Parliament of Western Australia

Parliament of Western Australia
Parliament of Western Australia
41st Parliament
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Legislative Council ; Legislative Assembly
History
Founded	30 December 1890;132 years ago
Leadership
Monarch	Charles III ; since 8 September 2022
Governor	Chris Dawson ; since 15 July 2022
President of the Legislative Council	Alanna Clohesy, Labor ; since 25 May 2021
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly	Michelle Roberts, Labor ; since 29 April 2021
Premier	Mark McGowan, Labor ; since 17 March 2017
Leader of the Opposition	Shane Love, National ; since 30 January 2023
Structure
Seats	95; 59 MLAs; 36 MLCs
Legislative Assembly political groups	Government (53); Labor (53); Opposition (6); National (4); Contents History ; See also ; Notes ; References ; External links ; Liberal (2)
Legislative Council political groups	Government (22); Labor (22); Opposition (9); Liberal (7); National (2); Crossbench (5); Legalise Cannabis (2); Greens (1); Daylight Saving (1); Independent (1)
Elections
Legislative Assembly voting system	Instant-runoff voting
Legislative Council voting system	Single transferable vote
Legislative Assembly last election	13 March 2021
Last general election	13 March 2021
Next general election	8 March 2025
Meeting place
	Parliament House,; Perth, Western Australia,; Australia
Website
	www.parliament.wa.gov.au

Last updated January 31, 2023

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 King, 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.

History

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.

Notes

1 2 After the 2021 election, the Nationals and Liberals formed an opposition alliance. However, it is not a formal coalition and both parties maintain their independence from each other.

Related Research Articles

Politics of the Australian state of Victoria takes place in the context of a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliamentary system, and like other Australian states, Victoria is part of the federation known as the Commonwealth of Australia.

Electoral systems of the 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 New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is presided over by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

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 Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Square, close to the centre of the city of Canberra.

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.

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 King, 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 26 November 2022, sworn in on 20 December 2022 and is the 60th parliament in Victoria.

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 has been the only unicameral state legislature in the country since 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 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. General elections are held every 4 years, with all of the lower house and half of the upper house 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 parliament is based at Parliament House on North Terrace in the state capital of Adelaide.

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.

The 2010 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 27 November 2010, was for the 57th Parliament of Victoria. The election was to elect all 88 members of the Legislative Assembly and all 40 members of the Legislative Council. The incumbent centre-left Labor Party government, led by John Brumby, was defeated by the centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition, led by Ted Baillieu. The election gave the Coalition a one-seat majority in both houses of parliament.

The 2008 Western Australian state election was held on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council. The incumbent centre-left Labor Party government, in power since the 2001 election and led since 25 January 2006 by Premier Alan Carpenter, was defeated by the centre-right Liberal Party opposition, led by Opposition Leader Colin Barnett since 6 August 2008.

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 2024 Queensland state election is scheduled to be held on 26 October 2024 to elect all members to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland pursuant to the Constitution Amendment Act 2015. As a result of the 2016 Queensland term length referendum, the term of the parliament will run for four years.

The 2025 Western Australian state election is scheduled to be held on 8 March 2025 to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, where all 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 37 seats in the Legislative Council will be up for election.

References

↑ "Legislative Assembly" (PDF). About Parliament. Parliament of Western Australia. p. 7.1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
↑ "New laws fix state election dates". ABC News. ABC News (Australia). 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
↑ Green, Antony (8 February 2011). "Future election dates". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 September 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.

External links

Parliament website

Coordinates: 31°57′06″S115°50′49″E / 31.95167°S 115.84694°E / -31.95167; 115.84694

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[fn1-1] 1 2 After the 2021 election, the Nationals and Liberals formed an opposition alliance. However, it is not a formal coalition and both parties maintain their independence from each other.

[2] "Legislative Assembly" (PDF). About Parliament. Parliament of Western Australia. p. 7.1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2014.

[3] "New laws fix state election dates". ABC News. ABC News (Australia). 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.

[4] Green, Antony (8 February 2011). "Future election dates". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 September 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.

[lower-alpha 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Members of the Parliament of Western Australia
Legislative Assembly	1890–1894 1894–1897 1897–1901 1901–1904 1904–1905 1905–1908 1908–1911 1911–1914 1914–1917 1917–1921 1921–1924 1924–1927 1927–1930 1930–1933 1933–1936 1936–1939 1939–1943 1943–1947 1947–1950 1950–1953 1953–1956 1956–1959 1959–1962 1962–1965 1965–1968 1968–1971 1971–1974 1974–1977 1977–1980 1980–1983 1983–1986 1986–1989 1989–1993 1993–1996 1996–2001 2001–2005 2005–2008 2008–2013 2013–2017 2017–2021 2021–2025
Legislative Council	1832–1870 1870–1872 1872–1874 1890–1894 1894–1896 1896–1898 1898–1900 1900–1902 1902–1904 1904–1906 1906–1908 1908–1910 1910–1912 1912–1914 1914–1916 1916–1918 1918–1920 1920–1922 1922–1924 1924–1926 1926–1928 1928–1930 1930–1932 1932–1934 1934–1936 1936–1938 1938–1940 1940–1944 1944–1946 1946–1948 1948–1950 1950–1952 1952–1954 1954–1956 1956–1958 1958–1960 1960–1962 1962–1965 1965–1968 1968–1971 1971–1974 1974–1977 1977–1980 1980–1983 1983–1986 1986–1989 1989–1993 1993–1997 1997–2001 2001–2005 2005–2009 2009–2013 2013–2017 2017–2021 2021–2025

v t e Government of Western Australia
Executive	Monarchy Governor Premier Deputy Premier Cabinet Entities Police
Legislative	Parliament Legislative Assembly MLAs Electoral districts Speaker Legislative Council MLCs Electoral regions President Opposition Leader
Judicial	Supreme Court District Court Children's Court Family Court Magistrates Court Other courts and tribunals