Key Points:
The caretaker period means that the Government carries
out the necessary functions to keep the country running, and the
Australian Public Service needs to protect its apolitical
nature.
The Prime Minister has foreshadowed that he will ask the
Governor-General for a double dissolution election if the
Parliament does not pass the Building and Construction Industry
Bill 2013 which seeks to reintroduce the Australian Building and
Construction Commission. What is a double dissolution, and how will
it affect the ordinary day-to-day life of the public service?
What is a double dissolution?
A double dissolution occurs where the Governor-General
simultaneously dissolves the House of Representatives and the
Senate under section 57 of the Constitution over a disagreement
between the two Houses of Parliament. A double dissolution election
can be called if the Senate twice rejects or fails to pass a law
which the House has passed.
