POLS1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Presidential System, Westminster System
The Executive and Cabinet
The Executive:
• The branch of government that implements the law
• The executive is often referred to as the administration in presidential systems and as
the government in parliamentary systems
• Made up of the head of state, government ministers and the public service
What does the Executive do?
• Propose new laws or make changes to the existing laws
• Implement and enforce laws
• Issue regulations and ordinances to support legislation
• Conduct foreign relations and direct military forces
The Core Executive:
• The government department that organizes the implementation of government policy
• Executive authority is exercised by the governor-general on the advice of the Federal
Executive Council
Cabinet:
• The link between parliament and the administrative arm
• The center of political power
• Made up of the Prime Minister and ministers in charge of departments – supported
by public service officials
• Political and policy judgments are made for the nation by the cabinet
• The cabinet is collectively responsible for the entire parliament, not just their own
party
• ^ and thus, if cabinet loses the confidence of parliament, it must resign
Ministers:
• Experts take a narrow view of their topic and thus a minister will be employed in a
range of different ministerial jobs
• An outsider perspective should be able to view proposals from the viewpoint of the
public
• A minister must have the capacity to evaluate policy rather than be an expert in it
Prime Minister:
• Leader of the majority party
• The PM in theory is just another minister sharing the collective responsibility with the
rest of the cabinet
• They now have so much political significance that its suggested there has been a shift
towards a presidential system
Selection of Ministers and Cabinet
• Pre 2007 selection of ministers varied from party to party
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Document Summary
What does the executive do: propose new laws or make changes to the existing laws, conduct foreign relations and direct military forces. The core executive: the government department that organizes the implementation of government policy, executive authority is exercised by the governor-general on the advice of the federal. Selection of ministers and cabinet: pre 2007 selection of ministers varied from party to party, november 2007 the rudd government changed the procedure both parties now leave the selection to the leader. The australian labor party: the labor caucus. House of representatives: elected in equal sized electorates, so(cid:373)e states get (cid:373)ore mp"s tha(cid:374) others, dominated by the alp and coalition, 145 of 150 seats are held by the major parties. The senate: elected equally by state (or territory, each state gets 12 senators (2 per territory, less dominated by the major parties, around 10 of 76 seats are held by minor parties and independents.
