Is the Governor-General allowed inside the House of Representatives?
The Governor-General delivers a speech at the opening of a new Parliament
Belinda Hogg/DPS Auspic
The Governor-General delivers a speech at the opening of a new Parliament
Belinda Hogg/DPS Auspic
Description
The Governor-General gives a speech in the Senate at the opening of a new Parliament. There is a raised platform where the Governor-General sits in a large wooden chair speaking into a microphone. The President of the Senate is sitting in a high backed chair to the right of the Governor-General. Senators, members of the House of Representatives and officials sit nearby watching.
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Thanks for your question, Michael.
By convention – tradition – the Governor-General does not enter the House of Representatives while it is meeting.
Like many traditions in the Australian Parliament, this practice is inherited from the British Parliament where the monarch does not enter the House of Commons or ‘people’s house’.
The convention has existed since 1642 when King Charles I, accompanied by armed guards, entered the House of Commons and attempted to arrest some of its members. He was unsuccessful in making any arrests. Since then, no king or queen has entered the House of Commons.
The tradition continues in the Australian Parliament where the Governor-General – the official representative of the monarch – does not enter the House of Representatives. This means that when the Governor-General opens a new Parliament, they do so from the Senate.