Leader of the House (Australia)

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Leader of the House
Peter Dutton 2018 01.jpg
Incumbent
Peter Dutton
since 30 March 2021 (2021-03-30)
StyleThe Honourable
AppointerThe Prime Minister of Australia
Inaugural holderSir Eric Harrison
Formation11 May 1951

In the Parliament of Australia, the position of Leader of the House is held by Peter Dutton since March 2021. This is the government minister responsible for the management of government business in the House of Representatives, including the order in which the Government's agenda is to be dealt with, tactical matters in reaction to impediments to such management, negotiation with the Opposition's counterpart (the Manager of Opposition Business in the House) about the order in which bills are to be debated, and the time allotted for debates.[1]

As the Australian Parliament is bicameral, the Leader of the House must also be aware of developments in the Senate, for example, in order to anticipate whether a bill may be returned to the House with amendments.

The office was created in 1951 by the Prime Minister at the time, Robert Menzies. The Leader of the House and the Deputy Leader are appointed by the Prime Minister. The duties of the Deputy Leader of the House is largely contingent, coming into play only when the Leader of the House is absent from the House or is on leave, when he or she is referred to as Acting Leader of the House.

On 29 March 2021, Prime minister Scott Morrison, announced a cabinet reshuffle that saw newly installed Minister for Defence Peter Dutton, assuming the job of Leader of the house, and succeeding Christian Porter. Dutton was sworn in the next day.

List of Leaders of the House[]

The following individuals have been appointed as Leader of the Australian House of Representatives:

Order Minister Party Prime Minister Portfolio Term start Term end
1 Sir Eric Harrison[2]   Liberal Menzies Vice-President of the Executive Council
Minister for Defence Production
Minister for Army
Minister for the Navy 		11 May 1951 September 1956
2 Harold Holt[3] Treasurer
Minister for Labour and National Service 		September 1956 26 January 1966
3 Sir David Fairbairn[3]
 Holt
 
  		Minister for National Development 26 January 1966 October 1966
4 Billy Snedden[3] Minister for Immigration February 1967 November 1968

McEwen
 
Gorton
5 Dudley Erwin[3] Minister for the Air February 1969 September 1969
n/a Billy Snedden[3] Minister for Labour and National Service November 1969 10 March 1971
6 Reginald Swartz[3] McMahon Minister for National Development 10 March 1971 August 1972
7 Don Chipp[4] Minister for Customs and Excise 15 August 1972 5 December 1972
8 Fred Daly[3] Labor Whitlam Minister for Services and Property
Minister for Administrative Services 		5 December 1972 22 December 1975
9 Ian Sinclair[5] National Country Fraser Minister for Primary Industry 22 December 1975 27 September 1979
10 Ian Viner[6] Liberal Minister for Employment and Youth Affairs 27 September 1979 19 August 1980
n/a Ian Sinclair[5] National Country Minister for Special Trade Representations
Minister for Communications 		19 August 1980 7 May 1982
11 James Killen[3] Liberal Vice-President of the Executive Council 7 May 1982 11 March 1983
12 Mick Young[7] Labor Hawke Special Minister of State
Vice-President of the Executive Council 		11 March 1983 14 July 1983
13 Lionel Bowen[8] Deputy Prime Minister
Vice-President of the Executive Council 		14 July 1983 21 January 1984
n/a Mick Young[7] Special Minister of State
Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs
Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs
Vice-President of the Executive Council
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs 		21 January 1984 12 February 1988
14 Kim Beazley[9] Vice-President of the Executive Council
Minister for Defence
Minister for Transport and Communications
Minister for Employment, Education and Training
Minister for Finance
Deputy Prime Minister 		15 February 1988 11 March 1996

Keating
 
15 Peter Reith[10] Liberal Howard Minister for Industrial Relations
Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business
Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service
Minister for Defence 		11 March 1996 8 October 2001
16 Tony Abbott[11] Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service
Minister for Health and Ageing 		12 February 2002 17 October 2007
17 Anthony Albanese[12] Labor Rudd Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Minister for Regional Development and Local Government
Deputy Prime Minister 		12 February 2008 5 August 2013
Gillard
Rudd
18 Christopher Pyne[13] Liberal Abbott Minister for Education / Minister for Education and Training
Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science
Minister for Defence Industry
Minister for Defence 		12 November 2013 11 April 2019
Turnbull
Morrison
19 Christian Porter[14] Liberal Morrison Attorney-General
Minister for Industrial Relations 		29 May 2019 30 March 2021
20 Peter Dutton Liberal Morrison Minister for Defence (Australia) 30 March 2021 Incumbent

Note: For terms during the period 1951 to 1972, exact dates are taken from changes in Prime Minister. Other dates coincide with sitting periods of the House as an approximation of when terms began and ended.

See also[]

  • Leader of Government Business (disambiguation)

References[]

  1. ^ "Chapter 2: House, Government and Opposition". House of Representatives Practice (PDF). pp. 63–64.
  2. ^ Macintyre, Stuart (1996). "Harrison, Sir Eric John". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 20 September 2007 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Appendix 8: Leaders of the House". House of Representatives Practice (PDF).
  4. ^ "Don Chipp". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ian Sinclair". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Ian Viner". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Mick Young". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Lionel Bowen". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  9. ^ "The Hon Kim Beazley MP". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  10. ^ "The Hon Peter Reith MP". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Hon Tony Abbott MP". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Hon Anthony Albanese MP". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Hon Christopher Pyne MP". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Hon Christopher Pyne MP". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
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