New South Wales Legislative Council

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The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. It sits at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. Although it is possible for legislation to be first introduced in the Council, most bills receive their first hearing in the Legislative Assembly.

The Council has 42 members, elected by proportional representation, as with the equivalent federal chamber, the Australian Senate. Each member serves an eight-year term, with half the Council coming up for election every four years.

The Legislative Council was created by an act of the British Parliament in 1823, and was established in 1824 as the first legislature in Australia - a five-member advisory council, which first met on the 24th August 1824. It grew to seven members in 1825, and between ten and fifteen in 1829. In 1836, it was radically reformed, with the number of members increased to 54, with two-thirds of them being elected. The Council presided over the drafting of a new state constitution in 1853, which three years later saw a major change in its role - the creation of a bicameral parliament, with most legislative power being granted to a fully-elected Legislative Assembly, and a Council that would act as a house of review, entirely appointed by the Governor.

In 1925, 1926 and 1929, Premier Jack Lang made attempts at abolishing the Legislative Council, but all were subsequently unsuccessful. The debate did, however, result in another round of reforms, and in 1933, the law was changed so that a quarter of the Legislative Council was elected every three years by the Legislative Assembly and the remnant of the Legislative Council, rather than appointed by the Governor.

In 1978 the Council became a directly elected body in a program of electoral reform introduced by the Wran Labor government. The number of members was reduced to 45, which was then further decreased to 42 in 1991.

As with the federal parliament and Australian other states and territories, voting in the election to select members for the Council is compulsory for all New South Wales citizens over the age of 18. Every four years half the seats in the house come up for election on the fourth Saturday in March, exceptional circumstances notwithstanding, as the result of a 1995 referendum.

The Queen of Australia has a Throne in the Legislative Council, and has presided at the State Opening of Parliament in NSW.

[edit] See also

[edit] Current distribution of seats

Party	Seats Held	Elected in 1999	Elected in 2003
Australian Labor Party	18	8	10
Liberal Party of Australia	9	4	5
The Nationals	4	2	2
The Greens	3	1	2
Christian Democratic Party	2	1	1
Australian Democrats	1	1	-
Outdoor Recreation Party	1	1	-
One Nation	1	1	-
Reform the Legal System	1	1	-
Shooters Party	1	-	1
Unity	1	1	-