Executive Council of New South Wales - Role and History

Role and History

Made up of members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and the New South Wales Legislative Council, the Cabinet is similar in structure and role to the Cabinet of Australia. As federal and state responsibilities differ there are a number of different portfolios between the federal and state governments, most prominent being the absence of foreign or defence portfolios in state governments. Once sworn in, the members of the council are entitled to bear the title "The Honourable". Once leaving office, however, they must relinquish it unless they have served more than three years on the council or have been specifically approved to bear it for life by the monarch on the advice of the council. All retentions of the title must, however, be approved by Royal proclamation.

While typically the Governor acts as the President of the Executive Council, a minister is typically appointed to be Vice-President of the Executive Council to act as chair in the absence of the governor and to facilitate the agenda and reports of members before the council and the crown.

The Governor of New South Wales, as representative of the Queen in Right of New South Wales, heads the council, and is referred to as the Governor in Council. Other members of the Cabinet, who advise, or minister, the vice-regal, are selected by the Premier of New South Wales and appointed by the Governor. Most cabinet ministers are the head of a ministry, but this is not always the case.

In the early Crown colony of New South Wales prior to full self-government in 1856, the Executive Council was largely appointed by the Governor and included military and judicial officials, their role that of the Governor's cabinet, similar to the present except that the Governor took part in cabinet meetings and political decisions, whereas modern Governors do not. The colonial Legislative Council, established in 1824, was subordinate to the Governor and the Council and served more as a sounding-board than a legislative body.