In the Parliament of Australia, a casual vacancy arises when a member of either the Senate or the House of Representatives:
Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory and for local government councils. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, although there are minor variations between them. The elections for the Australian Parliament are held under the federal electoral system, which is uniform throughout the country, and the elections for state and territory Parliaments are held under the electoral system of each state and territory. An election day is always a Saturday, but early voting is allowed in the lead-up to it.
The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the monarch, the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and the New South Wales Legislative Council. Each house is directly elected by the people of New South Wales at elections held approximately every four years. The legislative authority of the parliament derives from section 5 of the Constitution Act 1902 (NSW). The power to make laws that apply to New South Wales is shared with the Federal Parliament. The houses of the New South Wales Parliament follow the Westminster parliamentary traditions of dress, green–red chamber colours and protocols. The houses of the legislature are located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney.
In Australia, referendums are public votes held on important issues where the electorate may approve or reject a certain proposal. In contemporary usage, polls conducted on non-constitutional issues are known as plebiscites, with the term referendum being reserved solely for votes on constitutional changes, which is legally required to make a change to the Constitution of Australia.
The Constitution Alteration (Aviation) Bill 1936, was an unsuccessful proposal to alter the Australian Constitution to extend the Commonwealth legislative power in respect to air navigation and aircraft. It was put to voters for approval in a referendum held on 6 March 1937.
Australian administrative law defines the extent of the powers and responsibilities held by administrative agencies of Australian governments. It is basically a common law system, with an increasing statutory overlay that has shifted its focus toward codified judicial review and to tribunals with extensive jurisdiction.
Referendums concerning the independence of judges and four-year parliamentary terms were put to New South Wales voters on 25 March 1995. The referendums coincided with that year's New South Wales general election. Both changes had the support of the major political parties and were approved by large majorities.
A referendum concerning reform of the New South Wales Legislative Council was put to New South Wales voters on 25 May 1991. The referendum coincided with that year's New South Wales general election. The change passed comfortably. The text of the question was:
Do you approve of the Bill entitled 'A Bill for an Act:
(a) to reduce the number of politicians in the Legislative Council and to reduce their maximum term of office; and
(b) to apply to the Legislative Council the same method of filling casual vacancies as applies to the Senate ?
The United pastoral districts of Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett and Maranoa, and from 1857 Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett, Maranoa, Leichhardt and Port Curtis, was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales created in 1856 and consisted of the pastoral districts around the early settlements of Moreton Bay; Wide Bay, near Maryborough; the Burnett River, near Bundaberg; and the Maranoa region of South-western Queensland. In September 1856 the pastoral districts around the Leichhardt River in the Gulf of Carpentaria region and Port Curtis (Gladstone) were added to the electorate. The district was abolished for the 1859 election and replaced by the separate districts of East Moreton, West Moreton, Burnett and Leichhardt, while Maranoa became part of Darling Downs. All of these districts became part of Queensland when it was established as a separate colony in late 1859.
The Constitution of Australia is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system. Its eight chapters set down the structure and powers of the three constituent parts of the federal level of government: the Parliament, the Executive Government and the Judicature.
A referendum concerning the abolition of the New South Wales Legislative Council was put to New South Wales voters on 29 April 1961. The abolition was specifically rejected by voters. The text of the question was:
Do you approve of the Bill entitled "A Bill for an Act to Abolish the Legislative Council to provide that another Legislative Council shall not be created, constituted or established nor shall any Chamber, Assembly or House, other than the Legislative Assembly, designed to form part of the Legislative Parliament of New South Wales, be created, constituted or established until a bill for the purpose has been approved by the electors in a referendum to amend the Constitution Act, 1902 and certain other Acts; and for purposes connected therewith."
The 2016 Queensland fixed four-year terms referendum was a one-question referendum held in the Australian state of Queensland on 19 March 2016, in conjunction with the state's local government elections. Electors were asked if they approved of a bill to amend the Constitution of Queensland 2001 and the Constitution Act Amendment Act 1934 to legislate for fixed-term elections for the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, to be held in the last week of October every four years. The referendum was conducted by the Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ).
The Constitution of New South Wales is composed of both unwritten and written elements that set out the structure of Government in the State of New South Wales. While the most important parts are codified in the Constitution Act 1902, major parts of the broader constitution can also be found in:
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Goulburn on 13 June 1861 because of the resignation of Charles Walsh. Walsh stated that he had been elected to support the Land Bills, which would open up the free selection of Crown land, and the Legislative Council Bill which would replace the nominated council with an elected body. These bills had not been passed by the Legislative Council and the Premier Charles Cowper had arranged for 21 new members to be appointed to the council. Walsh stated that as the bills "will be carried through both branches of the legislature, and become the law of the land" he therefore resigned as the tasks had been achieved.
A referendum concerning the reduction of the members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was put to voters on 16 December 1903, in conjunction with the 1903 federal election. The referendum was conducted on the basis of optional preferential voting. However, preferences were not counted, as an overwhelming majority voted to reduce the number of members to 90.
The 1978 New South Wales referendum was held on 17 June 1978 and contained a single question:
Do you approve of the Bill entitled 'A Bill for an Act to provide for the election of members of the Legislative Council directly by the people'.
A referendum concerning the reform of the New South Wales Legislative Council was put to New South Wales voters on 13 May 1933 and was passed by the voters with a margin of 2.94%. The text of the question was:
Do you approve of the Bill entitled "A Bill to reform the constitution and alter the Powers of the Legislative Council; to reduce and limit the number of Members of the Legislative Council; to reconstitute the Legislative Council in accordance with the reformed constitution; to amend the Constitution Act, 1902, and certain other Acts; and for purposes connected therewith."
There have been 18 referendums in New South Wales, 8 of which concerned proposals to amend the New South Wales Constitution, half of which concerned the Legislative Council. While the Constitution of Australia was adopted after the 1898 and 1899 referendums in all of the proposed states, the Constitution of New South Wales, promulgated in 1902, was an Act of the Parliament of New South Wales which could be amended by Parliament. Since 1927 the Constitution has included provisions that can only be amended following approval in a referendum. 8 of the referendums, including 5 on the sale of alcohol, did not involve any proposed amendment to the Constitution. While these have traditionally been called referendums, they could also be described as plebiscites.
The 1843 New South Wales colonial election was held between 15 June and 3 July 1843 and was Australia's first colonial election. This election was for 24 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Council and it was conducted in 15 single-member constituencies, two 2-member constituencies and one 5-member constituency, all with a first past the post system. This included 6 members in what became the Colony of Victoria and a single member for the coast north of Newcastle. The Legislative Council was a hybrid system with 36 members, 24 elected, 6 appointed by virtue of their office and 6 nominated. The appointments and elections were for five year terms.
The 1851 New South Wales colonial election was held between 12 and 25 September. This election was for 36 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Council. The 1848 election had been for 5 year terms however the parliament had been reconstituted following the separation of Victoria. At the same time the council was expanded from 36 to 54 members. The Legislative Council was a hybrid system with 18 appointed members and 36 elected. The Port Philip districts had 6 elected members, which meant there were an additional 18 seats. There were 3 new districts for the northern regions of what would later become Queensland, Stanley, Stanley Boroughs and the pastoral districts of Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett, and Maranoa and 7 new pastoral districts in western New South Wales. The other 8 additional seats were distributed among the nineteen counties of New South Wales.
