United Kingdom, it is a monarchy, and the British king or queen is the king or queen of Australia. As in the United Kingdom, the governments of the Commonwealth of Australia and of the Australian states are chosen from the majority party in their parliaments. Like the United States, Australia is a federation, and the duties of the federal government and the division of powers between the Commonwealth and the states are laid down in a written constitution.

 

Australia has six states. They are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. Each state has its own government. Australia also has two mainland territories -- the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

 

Australia has a parliamentary system of government. Under the parliamentary system, the national government is controlled by the political party (or the coalition of parties) with a majority of seats in the lower house of the parliament. The leader of the majority party or the coalition heads the government as prime minister. The leader of the majority party automatically becomes prime minister, in the federal parliament, or premier in state parliaments.

 

Australia is a constitutional monarchy like Britain. The British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is also queen of Australia and the country's head of state. However, the queen has little or no power in the Australian government. The functions of the present queen have been regarded as almost entirely formal and decorative. She serves mainly as a symbol of the historical tie between the two countries.

 

Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the association formed by Britain and a number of its former colonies that are now independent countries.

 


Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia

The office of the Governor-General was established by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia. Section 2 of the Constitution provides that " A Governor-General appointed by the Queen shall be Her Majesty's representative of the Commonwealth..."

 

The Governor-General is appointed by The Queen for five years on the advice of the Prime Minister. After receiving his Commission (назначение на должность), the Governor-General makes an Oath of Allegiance (присяга на верность) and an Oath of Office (должностная присяга) to Her Majesty and issues a Proclamation assuming office.

 

The Governor-General's salary is tax-free. It is set by an Act of Parliament at the beginning of each term of office, and cannot be changed during the appointment.

 

The Governor-General has many important constitutional, official and ceremonial duties to perform. For example, the Governor-General:

· dissolves the Parliament and issues writs (указ) for new elections;

· commissions (утверждать в должности) the Prime Minister and appoints other Ministers after elections;

· gives assent to laws when they have been passed by the two Houses of Parliament - the Senate and the House of Representatives;

· appoints Federal judges; ambassadors and high commissioners (Высокий комиссар - представитель одной из стран Содружества в другой стране Содружества) to overseas countries and other senior government officials; exercises the prerogative of mercy (право на помилование); and

· authorises many other executive decisions by Ministers such as approving treaties with foreign governments.

 

The Governor-General is the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. As Commander-in-Chief, the Governor-General has an important ceremonial role to play. He attends military parades and special occasions such as Anzac Day at the Australian War Memorial, and presents colours (знамя) and other insignia (знаки отличия) to units (воинская часть) of the Australian Defence Force.

 

There are many other ceremonial duties performed as representative of the Head of State. For example, the Governor-General:

 

· receives visiting heads of state, heads of government and other prominent visitors to Australia;

· opens new sessions of the Commonwealth Parliament;

· receives the credentials (верительные грамоты) of Ambassadors and some High Commissioners appointed to represent their countries in Australia;

· conducts investitures (церемония введения в должность) at which people receive awards under the Australian Honours system for notable service to the community, or for acts of bravery; and

· receives and formally entertains many Australian citizens and representatives of organisations active in the life of the community.

 

Possibly the most important role of the Governor-General, as the office has evolved over the years, is to represent those things that unite Australians as a nation. In this capacity, the Governor-General and his wife:

 

· travel widely throughout Australia, visiting the capital cities, regional centres, rural districts, Aboriginal communities and disadvantaged groups;

· accept patronage of many national charitable, cultural, educational, sporting and professional organisations;

· open and participate in conferences where topics of national importance are discussed - such as educational, health, cultural, welfare, defence, economic and rural issues; and

· attend services, functions (мероприятия), commemorations and exhibitions of local significance, lending their encouragement to individuals and groups who are making a substantial contribution to their communities.

 

The official residences of the Governor-General are Government House, Canberra and Admiralty House, Sydney.

 

Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce, the 25th Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
Executive
(исполнительная власть)

 

The constitution defines the form and duties of the federal government. The most important of these are defense, foreign policy, immigration, customs and excise, and the post office. Those powers not given to the federal government in the constitution are left to the states.

 

The prime minister, Australia's head of government, is responsible only to the majority party (or coalition). If the party chooses a new leader, that person becomes prime minister. The prime minister appoints members of Parliament to head the government departments (министерства). The department heads, called ministers, and the prime minister make up the Cabinet. Unlike the heads of American government agencies, they must also be elected as members of Parliament. They are thus answerable to both Parliament and the public.

 


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