Does Queen Elizabeth II have the ability to abolish Australian government?

As Head of State,  Queen Elizabeth has to remain strictly neutral with respect to political matters.

By convention, The Queen does not vote or stand for election, however, Her Majesty does have important ceremonial and formal roles in relation to the government of the UK.

Elizabeth became head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. She has reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities, Brexit, Canadian patriation, and decolonization.

Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence, and as realms, including South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (renamed Sri Lanka), became republics.

Queen Elizabeth is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch. She is the longest-serving female head of state in world history, and the world’s oldest living monarch, the longest-reigning current monarch, and oldest and longest-serving current head of states.

Queen Elizabeth herself is known for occasionally exercising some of these abilities. She participates in Parliament and it has been said that her words are viewed as final in the royal family.

The Queen has developed a very personal relationship with Australia through regular visits. She has traveled throughout the different states to meet people from all cultures, walks of life, and regions of this enormous and fascinating country.

As the head of state in Australia, the Queen has certain powers over the government. In 1975, for example, the Queen’s representative in the country at the time, Gov. Gen. Sir John Kerr, fired the prime minister in response to a government shutdown.

“[Kerr] appointed a replacement, who immediately passed the spending bill to fund the government, Max Fisher wrote “Three hours later, Kerr dismissed the rest of Parliament. Then Australia held elections to restart from scratch. And they haven’t had another shutdown since.”

Australia is a constitutional monarchy with The Queen as Sovereign. As a constitutional monarch, The Queen, by convention, is not involved in the day-to-day business of the Australian Government, but she continues to play important ceremonial and symbolic roles.

The Queen’s relationship with Australia is unique. In all her duties, she speaks and acts as Queen of Australia, and not as Queen of the United Kingdom.

Australia’s head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Elizabeth is also Queen of the United Kingdom and several other countries which used to be part of the former British Empire. The Queen’s role as Queen of Australia is quite separate from her role as Queen of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom Government plays no part in the Queen’s role as Queen of Australia.

In Australia, the powers of Queen  Elizabeth have been delegated by the Australian Constitution to her representative in Australia, the Governor-General. That is, while Australia’s head of state is the Queen, the functions of head of state are performed by the Governor-General. The Queen’s only necessary constitutional function is to appoint the Governor-General, and in doing this the Queen acts as advised by the Australian Prime Minister. The Constitution gives the Queen the power to disallow an Australian Act of Parliament, but this has never been done and it is extremely unlikely that it would ever be done.

The Governor-General can be removed by the Queen on the advice of the Australian Prime Minister. As Liberal Party leader Malcolm Fraser, who would play a large part in the crisis, put it, “The Queen has tenure, and she couldn’t be sacked. But a Governor-General holds office at pleasure, and if he ceases to please then he can be removed by a Prime Minister”.