National Cabinet (Australia)
The National Cabinet is the primary Australian intergovernmental decision-making forum composed of the prime minister and state and territory premiers and chief ministers of Australia’s six states and two mainland territories.
"National Cabinet" redirects here. For other uses, see Cabinet (government).
National Cabinet
Anthony Albanese (Prime Minister)
Chris Minns (NSW)
Jacinta Allan (Vic)
Steven Miles (Qld)
Roger Cook (WA)
Peter Malinauskas (SA)
Jeremy Rockliff (Tas)
Andrew Barr (ACT)
Eva Lawler (NT)
2020
Originally established on 13 March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, National Cabinet replaced the now-defunct Council of Australian Governments (COAG) as the primary intergovernmental forum on 29 May 2020, citing excessive bureaucracy and infrequent meetings.[1] National Cabinet is composed of the main forum (prime minister, premiers, and chief ministers), and specialised committees focusing on: rural and regional Australia, skills, infrastructure, health, transport, population and migration, and energy.[2]
History and description[edit]
The formation of the National Cabinet was announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 13 March 2020,[3] following a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).[4] It was created via the "National Partnership on COVID-19 Response" agreement[5] to "coordinate and deliver a consistent national response to COVID-19" during the global COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7][8]
The New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, joined a National Cabinet meeting in May 2020 to discuss the economic benefits of trans-Tasman travel between the two nations.[9]
It has been described as akin to Australia's War Cabinet during the Second World War.[10] At the heights of the pandemic (prior to the widespread rollout of COVID-19 vaccines), meetings of National Cabinet were held using secure video conferencing.[8] National Cabinet has been criticised for its secrecy.[11]
Role and responsibilities[edit]
The National Cabinet is responsible for endorsing and coordinating national actions in Australia in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It is advised and supported by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC),[12] an ongoing body composed of the Chief Medical Officer of the Commonwealth and the Chief Health Officers of each of the states and territories.[13] The AHPPC uses the currently available modelling, research and data to inform the decisions made by the National Cabinet.[14]
The prime minister at the time, Scott Morrison, has said that the National Cabinet has "the status of a cabinet meeting" at a federal level, meaning it has the same confidentiality and Freedom of Information protections as the federal cabinet, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.[8] However, this was later rejected in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which found that the body was not a Cabinet committee and was subject to ordinary freedom of information laws.[15]
Public policy specialist Jennifer Menzies describes the National Cabinet as "COAG by another name", which has taken on a leadership role during a time of national crisis. She writes "Though called a cabinet, the national cabinet is technically an intergovernmental forum. The conventions and rules of cabinet, such as cabinet solidarity and the secrecy provisions, do not apply to the national cabinet. Its power is that which the leaders of all Australian jurisdictions bring to negotiate on behalf of their people, and to implement the decisions reached." This model has been called executive federalism.[14]
Succession of COAG[edit]
There had been suggestions for the National Cabinet to continue on a permanent basis after the pandemic is over, effectively replacing COAG. On 14 April 2020, Prime Minister Morrison was reported saying, "The processes we've established for the National Cabinet may prove to be a better way for our federal system to work in the future, but this will be a matter for another time", and Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said no other state leaders had objected when he had brought up the idea of continuing the National Cabinet. He also told The Australian newspaper, "The National Cabinet process has removed the political boundaries that can hamper COAG".[31][32]
Former Labor premier of South Australia Jay Weatherill called it a "fantastic innovation [that] should continue", adding that it had "achieved more in the last few months than many COAGs have achieved over many years".[33]
On 29 May 2020, the Prime Minister announced that the National Cabinet would replace COAG (with COAG being abolished) and meetings after the pandemic would be held monthly, instead of the biannual meetings of COAG.[1] According to Simon Benson of The Australian newspaper, an analogy used to describe the significance of this was "as if the United Nations had been turned into a government".[34]