Politics of the Fœderal Capital Territory

The Dignified vs the Efficient
The head of state of the Fœderal Capital Territory is the Governor-General of the United States, who is represented in the Fœderal Capital Territory by the Governor of the FCT: However, the head of government of the FCT is the Administrator, who is appointed by the FCT Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of the FCT Legislative Council, and who serves a nominal term of four years, conditional on his continuing to maintain the confidence of the Governor and Legislative Council.

To assist the Administrator in his duties, he appoints a number of ministers (currently twenty-eight), each of which heads an executive agency that corresponds with his portfolio (for example, the FCT Secretary for Education heads the FCT Department of Education). Together he and his ministers form the FCT Executive Cabinet, over which the Administrator presides as a prime minister equivalent.

In terms of Walter Bagehot’s description of the Constitution of the United Kingdom, the FCT Governor corresponds to the Dignified branch (The Crown), while the Administrator corresponds to the Efficient branch (the Government): Like the British Crown, the FCT Governor does usually not involve himself in affairs of government, and instead generally leaves politicking at the FCT-level to the FCT Administrator and his ministers.

Responsible government
The FCT operates according to the principle of responsible government, in which the executive government must continue to maintain the confidence and supply of the Legislature, lest it be replaced with one that does have such confidence. To this end, the Legislative Council holds the executive Government to account through weekly Administrator Question periods, in which the Administrator is questioned by legislators and gives progress reports to the Legislative Council on the state of the government. In addition, similar to AQs, ministers of the Government are regularly questioned about the state and progress of and in their departments. Furthermore, the Legislative Council can remove an Administrator and his Government, or even individual ministers, through a vote of no confidence. Additionally, appropriation bills are held to be a form of expressing or withholding confidence in the Government: if the Legislative Council disapproves of the Government’s proposed budget, then it is understood that the Government has lost the confidence of the Legislature, but if the Legislative Council approves of the Government’s budget request, then it is understood that the Government has maintained the confidence of the Legislature. In order to withhold confidence in the Government or a minister thereof a no confidence vote requires two-thirds of the elected members of the Legislative Council (“Common Councillors”) and three-fifths of the appointed members (“Regent Councillors”) to vote against the Government or minister in question.

Reserve powers
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