Legal Advice on the Mid-Term Replacement of an Australian Prime Minister Leading a Minority Government

Abstract

In 2013 the Australian Prime Minister, who was leading a minority government, lost the support of her party and resigned. A question arose as to whether the newly elected party leader should be appointed Prime Minister when there was no guarantee that he would be supported by the independents and maintain the confidence of the lower House. The Governor-General received legal advice from the Acting Solicitor-General about making the appointment. This article discusses the constitutional issues raised by that advice including: the status of the advice of the outgoing Prime Minister about her successor; the effect of the Prime Minister’s resignation on the status of the ministry; the conditions that might be placed upon a new appointment or the assurances that might be sought in making one; and the role of the Solicitor-General in advising the Governor-General.

Keywords: minority government, resignation of Prime Minister, appointment of Prime Minister, reserve powers, Cabinet, ministry, advice to Governor-General, executive power, Solicitor-General, legal advice, policy advice, conditions on appointments, supply

JEL Classification: K10, K33