Attorney-General of Australia
The
Attorney-General of Australia is the chief law officer of the
Crown and a member of the
Federal Cabinet. In theory, he or she is appointed by the
Governor-General on the advice of the
Prime Minister, and serves at the Governor-General's pleasure. In practice the Attorney-General is a party politician and his or her tenure is determined by political factors.
The Attorney-General is head of the Attorney-General's Department, and is the minister responsible for the
Australian Federal Police and the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). The Attorney also serves as a general legal advisor to the Cabinet, and has carriage of legislation dealing with copyright, human rights and a range of other subjects. The Attorney-General is nearly always a distinguished lawyer, and a number of Attorneys-General have gone on to judicial appointments.
:
* Higgins served in the Labor cabinet of
Chris Watson but was not a member of the Labor Party. He was a
Protectionist, but agreed to serve because Labor had no suitably qualified lawyer in Parliament.
