1. AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTERS
Get to know our system
Meet a PM
Your task
The Objective
The Assignments
Teacher’s Page
Resources
Meet the Creators

2. Your Task
You have recently been appointed as the Prime Minister’s personal assistant. Trouble is the newly elected Prime Minister has no idea what they’re in for and it’s your job to bring them up to scratch!
Your mission is to provide the Prime Minister with as much information as possible in four weeks on the role of Prime Minister, the role of government in Australia and the structure of Australia’s political system.
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3. The purpose of this activity is to educate students on the following:
The Roles and Responsibilities of the Prime Minister
The function of government
The duties of government
Names of Australia’s previous Prime Ministers
The structure of Australia’s political system
An understanding of the importance of parliament
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4. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Click on a Picture to learn more
Meet some of Australia’s influential Prime Ministers over the course of history and our current
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Click on a Picture to learn more
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5. Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office- www.peo.gov.au/students
Edmund Barton
Born in 1849, Glebe Sydney
Had a very extensive career in politics
Was the Speaker of the Legislative
Assembly
In 1901 upon the opening of Parliament he became Australia’s first Prime Minister
In 1903 he resigns as Prime Minister to take up a position as High Court Judge
Dies in 1920 at the age of 71 of heart failure
Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office-
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6. Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office- www.peo.gov.au/students
Robert (Bob) Menzies
Born on the 20th December 1894 in Victoria
Was Australia’s longest serving Prime Minister
He served 18 years in the Office of Prime Minister
His first stint as Prime Minister was
He then went on to serve from
Was the founder of the Liberal Party in Australia
Was a firm believer in Conscription
Was referred to as a “War Time Prime Minister” as he was in office during the outbreak of WWII
Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office-
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7. Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office- www.peo.gov.au/students
John Curtin
Born on 8th January 1885 in Victoria
Was the first Prime Minister to die in office
Was the Member for Fremantle, winning the seat in 1928
Was a “War Time Prime Minister”
He stood for parliament several times before he was elected to the seat of Fremantle
Curtin University and John Curtin College of the Arts are named after him
He was anti-conscription and briefly served in prison for refusing a medical exam for enlistment
Was a member of the Australian Labor Party
Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office-
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8. Click here for Whitlam’s Dismissal Speech
Gough Whitlam
Was born in Victoria on the 11th July 1916
Became Prime Minister on the 5th December 1972
Was dismissed by the Governor-General on the 11th of November 1975
Implemented the Medicare System, still in existence today
The Whitlams is a band named after him
Provided citizens living in Northern Territory and ACT Senate representation
Click here for Whitlam’s Dismissal Speech
Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office-
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9. Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office- www.peo.gov.au/students
Paul Keating
Born 18th January 1944
Became Prime Minister in 1991 after winning a leadership contest with Bob Hawke
Was Treasurer prior to becoming Prime Minister
December Keating delivered the Redfern speech- one of the first political speeches on Aboriginal Reconciliation
Was Treasurer and Prime Minister during the recession
Is a Republican believing the need for Australia to become a Republic
Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office-
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10. Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office- www.peo.gov.au/students
John Howard
Born 26th July 1939
Is the Second Longest Serving Prime Minister (second to Robert Menzies)
Was Prime Minister for 12 years
Was elected Prime Minister in 1996 after defeating Paul Keating
Was Treasurer from
Was defeated by Kevin Rudd in the 2007 election as Prime Minister
Lost his seat in the 2007 election to Labor’s Maxine McKew
He is only the second Prime Minister to lose his seat in a Federal Election
Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office-
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11. Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office- www.peo.gov.au/students
Kevin Rudd
Born in Queensland on 21st September 1957
Was sworn in as Prime Minister on 3rd December 2007
Became the first Prime Minister to offer an apology to the Stolen Generations
Speaks Mandarin and prior to entering politics was a diplomat
Courtesy of Parliamentary Education Office-
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12. Welcome to Questions and Answers
Welcome to Questions and Answers. In this section you are required to read the information provided and answer the questions at the end. Hint – some of the answers can be found on the Meet a PM page.
Click on a button to find out more about the PM:
Powers of the PM
Restrictions of the PM
Roles of the PM
TEST HOW MUCH YOU KNOW
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13. RESOURCES HOME Some resources to get you started on your quest…
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14. Meet the Creators HOME Meet Heikal
Heikal is currently studying at the University of Notre Dame. He is currently completing a Diploma in Education Majoring in Society and Environment.
Meet Nick
Nick is also studying at Notre Dame for a Diploma in Education. Prior to studying at Notre Dame, Nick was a Finance Officer for several government departments.
Meet Liz
Liz is studying at Notre Dame. She has a keen interest in politics having majored in Politics and History at Uni. She also likes ice cream
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15. THE ASSIGNMENTS
WEEK ONE
WEEK THREE
WEEK TWO
WEEK FOUR
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16. TEACHER’S PAGE LESSON PLANS VALUES RUBRIC QUIZ ANSWERS
OVERARCHING OUTCOMES
VALUES
RUBRIC
QUIZ ANSWERS
TEACHER RESOURCES
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17. *Your poster must be computer based*
Week One Assignment
You have been given the task by the newly elected Prime Minister to construct a poster advertising the roles and responsibilities of the government.
In your poster you will need to include the following:
Names of the two houses of parliament and the name of the house where government is formed
Key roles of the government (introducing laws etc)
Details of the current government (Ministers, Names of Leaders etc)
You can produce this poster in a number of different ways, a few can include:
Microsoft Publisher
In design
Photostory
*Your poster must be computer based*
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18. BACK Outcome Established Consolidating Beginning
Student correctly identifies Australia’s two houses of parliament
Student understands and articulates the role of the Senate and House of Representatives
Students can identify key people and their functions with the parliamentary system.
Students can name the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Students can name the Leader of the Senate, Opposition Leader of the Senate and the President.
Student identifies and articulates clearly the functions of both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Student demonstrates an understanding as to why Australia has two houses of parliament
Student identifies Australia as a representative democracy
Student identifies Australia as a constitutional monarchy.
Student demonstrates evidence of research and investigation
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19. Week Two Assignment BACK
As the personal assistant to the Prime Minister, Channel Nine has asked you to present a speech on the duties, roles and responsibilities of the Prime Minister. In this speech you have to outline what the Prime Minister does, what the duties and responsibilities of the Prime Minister are and what a normal day looks like for the PM.
You are to present this in video format so it can be uploaded onto the class Wiki page. You can present in either an interview, panel discussion or public address, as long as it is on film!
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20. Week Three Assignment BACK
The Prime Minister is making an important visit to a High School to talk to the students about Australian Government. As the PM’s personal assistant, it is your responsibility to ensure that everything is prepared for his arrival. To do this you need to use a brainstorm to plan out the things you will need. In your brainstorm you should include the following:
Venue- where will it be, how will he get there
Resources- What will you both need. What will the school need
People- Who will be there, when do you send out the invites, who will introduce the Prime Minister.
You should construct your brainstorm on Inspirations, making it as interactive as possible. A free trial is available to download from this site:
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21. Week Four Assignment BACK
Your task is to write a biography on a former Australian Prime Minister. This biography should be no more than 5 pages and should include photos of the particular Prime Minister. You should also include the following:
Date of Birth
Place of Birth
Significant dates relating to this person
Influences and Role Models of this PM
The political party they are from
Significant impacts they may have had on society- for an example did they introduce conscription? Medicare? etc.
Refer to the resources page to get a few starters for your research.
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22. The Australian Prime Minister is the head of the Australian Government
The Australian Prime Minister is the head of the Australian Government. He or she is the leader of the executive government.
The leader of the political party that win an election becomes the prime minister, and it is this party that controls the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives is where the Federal government makes legislation.
The Constitution of Australia does not mention the position of the Prime Minister. It is a position that exists as a parliamentary convention.
A convention is an unwritten rule of accepted practice.
For example, section 64 states that the Governor-General may appoint officers to administer such departments of State of the Commonwealth as the Governor-General in Council may establish.
In reality, it is the Prime Minister who appoints ministers and advises the Governor General of those appointments.
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23. BACK Restrictions on the Prime Minister.
 The PM party holds a majority in the House of Representatives, from which legislation in enacted. The Senate exists as a house of review. It is usually controlled by the opposition and independents to keep a check on the Government. For this reason the PM may not be able to pass all the laws the he may want.
The PM must maintain the confidence of his or her party. Failure to do so can lead to leadership challenges, resulting in the Prime Minister losing his position. This occurred to Bob Hawke in 1991 when he lost the Prime Ministership to Paul Keating.
Government legislation may be challenged in the High Court. The 7 High Court Judges make a ruling on whether the law abides by the constitution and other laws.
The constitution separates responsibilities between the Federal Government and the States. Sometimes these powers overlap, which means the Prime Minister made need the support of the states to make legislation work.
The Governor General has reserve rights to sack the Prime Minister. This has only happened once during the Whitlam Government 1975.
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24. BACK PRIME MINISTER QUIZ LET’S GET STARTED
Click on the button below that says “Let’s get started” and answer the questions on the document attached to this WebQuest. Once completed, print off a sheet and with a partner mark the questions to see if you got the answers right. The answers can be found on the Teacher’s Page.
You can find the information on the various pages throughout the WebQuest, these include the Meet a Prime Minister section and on the various websites included in the resource section. Good luck!!
LET’S GET STARTED
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25. QUIZ ANSWERS BACK 1 House of Representatives 2 Governor General
3 A convention is an unwritten rule of accepted practice.
4 The Governor General acts on advice from the PM.
The PM appoints ministers
The PM is the leader of the party that controls the House of Representatives.
5. Appoint ministers
Appoint the Governor General
6. Senate, High Court, the PM own party.
7. Sir Edmond Barton
8. Sir Robert Menzies
9. John Curtin
10. Whitlam dismissal. This seeing Prime Minister Gough Whitlam dismissed from parliament. He was sacked by the Governor-General from the Office of Prime Minister
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26. BACK Roles of the Prime Minister
Appoint ministerial positions. A Liberal PM can choose anyone person from his party. Labor party ministers are chosen by a Caucus.
The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet Meeting and determines the cabinet agenda, ie what will be discussed.
The Prime Minister is the public face of the Government domestically and the leader of the country internationally.
The Prime Minister has the authority to appoint the Govern General, who is the Queens representative in Australia.
The PM also appoints High Court Judges.
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27. Overarching Outcomes
The following outlines the Overarching Outcomes demonstrated in this Webquest :
Students use language to understand, develop and communicate ideas and information and interact with others.
Students recognise when and what information is needed, locate and obtain it from a range of sources and evaluate, use and share it with others.
Students select, use and adapt technologies.
Students understand their cultural, geographic and historical contexts and have the knowledge, skills and values necessary for active participation in life in Australia
10. Students participate in creative activity of their own and understand and engage with the artistic, cultural and intellectual work of others.
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28. Values The following values can be demonstrated through this WebQuest:
Pursuit of knowledge and a commitment to achievement of potential.
4. Social and Civic Responsibility
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29. Teacher Resources
To enhance the students understanding of the topic, we recommend the following resources:
Australia’s Prime Ministers (Book 1)
Sarah Russell, (2000)
Australia’s Prime Ministers (Book 2)
Kirsty Grant (2000)
The Layman’s Guide to Political and Legal Studies
W Spindler (1999)