Attorney-General of Australia
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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.
List of Australian Attorneys-General
- * 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.