Roles of the Executive Government
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The Executive Government is a branch within the Separation of Powers that has the power to enforce the laws and put them into action. It contains the Governor General, Prime Minister and members of the Legislature that are appointed as ministers of Government and the Staff of the Government departments that include the police and army.
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The Attorney-General Of Australia is our nation's First Law Officer. The primary responsibility of this role is to protect the rule of law and the integrity of the Courts. In practice, the Attorney-General delegates many administrative functions Of their role to others.
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The Police are part of the executive with their roles and responsibilities outlined in legislation
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Governors of New South Wales.
This explainer outlines how the first five Governors of New South Wales—Arthur Phillip, John Hunter, Philip Gidley‑King, William Bligh, and Lachlan Macquarie—worked to build a functioning colony from a population of transported convicts. It highlights their efforts to apply fairness, justice, and emerging ideas about individual rights while managing a settlement that began as a prison. It also provides context on Britain’s overcrowded prisons, the shift to transporting convicts to Australia, and the role of the Charter of Justice in shaping early governance.
Governors of New South Wales
The first five governors of New South Wales were instrumental in the development of Australia since Europeans arrived on the First Fleet in 1788. Governors Arthur Phillip, John Hunter, Philip Gidley-King, William Bligh, and Lachlan Macquarie were given the momentous task of establishing and managing the development of a new British society on the other side of the world. Each one fought for fairness and justice to prevail in a rapidly changing and dangerous environment.
Their challenge was to establish a new colony with the unwanted felons who were rejected by British society.
The position of Governor in the New Colony
Lord Sydney chose Captain Arthur Phillip to fill the role as the first governor of New South Wales, as he believed this was a man of great integrity and fairness who would be sympathetic to the plight of the poor souls being transported.
In the initial days of arrival, the colony was still essentially a prison facility and Captain Phillip looked to the Charter of Justice written by Townshend for guidance and direction. The challenge was great as his officers were going to be dealing with convicts who had endured everything to survive and were afraid of nothing.
The Charter of Justice was first established on January 26, 1788 when Governor Arthur Phillip landed in Botany Bay. It outlined how the colony had to be structured, with new language and terminology. It left some traditions of the old British legal system such as how the common law would be implemented, but also included the new ideas about freedom of liberties and individual rights, that were still emerging throughout the 18th century.
Some traditions needed to be changed in order to cater for the challenging society that was being established. It was not going to be like the British class system of entitlement; such as first class, second class, and the peasants.
This was seen in the first civil case in the new Colony that took place on 1 July 1788, where two convicts were able to sue the powerful ships captain for a parcel of belonging lost on the First Fleet. Governor Phillip endeavoured to administer principles in fairness, justice, and supporting individual freedoms as the fledgling society developed in harsh conditions.
Related Resources
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This explainer outlines Arthur Phillip’s leadership of the First Fleet, his establishment of British law in the new colony, and his efforts to ensure survival, fairness, and stability while navigating conflict with military officers and tensions with Indigenous peoples.
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This explainer shows how Lord Sydney, Thomas Townshend, shaped the principles that guided the founding of New South Wales. It outlines why he adopted the name Sydney in honour of Algernon Sidney, whose ideas about liberty, equality, and the rule of law deeply influenced him. It also highlights his key decisions as Home Secretary: choosing Arthur Phillip as governor, creating the First Charter of Justice, and ensuring the new colony offered convicts the chance for rights, reform, and eventual freedom.
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