Chapter 7 - Meetings
of the Senate
Executive
government’s power to determine sessions
Section 5 of the Constitution provides:
The Governor-General may appoint such
times for holding the sessions of the Parliament as he thinks fit, and may also
from time to time, by Proclamation or otherwise, prorogue the Parliament, and
may in like manner dissolve the House of Representatives.
After any general election the
Parliament shall be summoned to meet not later than thirty days after the day
appointed for the return of the writs.
Under this section
the Governor-General may terminate a session of the Parliament by proroguing it, and may then
appoint the time for its next meeting. In practice these
powers are exercised on the advice of the government.
When the Governor-General has specified a time for commencing a session
of the Parliament, a formal opening of Parliament takes place. The procedures
for the opening of Parliament vary according to whether the opening follows a
prorogation of a session of Parliament, or a dissolution of the House of
Representatives or of the two Houses under section 57 of the Constitution (for
dissolutions of both Houses see Chapter 21, under Disagreements between the
Houses).
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