Editing Edmund Barton (section)

===Caretaker ministry and first election===
{{further|Barton ministry}}
[[File:Barton Ministry (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Members of the first [[Barton ministry]], 1 January 1901]]
Barton assembled [[Barton ministry|a ministry]] that was described variously as a "cabinet of kings", "orchestra of conductors", and "army of generals".<ref name=abjorensen>{{cite book |last=Abjorensen |first=Norman |title=The Manner of Their Going: Prime Ministerial Exits from Lyne to Abbott |chapter=Edmund Barton: Tobias Hamlet and the long goodbye |chapter-url=http://honesthistory.net.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/193-Abjorensen-Edmund-Barton_Chapter.pdf |publisher=Australian Scholarly Publishing |year=2015 |page=1}}</ref> It comprised four incumbent colonial premiers (including Lyne), two former premiers, and Barton's key allies [[Alfred Deakin]] and [[Richard Edward O'Connor|Richard O'Connor]]. Deakin was ranked second in cabinet after Barton, and O'Connor would become the inaugural [[Leader of the Government in the Senate (Australia)|Leader of the Government in the Senate]]. Only one change was made to the ministry prior to the election, necessitated by the death of [[James Dickson (Queensland politician)|James Dickson]] on 10 January.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|pp=226–227}} Barton took on the [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia)|external affairs portfolio]] himself and conducted official business through the [[Department of External Affairs (1901–1916)|Department of External Affairs]], as there was no [[Prime Minister's Department (Australia)|prime minister's department]] until 1911.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=226}}

The first goal for Barton and his ministry was to retain office at the [[1901 Australian federal election|first federal elections]], which were held in late March 1901. His old rival [[George Reid]] became the chief opponent of the government during the campaign and the ''de facto'' [[Leader of the Opposition (Australia)|opposition leader]]. There were no national political parties in 1901, but most candidates self-declared as either protectionists or free-traders, following the primary divide in colonial politics. Reid, a free trader, made the tariff issue his primary focus, but its significance was diminished by the fact that the new federal government would have to depend on tariffs for its revenue.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=234}} Barton instead delivered "an electoral masterstroke"<ref name=adb/> by making White Australia the centrepiece of the government's campaign, thereby attracting many working-class voters concerned about "coloured labour". Supporters of the government won 32 out of the 75 seats in the [[Australian House of Representatives]], with their grouping calling itself the [[Protectionist Party]] (or Liberal Protectionists).{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=235}} Barton himself was elected unopposed in the [[Division of Hunter]], having previously represented the area in the New South Wales parliament.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/barton/elections.aspx|title=Elections|work=Australia's Prime Ministers|publisher=National Archives of Australia|access-date=30 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715221044/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/barton/elections.aspx|archive-date=15 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The government's continuation was secured by the support of the newly formed [[Australian Labor Party]] (ALP), which had 17 MPs. Reid and his [[Free Trade Party]] formed the [[Opposition (Australia)|official opposition]] with 26 MPs.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=235}} The situation in the [[Australian Senate|Senate]] was similarly complicated, with the government's position even less secure. However, [[party discipline]] was virtually non-existent and Barton was widely seen as having won a [[Mandate (politics)|mandate]] to govern.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=236}}