The National Cabinet is the primary Australian intergovernmental decision-making forum composed of the prime minister and state and territory premiers and chief ministers of Australia’s six states and two mainland territories.
Originally established on 13 March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, National Cabinet replaced the now-defunct Council of Australian Governments (COAG) as the primary intergovernmental forum on 29 May 2020, citing excessive bureaucracy and infrequent meetings. National Cabinet is composed of the main forum (prime minister, premiers, and chief ministers), and specialised committees focusing on: rural and regional Australia, skills, infrastructure, health, transport, population and migration, and energy.
History and description
The formation of the National Cabinet was announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 13 March 2020, following a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). It was created via the "National Partnership on COVID-19 Response" agreement to "coordinate and deliver a consistent national response to COVID-19" during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, joined a National Cabinet meeting in May 2020 to discuss the economic benefits of trans-Tasman travel between the two nations.
It has been described as akin to Australia's War Cabinet during the Second World War. At the heights of the pandemic (prior to the widespread rollout of COVID-19 vaccines), meetings of National Cabinet were held using secure video conferencing. National Cabinet has been criticised for its secrecy.
Role and responsibilities
The National Cabinet is responsible for endorsing and coordinating national actions in Australia in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It is advised and supported by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC), an ongoing body composed of the Chief Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, Brendan Murphy, and the Chief Health Officers of each of the states and territories. The AHPPC uses the currently available modelling, research and data to inform the decisions made by the National Cabinet.
The prime minister said that the National Cabinet has "the status of a cabinet meeting" at a federal level, meaning it has the same confidentiality and Freedom of Information protections as the federal cabinet, under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. The legal authority for much of this structure is based on practice and convention, contained in the official Cabinet Handbook; strictly speaking, based on the Westminster system, cabinet decisions do not of themselves have legal authority. This comes from the Federal Executive Council, which gives legal force to decisions made by cabinet. The "National Partnership on Covid-19 Response" states in Part 6 (46) that the parties "do not intend any of the provisions of this Agreement to be legally enforceable".
Public policy specialist Jennifer Menzies describes the National Cabinet as "COAG by another name", which has taken on a leadership role during a time of national crisis. She writes "Though called a cabinet, the national cabinet is technically an intergovernmental forum. The conventions and rules of cabinet, such as cabinet solidarity and the secrecy provisions, do not apply to the national cabinet. Its power is that which the leaders of all Australian jurisdictions bring to negotiate on behalf of their people, and to implement the decisions reached." This model has been called executive federalism.