South Australian House of Assembly

House of Assembly
Type
Type	Lower house of the Parliament of South Australia
History
Founded	1857
Leadership
Speaker	Michael Atkinson, Labor since 5 February 2013
Deputy Speaker	Frances Bedford, Labor since 6 May 2014
Structure
Seats	47
Political groups	Government      Labor (24) Opposition      Liberal (21) Crossbench      Independent (2)
Meeting place
House of Assembly Chamber, Parliament House, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Website
SA House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.

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.^[1]

Overview

The House of Assembly was created in 1857, when South Australia attained self-government. The development of an elected legislature — although only men could vote — marked a significant change from the prior system, where legislative power was in the hands of the Governor and the Legislative Council, which was appointed by the Governor.

In 1894, the House of Assembly granted women the right to vote – 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 House of Assembly has had 47 members since 1970, each coming from a single-member constituency: 35 in the Adelaide area and 12 in rural areas. These are commonly known as seats, and are intended to represent approximately the same population in each electorate. Voting is by preferential voting with complete preference allocation, as with the equivalent federal chamber, the Australian House of Representatives. All members face re-election approximately every four years. The most recent election was held on 15 March 2014.

Most legislation is initiated in the House of Assembly. The party or coalition with a majority of seats in the lower house is invited by the Governor to form government. The leader of that party becomes Premier of South Australia, and their senior colleagues become ministers responsible for various portfolios. As Australian MPs almost always vote along party lines, almost all legislation introduced by the governing party will pass through the House of Assembly.

As with the federal parliament and Australian other states and territories, voting in the Assembly is compulsory for all those over the age of 18. Voting in the House of Assembly had originally been voluntary, but this was changed in 1942.

Election result summaries

House of Assembly chamber circa 1928. Click here for a 360 degree view. Internet Explorer recommended.

Speakers' chair in 1889

Current distribution of seats

• 24 votes as a majority are required to pass legislation.

See also

• List of elections in South Australia
• List of South Australian state by-elections
• Members of the South Australian House of Assembly
• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
• South Australian Electoral Districts (for the House of Assembly)

References

External links

• House of Assembly
• General Hansard Information

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

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

Politics of Australia Commonwealth Monarch Governor-General Prime Minister Cabinet (Shadow Cabinet) Executive Council Ministry Foreign relations Parliament House of Representatives Senate Opposition Leader High Court Lower courts Constitution Act Statute of Westminster Australia Act Federal elections pre-1969 1969 1972 1974 1975 1977 1980 1983 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 next by-elections State/Territory governments Governors and Administrators Premiers and Chief Ministers Parliaments and Assemblies NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas ACT NT State/Territory elections NSW 2015 Vic 2014 Qld 2015 WA 2013 SA 2014 Tas 2014 ACT 2012 NT 2012 NSW 2019 Vic 2018 Next Qld WA 2017 SA 2018 Next Tas ACT 2016 NT 2016 Local government NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas NT Political parties Coalition (Liberal, National, Liberal National, Country Liberal) Labor Greens Palmer United Liberal Democratic Family First Katter's Australian Australian Motoring Enthusiast Other parties