List

The Usher carries the Black Rod on ceremonial occasions.

Appearance. The Senate is red. The tradition of a red upper house comes from the House of Lords in the British Parliament. The red ochre tones used in the Senate are softer shades, typical of the Australian landscape.

Scott MorrisonSince 2018
Australia/Prime minister

The title is derived from the staff of office, an ebony staff topped with a golden lion, which is the main symbol of the office’s authority. A ceremonial rod or staff is a common type of symbol indicating the authority of the office-holder.

Sarah Clarke OBE (born 12 October 1965) is a British administrator. Since 13 February 2018, she has served as Black Rod; the first female Black Rod in the 650-year history of the role….Sarah Clarke (Black Rod)

Why is the House of Representatives Chamber green? Green is the colour traditionally used by the British House of Commons, and the Australian House of Representatives followed that tradition when the old Parliament House was being built and furnished in 1926-7.

The Senate fulfils its role as a check on government by scrutinising bills, delegated legislation, government administration, and government policy in general. It does this by way of procedures utilised in the Senate chamber itself and through the operation of the Senate committee system.

In the United Kingdom, Black Rod is principally responsible for controlling access to and maintaining order within the House of Lords and its precincts, as well as for ceremonial events within those precincts. Since early 2018, the post has been held for the first time by a woman, Sarah Clarke.

The current Leader of the Government in the Senate is Mathias Cormann. The current Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate is Simon Birmingham, who was appointed on the same date following the resignation of Mitch Fifield.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are both official flags of Australia. Liberal senator Anne Ruston said the government did not support flying the two flags in the Senate.

As an Australian national consciousness began to emerge, several flag movements were formed and unofficial new flags came into common usage. Two attempts were made throughout the nineteenth century to design a national flag. The first such attempt was the National Colonial Flag created in 1823–1824 by Captains John Nicholson and John Bingle.

Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags will not be flown inside the Senate because the federal government believes it is only “appropriate” to fly the National flag.