President of the Senate (Australia) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids President of the Senate |
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Australian Senate | |
Style | The Honourable |
Appointer | Elected by the Senate |
Inaugural holder | Sir Richard Baker |
Formation | 9 May 1901 |
Deputy | Senator Andrew McLachlan |
Salary | A$369,674 |
Website | aph.gov.au |
The President of the Senate is a very important person in the Australian Senate. The Senate is like the "upper house" of Australia's Parliament. Think of it as one of the two main groups where laws are made.
The President's job is to lead the Senate meetings. They make sure everyone follows the rules. They also decide which senators can speak. This role helps keep order during important discussions. The President also makes sure all Senate rules are followed.
This job was created in 1901. The current President is Sue Lines. She was chosen on July 26, 2022.
Senators choose one of their own to be President. This happens when a new group of senators starts. It also happens if the job becomes empty. Usually, the person chosen is from the party that leads the government. But this is not always the case.
Contents
Choosing the President
Rules for Choosing
The rules for choosing the President are in Australia's Constitution. Section 17 says:
The Senate must choose a senator to be the President. This happens before they do any other work. If the President's job becomes empty, they must choose a new one. The President stops being President if they stop being a senator. They can be removed by a vote of the Senate. They can also quit their job or their seat by writing to the Governor-General.
How the President is Chosen
The Senate chooses its President by a secret vote. This means no one knows who voted for whom. The Clerk of the Senate helps with this process.
The President's job is usually held by someone from a political party. The person nominated by the government party is almost always chosen. But the government does not always have the most senators. So, it's not always guaranteed.
The President also has a helper. This person is called the Deputy President. Usually, the government picks the President. The main opposition party picks the Deputy President. If only one person is nominated for each job, there is no need for a vote.
What the President Does
Parliamentary Duties
The President's main job is to lead the Senate. They keep order during meetings. They make sure everyone follows the Standing Orders. These are the official rules of how the Senate works. The President also protects the rights of all senators.
The Deputy President and other acting Deputy Presidents help the President. They often lead during regular discussions.
The Senate is usually not as noisy as other government groups in Australia. So, the President does not often need to use strong powers to keep order.
The President can vote like any other senator. But they do not have an extra "casting vote" if there is a tie. If there's a tie, the idea fails. This is because the Senate represents each state. Taking away the President's vote would mean one state loses a vote.
Managing the Senate
The President of the Senate is also in charge of the Department of the Senate. This is one of the four groups that help Parliament run. The President helps manage the budget for this department. They also look after how it is set up.
The President also works with the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Together, they manage Parliament House. This includes all the buildings and services for Parliament.
Special Ceremonial Duties
The President of the Senate has a high rank in Australia's official order of importance. They are usually ranked just before or after the Speaker of the House.
The President takes part in the official opening of Parliament. They also travel overseas to represent Australia's Parliament. They welcome important visitors from other countries.
Salary
The President of the Senate gets a salary. This amount is decided by a group called the Remuneration Tribunal. This group is independent.
As of July 1, 2019, a senator's basic salary is A$211,242. The President gets an extra amount. This extra amount is 75% of the basic salary, which is A$158,432. So, the total salary for the President is A$369,674 each year. They also get other benefits like other senators.
Past Presidents of the Senate
Since 1901, there have been 27 Presidents of the Senate. Many of them have come from states with fewer people. These include Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory.
All Senate Presidents have been members of major political parties. But they were not always from the party that was leading the government.
No. | Image | Name | Party | State | Term start | Term end | |
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1 | ![]() |
Sir Richard Baker | Free Trade | South Australia | 9 May 1901 | 31 December 1906 | |
2 | ![]() |
(Sir) Albert Gould | Free Trade / Anti-Socialist |
New South Wales | 20 February 1907 | 30 June 1910 | |
Liberal | |||||||
3 | ![]() |
Harry Turley | Labor | Queensland | 1 July 1910 | 8 July 1913 | |
4 | ![]() |
Thomas Givens | Labor | Queensland | 9 July 1913 | 30 June 1926 | |
National Labor | |||||||
Nationalist | |||||||
5 | ![]() |
Sir John Newlands | Nationalist | South Australia | 1 July 1926 | 13 August 1929 | |
6 | ![]() |
Walter Kingsmill | Nationalist | Western Australia | 14 August 1929 | 30 August 1932 | |
United Australia | |||||||
7 | ![]() |
Patrick Lynch | United Australia | Western Australia | 31 August 1932 | 30 June 1938 | |
8 | ![]() |
John Hayes | United Australia | Tasmania | 1 July 1938 | 30 June 1941 | |
9 | ![]() |
James Cunningham | Labor | Western Australia | 1 July 1941 | 4 July 1943 | |
10 | ![]() |
Gordon Brown | Labor | Queensland | 23 September 1943 | 19 March 1951 | |
11 | ![]() |
Ted Mattner | Liberal | South Australia | 12 June 1951 | 7 September 1953 | |
12 | ![]() |
(Sir) Alister McMullin | Liberal | New South Wales | 8 September 1953 | 30 June 1971 | |
13 | ![]() |
Sir Magnus Cormack | Liberal | Victoria | 17 August 1971 | 11 April 1974 | |
14 | ![]() |
Justin O'Byrne | Labor | Tasmania | 9 July 1974 | 11 November 1975 | |
15 | ![]() |
(Sir) Condor Laucke | Liberal | South Australia | 17 February 1976 | 30 June 1981 | |
16 | ![]() |
(Sir) Harold Young | Liberal | South Australia | 18 August 1981 | 4 February 1983 | |
17 | ![]() |
Doug McClelland | Labor | New South Wales | 21 April 1983 | 23 January 1987 | |
18 | Kerry Sibraa | Labor | New South Wales | 17 February 1987 | 31 January 1994 | ||
19 | Michael Beahan | Labor | Western Australia | 1 February 1994 | 30 June 1996 | ||
20 | ![]() |
Margaret Reid | Liberal | ACT | 20 August 1996 | 18 August 2002 | |
21 | ![]() |
Paul Calvert | Liberal | Tasmania | 19 August 2002 | 14 August 2007 | |
22 | ![]() |
Alan Ferguson | Liberal | South Australia | 14 August 2007 | 25 August 2008 | |
23 | ![]() |
John Hogg | Labor | Queensland | 26 August 2008 | 30 June 2014 | |
24 | ![]() |
Stephen Parry | Liberal | Tasmania | 7 July 2014 | 2 November 2017 | |
25 | ![]() |
Scott Ryan | Liberal | Victoria | 13 November 2017 | 13 October 2021 | |
26 | ![]() |
Slade Brockman | Liberal | Western Australia | 18 October 2021 | 26 July 2022 | |
27 | Sue Lines | Labor | Western Australia | 26 July 2022 | Incumbent |
The Deputy President
The Senate also chooses a Deputy President. Their full title is Deputy President and Chairman of Committees. Before 1981, they were just called "Chairman of Committees." The name changed to better describe their job.
This job is not in the Constitution. It comes from the Senate's own rules. The Deputy President's main jobs are to lead "committees of the whole." These are special meetings where all senators discuss a bill in detail. The Deputy President also leads meetings when the President is away.
List of Deputy Presidents
There have been 37 Deputy Presidents of the Senate. Two people have held the job more than once.
# | Name | Party | State | Term start | Term end | |
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1 | Robert Best | Protectionist | Victoria | 9 May 1901 | 31 December 1903 | |
2 | William Higgs | Labor | Queensland | 16 March 1904 | 31 December 1906 | |
3 | George Pearce | Labor | Western Australia | 21 February 1907 | 13 November 1908 | |
4 | Henry Dobson | Anti-Socialist | Tasmania | 25 November 1908 | 30 June 1910 | |
Liberal | ||||||
5 | David O'Keefe | Labor | Tasmania | 1 July 1910 | 30 July 1914 | |
6 | George Henderson | Labor | Western Australia | 9 October 1914 | 30 June 1917 | |
National Labor | ||||||
Nationalist | ||||||
7 | John Shannon | Nationalist | South Australia | 12 July 1917 | 30 June 1920 | |
8 | Thomas Bakhap | Nationalist | Tasmania | 21 July 1920 | 30 June 1923 | |
9 | John Newlands | Nationalist | South Australia | 5 July 1923 | 30 June 1926 | |
10 | William Plain | Nationalist | Victoria | 1 July 1926 | 30 June 1932 | |
United Australia | ||||||
11 | Herbert Hays | United Australia | Tasmania | 1 September 1932 | 23 September 1935 | |
12 | Burford Sampson | United Australia | Tasmania | 24 September 1935 | 30 June 1938 | |
13 | James McLachlan | United Australia | South Australia | 1 July 1938 | 30 June 1941 | |
14 | Gordon Brown | Labor | Queensland | 1 July 1941 | 22 September 1943 | |
15 | Ben Courtice | Labor | Queensland | 23 September 1943 | 1 November 1946 | |
16 | Theo Nicholls | Labor | South Australia | 6 November 1946 | 19 March 1951 | |
17 | George Rankin | Country | Victoria | 12 June 1951 | 30 June 1953 | |
18 | Albert Reid | Country | New South Wales | 8 September 1953 | 22 May 1962† | |
19 | Gerald McKellar | Country | New South Wales | 7 August 1962 | 21 December 1964 | |
20 | Tom Drake-Brockman | Country | Western Australia | 16 March 1965 | 11 November 1969 | |
21 | Tom Bull | Country | New South Wales | 25 November 1969 | 30 June 1971 | |
22 | Edgar Prowse | Country | Western Australia | 17 August 1971 | 31 December 1973 | |
23 | James Webster | Country / National Country |
Victoria | 5 March 1974 | 21 December 1975 | |
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Tom Drake-Brockman | National Country | Western Australia | 17 February 1976 | 30 June 1978 | |
24 | Douglas Scott | National Country | New South Wales | 15 August 1978 | 10 December 1979 | |
25 | Ron Maunsell | National Country | Queensland | 19 February 1980 | 30 June 1981 | |
26 | Doug McClelland | Labor | New South Wales | 20 August 1981 | 4 February 1983 | |
27 | David Hamer | Liberal | Victoria | 21 April 1983 | 30 June 1990 | |
28 | Mal Colston | Labor | Queensland | 21 August 1990 | 16 August 1993 | |
29 | Noel Crichton-Browne | Liberal | Western Australia | 17 August 1993 | 9 May 1995 | |
30 | Margaret Reid | Liberal | ACT | 9 May 1995 | 20 August 1996 | |
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Mal Colston | Independent | Queensland | 20 August 1996 | 6 May 1997 | |
31 | Sue West | Labor | New South Wales | 6 May 1997 | 30 June 2002 | |
32 | John Hogg | Labor | Queensland | 19 August 2002 | 25 August 2008 | |
33 | Alan Ferguson | Liberal | South Australia | 26 August 2008 | 30 June 2011 | |
34 | Stephen Parry | Liberal | Tasmania | 4 July 2011 | 6 July 2014 | |
35 | Gavin Marshall | Labor | Victoria | 7 July 2014 | 9 May 2016 | |
36 | Sue Lines | Labor | Western Australia | 30 September 2016 | 26 July 2022 | |
37 | Andrew McLachlan | Liberal | South Australia | 26 July 2022 |
See also
- Clerk of the Australian Senate