Lexi Webster
Australia's Commonwealth Parliament, also known as the Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the country's government. It is bicameral, meaning it consists of two houses: the Senate (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house). In addition to the Commonwealth Parliament, there are six State Parliaments and the Parliaments of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Most of these are bicameral, with the exception of Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory, which are unicameral.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of state parliaments | 6 |
| Number of other parliaments | 3 |
| Type of parliament | Bicameral (two houses) |
| Exceptions | QLD, ACT and NT (unicameral) |
| Upper house | The Senate |
| Number of members in the upper house | 76 |
| Members per state in the upper house | 12 |
| Members per mainland territory in the upper house | 2 |
| Lower house | The House of Representatives |
| Number of members in the lower house | 150 |
| Term of members in the lower house | 3 years |
| Voting system | Preferential counting |
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What You'll Learn
The Senate
In the Senate, the president is permitted to vote along with other senators to ensure that a state is not deprived of a vote in what is supposed to be a states' house. However, this right is rarely exercised, and in the case of a tie, the motion fails as the president does not have a casting vote.
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The House of Representatives
Under the conventions of the Westminster system, the government of the day and the prime minister must achieve and maintain the confidence of the House. In practice, the governor-general chooses ministers in accordance with the traditions of the Westminster system that the government be drawn from the party or coalition of parties that has a majority in the House of Representatives, with the leader of the largest party becoming prime minister.
Both Houses may determine motions by voice vote. The presiding officer puts the question, and, after listening to shouts of "Aye" and "No" from the members, announces the result. The announcement of the presiding officer settles the question, unless at least two members demand a "division" or a recorded vote. In that case, the bells are rung throughout Parliament House, summoning Senators or Members to the chamber.
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The Parliament of Victoria
The Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria. The presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly is the Speaker, who is elected by the Assembly at the beginning of each new parliamentary term. The Speaker is usually a member of the governing party or parties and continues to carry out their ordinary electorate duties as a member of Parliament. The Assembly presently consists of 88 members, each elected for a fixed term of 4 years in single-member electoral districts, commonly known as electorates or seats.
The Legislative Council is the upper house of the Victorian Parliament. It is described as a house of review, and the government of the day must negotiate with other parties to pass its legislative agenda. All members serve four-year terms. The Parliament of Victoria may make laws for any matter within Victoria, subject to some referendum requirements in the Victorian Constitution. Its power is limited by the ability for federal laws to override state laws, subject to the Australian Constitution.
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The Legislative Council
The two houses are independent of each other and have equal powers. They are elected to debate issues, pass laws, and hold the government to account. The Assembly and the Council have similar powers. Members of both houses can introduce bills and motions for debate. However, members of the Council cannot introduce bills that propose spending public money. These bills must first be debated and passed in the Assembly. The Council cannot reject the annual state budget but can suggest amendments.
Elections for the Legislative Council are decided by preferential counting. Voters rank candidates from their most preferred to their least preferred. To be elected, a candidate must be the preferred choice of the majority of voters. The political party or coalition that wins the majority of seats in the Assembly becomes the Government of Victoria.
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The House of Assembly
In 1895, the House of Assembly granted women the right to vote and stand for election to the legislature. South Australia was the second place in the world to do so after New Zealand in 1893, and the first to allow women to stand for election. The first woman candidates for the South Australia Assembly ran in the 1918 general election, in Adelaide and Sturt.
Another distinctive aspect of the history of the South Australian Parliament was the "Playmander", a gerrymandering system that instituted a pro-rural electoral malapportionment. The already entrenched rural overweighting was increased to a 2:1 ratio, the number of MPs was reduced to 39, and the multi-member seats were abandoned for single-member seats. The House of Assembly then consisted of 26 low-population rural seats, which, due to population shifts, were holding a significant advantage over the 13 high-population metropolitan seats, even though rural seats contained only a third of South Australia's population.
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Frequently asked questions
The Parliament of Australia is bicameral, meaning it has two houses: the upper house, or Senate, and the lower house, or House of Representatives. The Senate has 76 members: 12 for each state and 2 for each mainland territory. The House of Representatives has 150 members, though this number can vary.
The upper house, or Senate, includes an equal number of senators from each state, regardless of population. Senators are elected using a form of proportional voting. The Senate meets in a separate chamber of Parliament House on Capital Hill in Canberra, as does the House of Representatives.
The lower house, or House of Representatives, has a maximum term of three years, though it can be dissolved early. Members of the House of Representatives are elected from single-member electorates, or geographic districts commonly referred to as "seats".
