Members of the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of the Australian State of Victoria, are elected from eight multi-member electorates called regions. The Legislative Council has 40 members, five from each of the eight regions.
The boundaries of the electoral regions were last drawn in 2013.
A major reform of the Parliament was made by the Labor government, led by Steve Bracks, by the Constitution (Parliamentary Reform) Act 2003. Under the new system, members of the Legislative Council serve terms linked to elections for the Legislative Assembly, which are fixed four-year terms, unless dissolved sooner.
Each electoral region consists of 11 contiguous Legislative Assembly electoral districts with about 420,000 electors each. Each region elects five members to the Legislative Council by a single transferable vote. There are currently 40 members of the Legislative Council, four fewer than previously. The changes also introduced proportional representation, making it easier for minor parties to gain seats in the Legislative Council. With each region electing 5 members, the quota for a seat in each region, after distribution of preferences, is 16.7% (one-sixth). At the same time, the Council's ability to block supply was removed.
The Electoral Boundaries Commission drew the boundaries of the new regions in 2005. [1] The new system came into effect for the 2006 Victorian election.
Victoria is divided into eight electoral regions, 3 rural and 5 metropolitan:
The boundaries of the electoral regions were last drawn in 2013.
In the redistricting that was undertaken for the upcoming 2022 election the Eastern Metropolitan Region is to be renamed the North Eastern Metropolitan region. [2]
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. This is a list of the provinces as of 2005:
The following provinces also existed but were abolished prior to 2002:
# = Original Province of inaugural (upper-house chamber) Legislative Council 1856 [3]
The old system tended to favour the Liberal Party and the National Party (often in coalition) over the Labor Party and other parties [ citation needed ]. This caused many instances where a Labor-controlled Assembly faced an opposition-controlled Council — a rare occurrence elsewhere in Australia.
The Victorian Legislative Council was initially a single chamber (unicameral) when first created and consisted of members some of whom were nominated and some elected. The electoral districts were: [4] [5]
The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at 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.
Eastern Metropolitan Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council by proportional representation. The region was created in 2006 following the 2005 reform of the Victorian Legislative Council.
The electoral district of Melbourne is an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It currently includes the localities of Carlton, North Carlton, Melbourne, East Melbourne, West Melbourne, North Melbourne, Parkville, Newmarket, Kensington and Flemington, and includes Melbourne University. The district has been in existence since 1856.
The regions of Victoria vary according to the different ways that the Australian state of Victoria is divided into distinct geographic regions. The most commonly used regions are those created by the state government for the purposes of economic development.
Northern Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council (Australia),
Western Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council (Australia), the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria. Victoria was a colony in Australia when Western Province was created. From Federation in 1901, Victoria was a state in the Commonwealth of Australia.
North Central Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council (Australia). It was created in the redistribution of provinces in 1882 when the Central and Eastern Provinces were abolished. The new North Central Province, South Yarra, North Yarra, South Eastern and Melbourne Provinces were then created.
Gippsland Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council from November 1882 until 2006. It was based in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia.
South Eastern Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council from November 1882. It was created in the redistribution of provinces in 1882 when the original provinces of Central and Eastern were abolished. The new South Eastern, South Yarra, North Yarra, North Eastern, North Central, Melbourne East, Melbourne North, Melbourne South and Melbourne West Provinces were then created.
South Yarra Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council from November 1882 until May 1904.
Southern Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council.
South Western Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council.
Melbourne East Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council.
Wellington Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Victorian Parliament.
Melbourne South Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council. It was created in June 1904 when Melbourne Province was reduced in size and North Yarra Province and South Yarra Province were abolished. The new Melbourne South, Melbourne North, Melbourne East and Melbourne West Provinces were then created.
Central Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council.
Collingwood was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria from 1856 to 1958. It centred on the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, Victoria.
East Bourke Boroughs was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1904.
The Electoral district of City of Melbourne was one of the original sixteen electoral districts of the old unicameral Victorian Legislative Council of 1851 to 1856; Victoria having been made a separate colony in Australia in the former year.
This is a list of members of the Victorian Legislative Council from the elections of 30 November 1882 to the elections of 11 September 1884.