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The office of Prime Minister of Australia is, in practice, the most powerful political office in the Commonwealth Of Australia . The Prime Minister is the Head Of Government of Australia and holds office on commission from the Governor-General . Barring exceptional circumstances, the Prime Minister is always the leader of the Political Party with majority support in the House Of Representatives . John Howard is the current Prime Minister and was sworn in on 11 March 1996 . He is the 25th Prime Minister since Federation and leads the Liberal Party Of Australia . APPOINTMENT The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General under section 64 of the Australian Constitution . Section 64 of the Constitution empowers the Governor-General to appoint Ministers Of State , and requires such Ministers to be members of the House of Representatives or the Senate or become members within three months of the appointment. These Ministers are ''ex officio'' members of the Federal Executive Council , the senior members of which constitute the Cabinet . The Prime Minister is, like other ministers, normally sworn in by the Governor-General and then presented with the Commission ( Letters Patent ) of office. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the Prime Minister is said to "hand in the commission" and actually does so by returning it to the Governor-General. In the event of a Prime Minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, the Governor-General can terminate the commission. The Governor-General can also dismiss a Prime Minister by notifying the Prime Minister in writing of the termination of their commission. Despite the importance of the office of Prime Minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster System were thought to be sufficiently entrenched in Australia by the authors of the Constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail them. Following the death or resignation of the Prime Minister, the Governor-General will appoint as Prime Minister the person most likely to have majority support in the House of Representatives - in most circumstances, the Deputy Prime Minister. In rare circumstances, the Governor-General may appoint someone other than the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives to be Prime Minister.
There was one further case where a person who was not a member of the parliament was Prime Minister. Stanley Bruce led his government into the 1929 election, which was held on 12 October. Not only was his government defeated by the Labor Party under Jim Scullin , but Bruce was defeated personally in his seat of Flinders - to date, the only sitting Prime Minister to suffer this fate. While Bruce's membership of the House of Representatives ended on 12 October, he continued as caretaker Prime Minister for a further 11 days until the election result was clear; his commission was terminated on 22 October and Scullin was sworn in as Prime Minister. Theoretically the Governor-General can dismiss the Prime Minister or any other Minister at any time, but his or her power to do so is heavily circumscribed by convention. POWERS Most of the Prime Minister's powers derive from his or her position as the head of the Cabinet, and through their leadership of the party (or coalition of parties) in the majority in the lower house. In practice, the Federal Executive Council will act to ratify all decisions made by the Cabinet, and in practice, decisions of the Cabinet will always require the support of the Prime Minister. The powers of the Governor-General - to Assent to legislation, to dissolve and prorogue Parliament, to call elections, and to make appointments - are exercised on the advice of the Prime Minister. The power of the Prime Minister is subject to a number of limitations. If the Prime Minister is removed as leader of his or her party, or if the government they lead loses a Vote Of No-confidence in the House of Representatives, they must resign the office or be dismissed by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister's party will normally have a majority in the House of Representatives, and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Australian politics, so the passage of government-proposed legislation through the House is usually a formality. Attaining the support of the Senate can be more difficult, since there the government will often be in a minority. PRIME MINISTERIAL SALARY AND BENEFITS Salary The Prime Minister is the highest-paid member of parliament. Ministerial salary is expressed as an additional percentage on top of the basic parliamentary salary. The Remuneration Tribunal 's Report Number 1 of 2006 of Report on Ministers of State - Salaries Additional to the Basic Parliamentary Salary confirms the Prime Minister's additional salary as 160% of his parliamentary salary, ie. he earns in total 260% of the salary of an ordinary parliamentarian. Benefits The Royal Australian Air Force 's 34 Squadron transports the Prime Minister within Australia and overseas by specially converted Boeing Business Jets and smaller Challenger aircraft. The aircraft contain secure communications equipment as well as office, conference room and sleeping compartments. The call-sign for the aircraft whilst the Prime Minister is onboard is "Commonwealth One". Prime Ministers also receive the opportunity to attend many significant cultural and sporting events from prime viewing positions. The Prime Minister's official residence is The Lodge in Canberra , but not all Prime Ministers choose to make use of it. Jim Scullin preferred to live at the Hotel Canberra (now the Hyatt Hotel); Ben Chifley lived in the Kurrajong Hotel; and John Howard has made Kirribilli House in Sydney his primary residence. The official residences are fully staffed and catered for both the Prime Minister and his family. A considerable amount of official entertaining is conducted at these residences. In June 2007, businessman and former President of the Liberal Party in Victoria, '', 17 June 2007 . Accessed 31 August 2007 . Prime Ministers continue to have benefits after leaving office, such as free office space, the right to hold a Life Gold Pass and budgets for office help and staff assistance. The Life Gold Pass entitles the holder to travel within Australia for "non-commercial" purposes at government expense. Former Prime Ministers continue to be important national figures, and in some cases go on to successful post-prime ministerial careers. Some notable examples have included Edmund Barton was a judge of the High Court ; George Reid was High Commissioner to the United Kingdom; and Arthur Fadden was Treasurer under another Prime Minister. As of 2007, there are four living former Prime Ministers: Gough Whitlam , Malcolm Fraser , Bob Hawke and Paul Keating . The most recently deceased Prime Minister is John Gorton , who died on 19 May 2002. Gough Whitlam is the oldest living former Australian Prime Minister. HISTORY Since the framers of the Australian constitution from the beginning intended it to largely follow the Westminster System , the office of Prime Minister has existed since the inauguration of the Commonwealth. LIST OF PRIME MINISTERS Below is a list of Prime Ministers of Australia by name, date assumed office, date left office, and political party. The parties shown are those to which the Prime Ministers belonged at the time they held office. Several Prime Ministers belonged to parties other than those given before and after their prime ministerships. GRAPHICAL TIMELINE REFERENCES SEE ALSO
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