Clerk of the Australian Senate
Encyclopedia
The Clerk of the Australian Senate is the head of the Department of the Senate, which is the parliamentary department supporting the work of the Australian Senate
. The parliamentary head of the department is the President of the Senate
.
The Department of the Senate provides the Senate, its committees, the President of the Senate and senators with a broad range of advisory and support services related to the exercise of the legislative power of the Commonwealth.
The Clerk's Office is directly responsible for:
In addition, the office exercises overall responsibility for, and quality control of, all procedural and administrative activities of the department.
The longest-serving Clerk was Harry Evans
, who served 21 years 1988-2009. During his term, legislation was passed to limit the terms of the Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives
to 10 years. The change in the law did not affect the incumbents.
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
. The parliamentary head of the department is the President of the Senate
President of the Australian Senate
The President of the Australian Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer of the lower house is the Speaker of the House of Representatives....
.
The Department of the Senate provides the Senate, its committees, the President of the Senate and senators with a broad range of advisory and support services related to the exercise of the legislative power of the Commonwealth.
The Clerk's Office is directly responsible for:
- provision of high quality procedural and constitutional advice to senators in respect of the operations of the Senate and its committees
- provision of secretariat, advisory and administrative support to the Procedure Committee and the Committee of Privileges
- production, amendment and updating of Odgers' Australian Senate Practice
- production and dissemination of material relating to the work of the Senate and its committees to the widest possible audience
- corporate leadership of the Department of the Senate
- secretariat services for the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
In addition, the office exercises overall responsibility for, and quality control of, all procedural and administrative activities of the department.
The longest-serving Clerk was Harry Evans
Harry Evans (Australian Senate clerk)
Harry Evans is the longest-serving Clerk of the Australian Senate, serving from 17 February 1988 to 4 December 2009. He is considered an "ardent and outspoken defender" of the independence and constitutional authority of the Senate....
, who served 21 years 1988-2009. During his term, legislation was passed to limit the terms of the Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives
Clerk of the Australian House of Representatives
The Clerk of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Australia is responsible for managing the Department of the House.The Department of the House of Representatives provides services to support the efficient conduct of the House of Representatives, its committees and certain joint...
to 10 years. The change in the law did not affect the incumbents.
Clerks of the Senate
| Edwin Gordon Blackmore CMG Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III.... |
1 April 1901 – 30 June 1908 |
| Charles Broughton Boydell | 1 July 1908 – 31 December 1916 |
| Charles Gavan Duffy CMG | 1 February 1917 – 27 August 1920 |
| George Henry Monahan CMG | 28 August 1920 – 31 December 1938 |
| Robert Arthur Broinowski | 1 January 1939 – 30 November 1942 |
| John Ernest Edwards | 1 December 1942 – 20 July 1955 |
| Rupert Harry Colin Loof CBE | 21 July 1955 – 14 August 1965 |
| James Rowland Odgers CBE | 16 August 1965 – 8 August 1979 |
| Roy Edwards Bullock OBE | 9 August 1979 – 15 July 1981 |
| Keith Oscar Bradshaw | 29 October 1980 – 15 July 1982 |
| Alan Ritchie Cumming Thom | 16 July 1982 – 15 February 1988 |
| Harry Evans Harry Evans (Australian Senate clerk) Harry Evans is the longest-serving Clerk of the Australian Senate, serving from 17 February 1988 to 4 December 2009. He is considered an "ardent and outspoken defender" of the independence and constitutional authority of the Senate.... |
17 February 1988 – 4 December 2009 |
| Dr Rosemary Laing | 5 December 2009 - |