Cabinet Flashcards
What constitutes the executive?
Cabinet, the PM, cabinet ministers, ministers outside of cabinet, executive council, advisers and public service.
What are majority and minority governments?
Majority: This form of government is formed when a party or coalition is sworn into government with more than half the vote/seats.
Minority: This is when the party that won the most votes may still not actually have the majority of seats. As a result, they may form a minority government if they don’t form a majority coalition. Minority governments are much more unstable than majorities.
Why is there growing support for minority governments?
Minority governments limit the influence of smaller parties and their overstatement of power. In a majority government, the small parties would be sworn in as part of the government and as a result would have a much stronger voice alongside the large party. In a minority party, the large party still very much has the strongest voice with small parties locked in only through support agreements.
Position of national and labour on the political spectrum
Both national and labour campaign as being on opposite sides of the political spectrum, however, once in power they are very much situated in the middle and reach something of a consensus in terms of how the country should be governed. In addition to this, the two major parties often try to balance their coalitions through agreements with parties on different parts of the spectrum. Maintaining a center ground is more relevant nowadays due to the fact that the average voter is more central than being on one extreme of he spectrum.
Simply describe Cabinet
Cabinet is a committee of the highest ranked Ministers who are formally appointed (and dismissed) by the governor general on the recommendations of the PM. The PM acts as the chair of cabinet. It currently consists of 20 ministers.
Outside cabinet
The PM is responsible for the allocation of portfolios within cabinet. However, with the growing complexity of the modern day government it has been necessary to appoint ministers outside of cabinet which increased the size of the executive. This was also done in order to satisfy able back-bench MPs.
Cabinet committees
There are currently 10 committees, each with up to 17 or 18 members. The PM is responsible for choosing the members of each committee. These committees are usually composed of mainly the one main party which makes it easier to reach a consensus.
Appointment of Cabinet: National
The appointment of MPs into cabinet is done so by the PM through recommendations to the governor general.
Appointment of Cabinet: Labour
This decision is left to the caucus. While this creates a sense of unity and involvement that could lead to an increase in party strength, it can also cause division of interests if members disagree with one another. This would then lead to internal fracturing of the party.
Similarities in appointment:
The actual size of cabinet and allocation of seats to support parties is decided on by the PM. The PM is also responsible for the allocation of portfolios. This can either be done to reward loyalty and talent or to marginalize ministers.
Diversity of Cabinet
It is important that cabinet is diverse in its representation. There is a balance between experience as well as being able to represent a range of interests.
Individual minister responsibilities:
All ministers are held accountable for the actions of the public servants, government departments and ministries under their care. Where there is no proof that the minister could have done anything about an incident, they are not held responsible. Each minister is also held responsible for their own actions, especially if they are found abusing there ministerial powers.
Collective cabinet responsibility:
This is in reference to all the cabinet ministers speaking as one once a collective decision has been made. This may be difficult if individuals disagree with the decision. It is also made harder in a coalition where there may be multiple parties represented in cabinet, all with different views.
