| Victorian Legislative Council | |
|---|---|
| 57th Parliament | |
| Type | |
| Type | Upper house |
| Leadership | |
| President | Bruce Atkinson, Liberal since 21 December 2010 |
| Deputy President | Matt Viney, Labor since 21 December 2010 |
| Leader of the Government | David Davis, Liberal since December 2010 |
| Leader of the Opposition | John Lenders, Labor since December 2010 |
| Government Whip | David Koch, Liberal since December 2010 |
| Opposition Whip | Shaun Leane, Labor since December 2010 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 40 |
| Legislative Council Political groups | Her Majesty's Government Liberal (18) National (3) HM Most Loyal Opposition Labor (16) Other parties in opposition Green (3) |
| Legislative Council Committees | Standing Committees * Economy and Infrastructure * Environment and Planning * Legal and Social Issues Domestic Committees * Privileges * Standing Orders |
| Elections | |
| Last general election | 27 November 2010 |
| Next general election | 29 November 2014 |
| Meeting place | |
| Parliament House, Melbourne, Victoria | |
| Website | |
| www.parliament.vic.gov.au/council/ | |
The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to its federal counterpart, the Australian Senate. 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 is presided over by the President of the Legislative Council.
Contents |
The Legislative Council was created in 1851 upon the separation of the colony of Victoria from the colony of New South Wales. The Legislative Council was established four years before the Legislative Assembly.
Today the Council has 40 members serving four-year terms. They represent 8 electoral regions, with five members representing each region.
The system changed for the 2006 Victorian election, as a result of major reforms passed by the Labor government, led by Steve Bracks, in 2003. Under the new system members serve fixed four-year terms unless the Assembly is dissolved sooner. Each region consists of 11 contiguous Legislative Assembly districts with about 420,000 electors who elect five members of the Legislative Council by the single transferable vote. There are now 40 members of the Legislative Council, four fewer than before. The changes have introduced proportional representation. The opportunity was also taken to remove the Council's ability to block supply. The reforms have made it easier for minor parties to gain election to the chamber and possibly gain the balance of power, as opposed to majority control by a single major party.
The Legislative Council was formerly elected from 22 single-member electorates called "provinces". The members of the council sat for two assembly terms so two members sat for each province.
The old system tended to favour the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia (often in coalition) over the Australian Labor Party and other parties . This caused many instances where a Labor-controlled Assembly faced an opposition-controlled Council — a rare occurrence elsewhere in Australia.
| Party | Seats held | Percentage of Council | ||
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| Liberal/National Coalition | ||||
| Liberal Party |
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| National Party |
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| Sub-Total |
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| Australian Labor Party |
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| Greens |
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| Total |
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