Page:In the Matter of the Validity of the Appointment of Mr Morrison to Administer the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources – Opinion.pdf/7

 Governor-General has certain reserve powers that may be exercised without or contrary to advice, the power to appoint Ministers (other than the Prime Minister) is not one of them. Indeed, the convention that the Governor-General act upon advice except in circumstances where the reserved powers are enlivened is itself a vital component of the system of responsible government. Accordingly, in circumstances where Mr Morrison clearly advised the Governor-General to appoint him to administer DISER, and given that the appointment of a Minister to administer multiple departments is not unlawful (for the reasons I am about to address), it would have been a clear breach of the applicable conventions for the Governor-General to decline to accept and act upon the Prime Minister's advice. That is so whether or not the Governor-General was aware that the appointment would not be published.

15. Section 64 empowers the Governor-General to appoint multiple Ministers to administer a single department of State. The High Court unequivocally resolved any doubts in that regard in Re Patterson; Ex parte Taylor. The Court's holding in that case sanctioned a longstanding (albeit sometimes controversial) practice in relation to the appointment of Assistant Ministers and Parliamentary