- Government of Queensland
-
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The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government". The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then. Since 1901 Queensland has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Australian Constitution regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth.
Queensland is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom. Executive power is exercised by the Premier of Queensland and the Cabinet, who are appointed by the Governor, but who hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the Legislative Assembly. The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the Queensland Parliament until its abolition in 1922. Consequently, the Queensland Legislative Assembly is the only unicameral state parliament in Australia.[1]
Legislative power rests with the Parliament of Queensland, which consists of the Crown, represented by the Governor of Queensland, and the Queensland Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Assembly generally sits at Parliament House, Brisbane and it currently consists of one member from each of the 89 electorates.[1] In Queensland general elections must be held every three years.[1]
Contents
Government Ministerial Portfolios
The following people are Ministers in the current Cabinet.[2]
- Premier and Minister for Reconstruction: Anna Bligh
- Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for State Development and Trade: Andrew Fraser
- Attorney-General, Minister for Local Government and Special Minister of State: Paul Lucas
- Minister for Health: Geoff Wilson
- Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services: Neil Roberts
- Minister for Energy and Water Utilities: Stephen Robertson
- Minister for Main Roads, Fisheries and Marine Infrastructure: Craig Wallace
- Minister for Education and Industrial Relations: Cameron Dick
- Minister for Agriculture, Food and Regional Economies: Tim Mulherin
- Minister for Employment, Skills and Mining: Stirling Hinchliffe
- Minister for Finance and the Arts: Rachel Nolan
- Minister for Environment: Vicky Darling
- Minister for Transport and Multicultural Affairs: Annastacia Palaszczuk
- Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Sport: Phil Reeves
- Minister for Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women: Karen Struthers
- Minister for Tourism, Manufacturing and Small Business: Jan Jarratt
- Minister for Government Services, Building Industry and Information and Communication Technology: Simon Finn
- Minister for Disability Services, Mental Health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships: Curtis Pitt
Courts and Tribunals
Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of Queensland and a system of subordinate courts, but the High Court of Australia is the final arbitrator of most legal questions, other federal courts have jurisdiction on matters which fall under the ambit of the Federal Government as defined by the Australian Constitution. Other Queensland courts include the Children's Court of Queensland, Coroners Court of Queensland, District Court of Queensland and the Magistrates' Court of Queensland.
Departments
After the 2009 Queensland state election a restructure of Queensland departments resulted in there being a total of 13 main departments.[3] These include;
- Department of Communities
- Department of Community Safety including the Queensland Ambulance Service and the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service
- Department of Education and Training
- Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation including the former Department of Mines and Energy which is now known as Mines and Energy and the former Queensland Department of Primary Industries which became Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries which included Biosecurity Queensland
- Department of Environment and Resource Management which includes Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the former Department of Natural Resources and Water
- Queensland Health
- Department of Infrastructure and Planning
- Department of Justice and Attorney-General
- Queensland Police
- Department of Premier and Cabinet
- Department of Public Works
- Department of Transport and Main Roads which now includes the former Department of Main Roads and Queensland Transport
- Queensland Treasury
Restructures
The Department of Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Industry Development was abolished on 13 September 2007. The Office of Fair Trading and the Wine Industry Development Division became part of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. The Tourism Division became Tourism Queensland.
The Department of Natural Resources and Water has had a number of former titles and responsibilities including Department of Natural Resources and Mines and the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water.
Agencies
- Tourism Queensland
- Queensland Housing Commission
- Queensland Water Commission
- Residential Tenancies Authority
- Queensland Heritage Council
- Queensland Competition Authority
Government owned corporations
The government is responsible for a number of corporations, of which the responsible minister typically holds a 100% ownership stake in. These include Queensland Rail, SunWater, Golden Casket, Stanwell Corporation, Tarong Energy, Powerlink Queensland, Energex, CS Energy, Ergon, South Bank Corporation, Mackay Port Authority, Cairns Port Authority, Port of Brisbane, Port of Townsville, Office of Government Owned Corporations, Ports Corporation of Queensland and QIC.[4]
On June 2, 2009 the government announced the 'Renewing Queensland Plan' that would sell state-owned railway, port and forestry assets to raise $15 billion, and avoid a further $12 billion required in future capital investment.[5][6]
See also
- Crime and Misconduct Commission
- Local government in Queensland
- Parliament House, Brisbane
- Politics of Queensland
- Women in the Queensland Legislative Assembly
References
- ^ a b c "System of government". Queensland Government. 4 August 2009. http://www.qld.gov.au/government/system-of-government.html#section-the-parliament. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
- ^ Directory of Queensland Ministers and Portfolios
- ^ "Departments: Queensland Government". The State of Queensland. http://www.qld.gov.au/government/departments/. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
- ^ "Government owned corporations: Queensland Government". The State of Queensland. http://www.qld.gov.au/government/other-government-bodies/corporations.html. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
- ^ MARISSA CALLIGEROS (June 2, 2009). "Queensland asset sales to reap $15 billion". www.brisbanetimes.com.au. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-asset-sales-to-reap-15-billion-20090602-bthd.html. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
- ^ "Queensland assets sale". www.qld.gov.au. http://www.qld.gov.au/assetssale/. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
External links
- Queensland Government web site
- List of Queensland Government non-departmental bodies
- Get involved — Queensland Government community engagement website.
- Queensland Parliament
- The Premier of Queensland
Queensland Topics Economy · Energy · Flag · Geography · Geology · Government · History · Local Government · Parliament · Police · Politics · Queenslanders · Rail transport · Regions · Sport
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