Parliament of South Australia

Parliament of South Australia
52nd Parliament
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	House of Assembly Legislative Council
Leadership
Queen of Australia	Elizabeth II since 6 February 1952
Governor of South Australia	Hieu Van Le since 1 September 2014
Speaker of the House of Assembly	Michael Atkinson, Labor since 5 February 2013
President of the Legislative Council	Russell Wortley, Labor since 6 May 2014
Structure
Seats	69 47 MP 22 MLC
House of Assembly political groups	Government      Labor (24) Opposition      Liberal (21) Crossbench      Independent (2)
Legislative Council political groups	Government      Labor (7) Opposition      Liberal (8) Crossbench      Green (2)      Family First (2)      Xenophon Team (1)      D4D (1)      Independent (1)
Elections
House of Assembly voting system	Instant-runoff Vote
Legislative Council voting system	Single Transferable Vote
Last general election	15 March 2014
Next general election	17 March 2018
Meeting place
Parliament House, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Website
www.parliament.sa.gov.au

Parliament House

Recreated lower and upper house booths, history, and voting procedures

SA Parliament Opening

The Parliament of South Australia at Parliament House, Adelaide is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly (lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council (upper house). It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government.

The Queen is represented in the State by the Governor of South Australia. According to the South Australian Constitution, unlike the Federal Parliament, and the parliaments of the other states and territories of Australia, neither the Sovereign or the Governor is considered to be a part of the South Australian Parliament. However, the same role and powers are granted to them.^[1]

Following the 2014 election, the lower house consisted of 23 Labor, 22 Liberal and 2 independents. Martin Hamilton-Smith became an independent shortly after the election, reducing the Liberals to 21 seats. Both Hamilton-Smith and fellow independent Geoff Brock are in cabinet and provide confidence and supply while retaining the right to vote on conscience. Labor went from minority to majority government when Nat Cook won the 2014 Fisher by-election which was triggered by the death of independent Bob Such.^[2]

The upper house consists of 7 Labor, 8 Liberal, 2 Green, 2 Family First, 1 Xenophon Team, 1 Dignity for Disability and 1 independent.

History

The Parliament of South Australia began in 1857, when the colony was granted self-government. Women gained the right to vote in 1894 and voted for the first time in the state election in 1896.^[3]

South Australia became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 following a vote to Federate with the other British colonies of Australia. While smaller than the Eastern states, South Australia has often been at the vanguard of political and social change in Australia.

House of Assembly

The House of Assembly (or "lower house") is made up of 47 members who are each elected by the full-preference instant-runoff voting system in single-member electorates. Each of the 47 electoral districts (electorates) contains approximately the same number of voters, and boundaries are redistributed after each election by the Electoral Commission of South Australia, an independent body.

Government is formed in the House of Assembly by the leader of the party or coalition who can demonstrate they have the support of the majority of the House, and is called upon by the Governor to form government. The leader of the government becomes the Premier.

Legislative Council

The Legislative Council (or "upper house") is made up of 22 councillors (MLCs) who are elected for the entire state by the single transferable voting system (with optional group voting tickets) to serve for a term of 8 years. Elections for the Legislative Council are staggered so that half the seats are up for re-election every 4 years, at the same time as House of Assembly elections.

The primary function of the Legislative Council is to review legislation which has been passed by the House of Assembly. This can cause tensions between the government and the Legislative Council, which may be viewed by the former as obstructionist if it rejects key legislation, as can happen at times when the electoral makeup of the two houses are different.

Location

The seat of the Parliament of South Australia is Parliament House in the state capital of Adelaide. Parliament House sits on the North-Western corner of the intersection of King William Street and North Terrace.

See also

• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
• Official openings by the monarch in Australia

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parliament of South Australia.

• Parliament of South Australia

References

Government of South Australia Executive Monarchy Governor Premier Deputy Premier Police Legislative Parliament Legislative Council House of Assembly President of the Legislative Council Speaker of the House of Assembly MLCs MHAs Electoral districts Opposition Leader Judicial Supreme Court District Court Industrial Relations Court Magistrates Court Coroner's Court Other courts and tribunals

Elections and referendums in South Australia General elections 1857 1860 1862 1865 1868 1870 1871 1875 1878 1881 1884 1887 1890 1893 1896 1899 1902 1905 1906 1910 1912 1915 1918 1921 1924 1927 1930 1933 1938 1941 1944 1947 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1970 1973 1975 1977 1979 1982 1985 1989 1993 1997 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 by-elections Referendums 1896 1898 1899 1911 1915 1965 1970 1982 1991

Coordinates: 34°55′16″S 138°35′55″E / 34.92111°S 138.59861°E / -34.92111; 138.59861