Talk:Caretaker government of Australia
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This needs more work, but I've gotten if off the ground at least. Manning (talk) 05:03, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
Excellent start, MB. Just a couple of things:
- the GG does not appoint the caretaker govt; the current govt simply goes into caretaker mode, and departments are advised what this means for them and what they must/must not do during the period.
- This relates to your later text about the constitutional basis and the GG's powers. It has nothing to do with the GG's powers, and everything to do with having a system that is perceived as fair. During a campaign the government should not be at an unfair disadvantage because it has access to the full resources of government and the opposition doesn't, or because it would otherwise be in a position to make major decisions or appointments at the 11th hour which they mightn't have to live with if the government changes hands. What's good for one side should be good for another at another time - to prevent this, the convention is to operate on a caretaker basis, not an active basis, and every caretaker government plays by the same rules as every other. (Pity such fairness didn't operate all the time.)
- I've also reworded the 1975 constitutional crisis bit. Kerr did appoint Fraser on a caretaker basis on 11 November, but even if he hadn't, Fraser's govt (of which he was the only member at that stage) would have gone into caretaker mode later that day when the Parliament was dissoved. The rest of the caretaker ministry was sworn in on 12 November. Extraordinary circumstances - extraordinary solution.
