The Office of Governor

Following the settlement of the colony, Tasmania (or Van Diemen's Land as it was then called) initially had two Lieutenant Governors, one in Hobart and one in Launceston, but from 1812 one Lieutenant Governor administered the whole State. The first Governor was appointed in 1856 when Tasmania became a fully self governing State.

Tasmania, as a constituent member of the Australian Federation, is both a part of the Commonwealth of Australia and a self-governing State with its own separate identity and as such possesses all the constitutional elements of an independent state, including its own head of state who is the Governor.

The Governor is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Premier. The office of Governor is non-political and quite distinct from that of the head of government.

The Governor has various constitutional functions. They include appointing the Premier, on the Premier's advice appointing Ministers, assenting to parliamentary bills, determining the machinery of elections, opening parliament and giving legal effect to government decisions through the Executive Council, which consists of the Premier and the Ministers of the government of the day.

The Governor has extensive powers but in accordance with our system of parliamentary democracy those powers are in the main exercised on the advice of the Premier or the Executive Council. But the Governor's constitutional role is not purely formal. There are situations when Governors are obliged to act on their own initiative or exercise their own discretion. Governors also have a responsibility to ask questions or require further information if it appears that there may be some doubt about the legality or procedural regularity of any action which the Governor is being asked to take. That does not mean that Governors question government policy, but they are obliged to scrutinise and raise questions about matters brought before them as part of their wider responsibility to see that the processes of government are conducted lawfully and regularly.

In essence, the Governor's function is to protect the Constitution, secure the orderly transition of governments and facilitate the work of Parliament and the government. In performing those functions the Governor acts both on behalf of the government and on behalf of the whole of the State and its people.

Apart from constitutional functions, the Governor acts on behalf of Tasmania in many other ways. Each year the Governor welcomes and extends hospitality to heads of state, ambassadors and other official visitors and thousands of other interstate and international visitors to Tasmania, particularly those who come here to attend conferences and conventions. These visitors are also received and looked after by representatives of the Government and the community, but it is the Governor's function to welcome them on behalf of Tasmania as a whole.

The Governor also invests those upon whom honours have been conferred, participates in public occasions and is involved in the activities of the many organisations, regions and other sections of our community which comprise our State. In performing these functions the Governor on behalf of Tasmania as a whole recognises achievement, encourages worthwhile endeavours, honours our history, reinforces our cultural identity and reaffirms the essential values of our society.