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Ch1 The Parliament and the role of the House / GOVERNOR-GENERAL / Powers and functions



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House of Representatives                                Ch 1                                                 p 4

 

The Parliament and the role of the House / GOVERNOR-GENERAL

 

Powers and functions

Bagehot described the Crown’s role in England in the following classic statement:

To state the matter shortly, the sovereign has, under a constitutional monarchy such as ours, three rights—the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn. 1

In Australia, for all practical purposes, it is the Constitution which determines the nature and the exercise of the Governor-General’s powers and functions. In essence these powers can be divided into three groups—prerogative, legislative and executive.



Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution , 4th edn, Fontana, London, 1965, p. 111.