To Move to The Lodge Or Not?
Posted on 27 June 2010 by LynThomas in Uncategorized
Being kicked out of a job is bad enough, but when you are in the ‘top position’ in a country under the Westminster system of parliament, you also have to make a quick exit from your residence.
Julia Gillard would prefer to stay in her Canberra flat and not move into the Lodge, a modest 40 bedroom Georgian revival style mansion, located in 4.4 acres of landscaped grounds, until when and if she is elected Prime Minister by the people.
Michael Dever, who has been a security provider for several years, pointed out that such decisions in the past were quietly overturned by the Australian Federal Police and ASIO, although John Howard and his wife usually stayed at Kirribilli House in Sydney.
“Even if The Lodge is left vacant, it still has to be guarded,” Dever said.
Neil Fergus, director of security of the Sydney Olympics in 2000 disagreed with Dever. “The risk is to the office and the dignity of the Prime Minister’s office.”
Keeping Ms Gillard in her flat would prove difficult due to lines of sight, secure communications and the potential impact of neighbours.
The Lodge
However, Betinna Arndt wrote in the The Canberra Times in 2007 that the Lodge is a shameful official residence for a nation’s leader. It was built in the 1920’s as a temporary home of the prime ministerial family. Arndt described it as dark and dinghy, with gloomy cramped little rooms, accompanied by the steady roar of traffic from the nearby highway.
Like Britain, Australia operates under the Westminster system of government.
In the recent British election confusion reigned over just who was to be the next prime minister. No10 Downing Street became the centre of attention, as there was no clear winner. Gordon Brown chose to remain in Downing Street until such time as the outcome became clear. Then it was a quick turn around.
Once the decision is final, the outgoing Prime Minister must leave Number Ten within hours. The new Prime Minister’s moving truck is unloaded by the following morning.
An incoming British prime minister is greeted by a very large staff of civil servants, on entering Number Ten, who are ready and willing to work for the new comer, just as they did for the outgoing administration.
Unlike the sudden change over of the British system, American incoming presidents suffer a ‘long goodbye’, up to several months, for the outgoing administration to vacate. The new president walks into an ‘empty’ White House.
The Westminster system builds in a high level of continuity, by tasking its highly trained civil service with high level policy jobs. In fact, a new Prime Minister names only about 150 or so political party colleagues to the total of all ministerial jobs in the numerous departments of governments. This compares to about 10,000 political appointments in the Washington governmental structure. It normally takes up to a full year before all the political appointments are filled.
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