Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the head of government in Australia. The individual who holds the office is the most senior Minister of the Crown, the leader of the Cabinet and the chairperson of the National Security Committee. The office is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and exists only through an unwritten political convention and tradition. Despite this, in practice it is the most powerful political position in Australia. The individual who holds the office is commissioned by the Governor-General of Australia.

Almost always and according to convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party or largest party in a coalition of parties in the House of Representatives. However, there is no constitutional requirement that the prime minister sit in the House of Representatives, or even be a member of parliament, though by convention this is always the case. The only case where a member of the Senate was appointed prime minister was John Gorton, who subsequently resigned his Senate position and was elected as a member of the House of Representatives (Senator George Pearce was acting prime minister for seven months in 1916 while Billy Hughes was overseas).

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime minister is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet. In a minority of systems, notably in semi-presidential systems of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the head of state.

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of government and head of the executive branch. In such systems, the head of state or the head of state's official representative (i.e. the monarch, president, or governor-general) usually holds a largely ceremonial position, although often with reserve powers.

The prime minister is often, but not always, a member of parliament and is expected with other ministers to ensure the passage of bills through the legislature. In some monarchies the monarch may also exercise executive powers (known as the royal prerogative) that are constitutionally vested in the crown and may be exercised without the approval of parliament.

Julia Gillard

Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is a former Australian politician who served as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, as leader of the Australian Labor Party. She previously served as the 13th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, and held the positions of Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion from 2007 to 2010. She was the first and to date only woman to hold the positions of deputy prime minister, prime minister and leader of a major party in Australia.

Born in Barry, Wales, Gillard migrated with her family to Adelaide, South Australia, in 1966. She attended Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. Subsequently, Gillard studied at the University of Adelaide, but cut short her courses to move to Melbourne, Victoria, in 1982, where she worked with the Australian Union of Students and served as the organisation's president from 1983 to 1984. Gillard later graduated from the University of Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Laws degree (1987) and a Bachelor of Arts degree (1990). In 1987, she joined the law firm Slater & Gordon and became a partner in 1990, specialising in industrial law. A departure from the law firm in 1996 saw Gillard serve as chief of staff to the Leader of the Opposition in Victoria John Brumby, which preceded her own entry into federal politics.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, often abridged as Last Week Tonight, is an American late-night talk and news satire television program airing on Sundays on HBO in the United States and HBO Canada, and on Mondays (originally Tuesdays) on Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom. The half-hour long show premiered on Sunday, April 27, 2014, and is hosted by comedian John Oliver. Last Week Tonight shares some similarities with Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where Oliver was previously featured as a correspondent and fill-in host, as it takes a satirical look at news, politics and current events on a weekly basis.

Oliver has said that he has full creative freedom, including free rein to criticize corporations. His initial contract with HBO was for two years with an option for extension. In February 2015, it was announced that the show has been renewed for two additional seasons of 35 episodes each. Oliver and HBO programming president Michael Lombardo have discussed extending the show from half an hour to a full hour and airing more than once a week after Oliver "gets his feet under him".

Tony Abbott

Anthony John "Tony" Abbott (born 4 November 1957) is an Australian politician who was the 28th Prime Minister of Australia from 18 September 2013 to 15 September 2015. Abbott was leader of the Liberal Party from 2009 to 2015, and has been a Member of Parliament for Warringah since 1994.

Abbott was born in London to an Australian mother and a British father, and immigrated to Sydney with his parents in 1960. Prior to entering Parliament, he took the degrees of Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney, then graduated Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, politics and economics as a Rhodes Scholar at The Queen's College, Oxford. He later proceeded by seniority to Master of Arts.

After graduating, Abbott trained as a Roman Catholic seminarian, later working as a journalist, manager and political adviser. In 1992, he was appointed director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, a position he held until his election to Parliament in 1994. He was first appointed to Cabinet following the 1998 election, as part of the Second Howard Ministry, becoming Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business. In 2003, he became Minister for Health and Ageing, retaining this position until the defeat of the Howard Government at the 2007 election. Initially serving in the Shadow Cabinets of Brendan Nelson and then Malcolm Turnbull, he resigned from the frontbench in November 2009 in protest against Turnbull's support for the Rudd Government's proposed Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Forcing a leadership ballot on the subject, Abbott defeated Turnbull by 42 votes to 41 to become the party's leader and Leader of the Opposition.