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President of the Australian Senate facts for kids

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President of the Senate
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
Sue Lines 2017-02-23.JPG
Incumbent
Sue Lines

since 26 July 2022
Australian Senate
Style The Honourable
Appointer Elected by the Senate
Inaugural holder Sir Richard Baker
Formation 9 May 1901
Deputy Senator Slade Brockman
Salary A$369,674
Website aph.gov.au

The president of the Senate is the person in charge of the Australian Senate. The Senate is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia, known as the upper house. The other house, called the House of Representatives, has a similar leader called the speaker.

The job of the president of the Senate was created in 1901 by the Constitution of Australia. The president's main jobs are to lead the meetings, or debates, in the Senate. They decide which senators get to speak and make sure everyone follows the rules of conduct. The current president is Sue Lines, who started her role on July 26, 2022.

At the beginning of a new term of Parliament, or if the job becomes empty, the senators vote to choose one of their own members to be the new president. Usually, the person chosen is from the same political party that forms the government.

The president's most important task is to keep the Senate's meetings orderly. Unlike the speaker in the other house, the president of the Senate gets to vote on laws just like any other senator. However, if there is a tie in the votes, the president does not get an extra "casting vote" to break the tie. In this case, the law or motion does not pass.

How the President is Chosen

Rules from the Constitution

Section 17 of the Constitution of Australia explains how the president is chosen. It says:

The Senate shall, before proceeding to the despatch of any other business, choose a senator to be the President of the Senate; and as often as the office of President becomes vacant the Senate shall again choose a senator to be the President. The President shall cease to hold his office if he ceases to be a senator. He may be removed from office by a vote of the Senate, or he may resign his office or his seat by writing addressed to the Governor-General.

This means the very first thing the Senate must do is elect a president. If the president stops being a senator, they also stop being the president. Senators can also vote to remove a president or the president can choose to resign.

The Election Process

The president is elected using a secret ballot, which means no one knows who each senator voted for. The Clerk of the Senate, a senior official, runs the election.

The job of president is a political one. The party that forms the government usually nominates one of its senators, and that person is almost always elected. The main opposition party then usually nominates a senator to be the deputy president. If no one else is nominated, an election isn't needed.

What the President Does

Duties in Parliament

The president's main job is to run the Senate meetings. They make sure the rules, called Standing Orders, are followed. They also protect the rights of all senators, especially those who are not in leadership positions (known as backbenchers).

The president has help from the deputy president and other acting deputies. These helpers often take over during normal debates. The Senate is usually calmer than other government chambers in Australia, so the president rarely needs to use their powers to discipline senators.

When it's time to vote, the president votes just like any other senator. They don't get a special tie-breaking vote. This is because the Senate is designed to represent the states equally. Giving the president an extra vote would give their state more power than the others.

Administrative Duties

The president is also in charge of the Department of the Senate, which is one of the four departments that help the Parliament run smoothly. The president helps manage the budget and staff for this department. They also work with the speaker of the House of Representatives to manage Parliament House and its services.

Ceremonial Duties

The president of the Senate is a very important person and has a high rank in official government events. They take part in the state opening of parliament and represent Australia when they visit other countries or when leaders from other nations visit Australia.

Salary

Like all members of parliament, the president's salary is set by an independent group called the Remuneration Tribunal. As of 2019, a senator's basic salary was A$211,242 per year. The president gets an extra 75% of this amount for their leadership role. This brings their total salary to about A$369,674 per year. They also receive other allowances to help with their work.

List of Presidents of the Senate

Since 1901, there have been 27 presidents of the Senate. Interestingly, more presidents have come from Australia's smaller states (Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania) and the Australian Capital Territory than from the larger states.

No. Image Name Party State Term start Term end
1 Richard Baker 1900 (cropped).jpg Sir Richard Baker   Free Trade South Australia 9 May 1901 31 December 1906
2 Albert John Gould (cropped).jpg (Sir) Albert Gould   Free Trade /
Anti-Socialist
New South Wales 20 February 1907 30 June 1910
  Liberal
3 Harry Turley - Swiss Studios (cropped).jpg Harry Turley   Labor Queensland 1 July 1910 8 July 1913
4 Thomas Givens - Humphrey & Co (cropped).jpg Thomas Givens   Labor Queensland 9 July 1913 30 June 1926
  National Labor
  Nationalist
5 John Newlands 1926 (1) (cropped).jpg Sir John Newlands   Nationalist South Australia 1 July 1926 13 August 1929
6 Walter Kingsmill 1922 (cropped).jpg Walter Kingsmill   Nationalist Western Australia 14 August 1929 30 August 1932
  United Australia
7 Patrick Lynch, President of the Senate.jpg Patrick Lynch   United Australia Western Australia 31 August 1932 30 June 1938
8 Portrait of J. B. Hayes (cropped).jpg John Hayes   United Australia Tasmania 1 July 1938 30 June 1941
9 Senator James Cunningham (cropped).jpg James Cunningham   Labor Western Australia 1 July 1941 4 July 1943
10 Gordon Brown 1933.jpg Gordon Brown   Labor Queensland 23 September 1943 19 March 1951
11 Edward Mattner.jpg Ted Mattner   Liberal South Australia 12 June 1951 7 September 1953
12 Alister McMullin (cropped).jpg (Sir) Alister McMullin   Liberal New South Wales 8 September 1953 30 June 1971
13 Magnus Cormack 1964.jpg Sir Magnus Cormack   Liberal Victoria 17 August 1971 11 April 1974
14 Justin O'Byrne 1970.jpg Justin O'Byrne   Labor Tasmania 9 July 1974 11 November 1975
15 Condor Laucke 1969.jpg (Sir) Condor Laucke   Liberal South Australia 17 February 1976 30 June 1981
16 Harold Young 1970 (cropped).jpg (Sir) Harold Young   Liberal South Australia 18 August 1981 4 February 1983
17 Doug McClelland 1973.jpg 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 2021-11-28.jpg Margaret Reid   Liberal ACT 20 August 1996 18 August 2002
21 Paul Calvert.jpg Paul Calvert   Liberal Tasmania 19 August 2002 14 August 2007
22 Alan Ferguson.jpg Alan Ferguson   Liberal South Australia 14 August 2007 25 August 2008
23 John Hogg.jpg John Hogg   Labor Queensland 26 August 2008 30 June 2014
24 Stephen Parry.jpg Stephen Parry   Liberal Tasmania 7 July 2014 2 November 2017
25 Senator Scott Ryan.jpg Scott Ryan   Liberal Victoria 13 November 2017 13 October 2021
26 Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library 2023 (Brockman cropped).png Slade Brockman   Liberal Western Australia 18 October 2021 26 July 2022
27 Sue Lines 2017-02-23.JPG Sue Lines   Labor Western Australia 26 July 2022 Incumbent

Deputy President

McLachlan Profile
Slade Brockman (Lib), deputy president of the Senate since July 2025

The Senate also elects a Deputy President and Chairman of Committees. This person helps the president and takes over when the president is absent. They also lead meetings when the whole Senate acts as one big committee to discuss the details of a bill.

This role is not in the Constitution but is part of the Senate's own rules. The title used to be just "Chairman of Committees" but was changed in 1981 to better describe what the job involves.

List of Deputy Presidents

There have been 38 deputy presidents of the Senate. Some have served more than once.

# Name Party State Term start Term end
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
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
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 22 July 2025
38 Slade Brockman   Liberal Western Australia 22 July 2025 Incumbent

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Presidente del Senado de Australia para niños

  • Clerk of the Australian Senate
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