Parliament of Western Australia | |
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40th Parliament | |
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Type | |
Type | |
Houses | Legislative Council Legislative Assembly |
History | |
Founded | 30 December 1890 |
Leadership | |
Elizabeth II since 6 February 1952 | |
Kim Beazley since 1 May 2018 | |
Structure | |
Seats | 95 59 MLAs 36 MLCs |
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Legislative Assembly political groups | Government Labor (40) Opposition Liberal (14) Crossbench National (5) |
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Legislative Council political groups | Government Labor (14) Contents |
Elections | |
Full preferential voting | |
Single transferable vote with group voting tickets | |
Last general election | 11 March 2017 |
Next general election | 13 March 2021 |
Meeting place | |
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Parliament House, Perth, Western Australia, Australia | |
Website | |
www |
The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative Assembly, an upper house, the Legislative Council and the Queen, represented by the Governor of Western Australia. The two Houses of Parliament sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth.
For a bill to become law, it must be passed by both the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly, and receive royal assent from the Governor.
The party or coalition commanding the support of a majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly is invited by the governor to form government. The head of government holds the office of Premier of Western Australia. [1]
Currently, the Legislative Council has 36 members elected for four-year terms from multi-member constituencies by proportional representation, and the Legislative Assembly has 59 members, elected for four-year terms from single-member constituencies, using preferential voting. As with all other Australian states and territories, enrolment to vote and voting for both Houses is compulsory for all resident Australian citizens—and eligible British citizens (i.e., those permanently resident and on the electoral roll prior to the passage of the Australia Act)—who are over the legal voting age of 18.
The Western Australian Legislative Council was created in 1832 as an appointed body. In 1870 the then colony was ruled by a governor and an advisory Legislative Council made up of appointed officials and elected members. The Western Australian Legislative Assembly was created in 1890 when the then colony attained self-government. The first premier was John Forrest, who held office until 1901.
On 3 November 2011, the government introduced fixed four-year terms for Parliament, with elections being held every four years on the second Saturday in March. [2] [3] The 2013 state election was the first election under the fixed date system.
The two Houses of the 39th Parliament were prorogued on 30 January 2017 by the Governor of Western Australia and the Legislative Assembly was dissolved on the same day. The term of the Legislative Council will expire on 21 May 2017. [4] The electoral roll closed on Thursday, 9 March 2015. [5] Elections for the 40th Parliament took place on Saturday, 11 March 2017. At the election, the Labor Party won a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly and its leader, Mark McGowan, was sworn in as the 30th Premier of Western Australia on 17 March 2017 by Governor Kerry Sanderson. Members of his new Ministry were similarly sworn in on this date. [6]
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive branch of government in the Australian state of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions.
Electoral systems for the legislatures of the individual Australian states and territories are broadly similar to the electoral system used in federal elections in Australia.
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne.
The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia.
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. It is normal for legislation to be first deliberated on and passed by the Legislative Assembly before being considered by the Legislative Council, which acts in the main as a house of review.
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.
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth.
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.
The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. Members of the Legislative Council are often referred to as MLCs.
The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly, and Tasmanian Legislative Council. Since 1841, both Houses have met in Parliament House, Hobart. The Parliament of Tasmania first met in 1856.
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Queen, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. It has a fused executive drawn from members of both chambers. The parliament meets at Parliament House in the state capital Melbourne. The current Parliament was elected on 24 November 2018, sworn in on 19 December 2018 and is the 59th parliament in Victoria.
The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of 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 Parliament derives its authority from the Queen of Australia, Queen Elizabeth II, represented by the Governor of New South Wales, who chairs the Executive Council of New South Wales. The parliament shares law making powers with the Australian Federal Parliament. The New South Wales Parliament follows the Westminster parliamentary traditions of dress, Green–Red chamber colours and protocol.
The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It is the only unicameral state legislature in the country. The upper chamber, the Legislative Council, was abolished in 1922. The Legislative Assembly sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Brisbane.
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 and the 22-seat Legislative Council. All of the lower house and half of the upper house is filled at each election. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government with the executive branch required to both sit in Parliament and hold the confidence of the House of Assembly.
The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses of Parliament sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth.
Mark McGowan is an Australian politician and, since 2017, the 30th Premier of Western Australia.
Women's suffrage in Australia was one of the earliest objectives of the movement for gender equality in Australia. It began to be socially and politically accepted and legislated during the late 19th century, beginning with South Australia in 1894 and Western Australia in 1899. In 1902, the newly established Australian Parliament passed the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902, which set a uniform law enabling women to vote at federal elections and to stand for the federal Parliament. This removed gender discrimination in relation to electoral rights for federal elections in Australia. By 1911, the remaining Australian states had legislated for women's suffrage for state elections. It took longer before women could stand for parliament throughout Australia and even longer before they were actually elected.
The 2017 Western Australian state election was held on Saturday 11 March 2017 to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, including all 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 36 seats in the Legislative Council. The eight-and-a-half-year two-term incumbent Liberal–WA National government, led by Premier Colin Barnett, was defeated in a landslide by the Labor opposition, led by Opposition Leader Mark McGowan.
Western Australia politics takes place in context of a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliamentary system, and like other Australian states, Western Australia is part of the federation known as the Commonwealth of Australia.
The 2021 Western Australian state election is scheduled for Saturday 13 March 2021 to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, where all 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 36 seats in the Legislative Council will be up for election.
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Coordinates: 31°57′06″S115°50′49″E / 31.95167°S 115.84694°E