Politics of Western Australia

Last updated

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.

Contents

The main parties are the governing Labor Party and the two Opposition parties (the National Party and the Liberal Party). Other minor political parties include the Greens, Western Australia Party, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Legalise Cannabis WA Party, Pauline Hanson's One Nation and Australian Christians. [1]

Premier of Western Australia

The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive branch of the Government of Western Australia and is accountable to the Parliament of Western Australia. The premier is appointed by the governor of Western Australia. By convention, the governor appoints as premier whoever has the support of the majority of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. In practice, this means that the premier is the leader of the political party or group of parties with a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly (lower house). Since Western Australia achieved self-governance in 1890, there have been 31 premiers. Roger Cook [2] is the current premier, having been appointed to the position on 8 June 2023.

State government

The nominal head of the Government of Western Australia is the King of Australia, represented in the state by the Governor of Western Australia. Legislative power rests with the Crown and the two houses of the Parliament of Western Australia. The powers and responsibilities of the parliament are defined in the Constitution Act 1889. [3]

Parliament of Western Australia

The Parliament of Western Australia is bicameral, consisting of a lower and an upper house.

The Western Australian Legislative Assembly (lower house) is composed of 59 members of parliament, each of whom represent a single electoral district and are elected using a preferential voting system. The Legislative Assembly sits for fixed four-year terms. The leader of the party with a majority in the Legislative Assembly (or with the confidence of the Assembly) is appointed by the Governor as the premier of Western Australia.

The Western Australian Legislative Council (upper house) has 36 members (or MLCs), representing six electoral regions. Six members are elected for each province using a proportional voting system.

General elections are held every four years, electing the entire Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. The next state election is scheduled for March 2025.

Federal politics

Western Australian seats in the Australian Parliament
Political
party
House of
Representatives
Senate
ALP 95
Liberal 55
WA Nationals 00
Greens 02
Independent 10
Source: Australian Electoral Commission

Western Australia is divided into 15 federal electoral divisions, each represented by a seat in the Australian House of Representatives. Like other Australian states, Western Australia is represented by twelve Senators in the Australian Senate, with six of those Senators elected for two three-year Senate terms at each half-Senate election.

Historically, most federal elections have already been "decided" [lower-alpha 1] by the time the polls close in Western Australia. [lower-alpha 2] The only times since the mid-20th century when the state has decided an election were:

Referendum results in Western Australia

[5]
YearNo.NameNational votersStates WA
1906 1 Senate Elections 82.65%6:078.93%
1910 2 State Debts 54.95%5:172.80%
3 Surplus Revenue 49.04%3:361.74%
1911 4 Trade and Commerce 39.42%1:554.86%
5 Monopolies 39.89%1:555.84%
1913 6 Trade and Commerce 49.38%3:352.86%
7 Corporations 49.33%3:352.84%
8 Industrial Matters 49.33%3:352.71%
9 Trusts 49.78%3:353.59%
10 Monopolies 49.33%3:353.19%
11 Railway Disputes 49.13%3:352.38%
1919 12 Legislative Powers 49.65%3:351.75%
13 Monopolies 48.64%3:353.99%
1926 14 Industry and Commerce 43.50%2:429.29%
15 Essential Services 42.80%2:425.90%
1928 16 State Debts 74.30%6:057.53%
1937 17 Aviation 53.56%2:447.58%
18 Marketing 36.26%0:627.77%
1944 19 Post-War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights 45.99%2:452.25%
1946 20 Social Services 54.39%6:062.26%
21 Marketing 50.57%3:356.21%
22 Industrial Employment 50.30%3:355.74%
1948 23 Rents and Prices 40.66%0:638.59%
1951 24 Communists and Communism 49.44%3:355.09%
1967 25 Parliament 40.25%1:529.05%
26 Aboriginals 90.77%6:080.95%
1973 27 Prices 43.81%0:631.90%
28 Incomes 34.42%0:625.21%
1974 29 Simultaneous Elections 48.30%1:544.07%
30 Mode of Altering the Constitution 47.99%1:542.53%
31 Democratic Elections 47.20%1:542.86%
32 Local Government Bodies 46.85%1:540.67%
1977 33 Simultaneous Elections 62.22%3:348.47%
34 Senate Casual Vacancies 73.32%6:057.11%
35 Referendums 77.72%6:072.62%
36 Retirement of Judges 80.10%6:078.37%
1984 37 Terms of Senators 50.64%2:446.47%
38 Interchange of Powers 47.06%0:644.28%
1988 39 Parliamentary Terms 32.92%0:630.67%
40 Fair Elections 37.60%0:632.02%
41 Local Government 33.62%0:629.76%
42 Rights and Freedoms 30.79%0:628.14%
1999 43 Establishment of Republic 45.13%0:641.48%
44 Preamble 39.34%0:634.73%
2023 [lower-alpha 3] 45 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice 39.24%0:636.01%

Notable Western Australia political figures

See also

Notes

  1. Officially, the results of an election are declared by the Australian Electoral Commission only after all votes in all states have been counted. However it is common practice for the media, and the political parties themselves, to declare a winner based on the votes counted thus far. [4]
  2. Polls close at 6pm local time, and vote counting starts in each state when polls are closed. WA has about 10% of Australia's population and is 1+12 hours behind South Australia and the Northern Territory, 2 hours behind the 80% of the population in the eastern states (plus 1 hour in summer, for the majority of states that observe daylight saving time, when WA does not). Consequently, when the results from states other than WA strongly favour either of the two major parties, the overall national "winner" can be determined independently of WA's results, even before WA's polls close.
  3. Results for this referendum are preliminary, and percentages may change, however the result is not expected to change.

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.

The Australian electoral system comprises the laws and processes used for the election of members of the Australian Parliament and is governed primarily by the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The system presently has a number of distinctive features including compulsory enrolment; compulsory voting; majority-preferential instant-runoff voting in single-member seats to elect the lower house, the House of Representatives; and the use of the single transferable vote proportional representation system to elect the upper house, the Senate.

Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories are broadly similar to the electoral system used in federal elections in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian Legislative Assembly</span> Lower house of the Parliament of Victoria, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Australian Legislative Assembly</span> State legislature in Perth, Australia

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.

One of the six founding states of Australia, Queensland has been a federated state subject to the Australian Constitution since 1 January 1901. It is sovereign, other than in the matters ceded in the Australian Constitution to the federal government. It is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The Constitution of Queensland sets out the operation of the state's government. The state's constitution contains several entrenched provisions which cannot be changed in the absence of a referendum. There is also a statutory bill of rights, the Queensland Human Rights Act (2019). Queensland's system of government is influenced by the Westminster system and Australia's federal system of government.

Brian Thomas Burke is an Australian former politician who was the 23rd premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 to his resignation on 25 February 1988. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 30 March 1973 to 25 February 1988, representing the electoral districts of Balga and Balcatta at various points, and was the leader of the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia from 18 September 1981 to 25 February 1988. Burke studied law at the University of Western Australia for one year before dropping out. During the 1960s and early 1970s, he worked as a journalist for The West Australian newspaper, 6PM radio station, and Seven News Perth. He was elected to Parliament at the 1973 Balcatta state by-election, becoming one of the most popular local members over the following years. In 1981, he became the leader of the Labor Party in a leadership spill. He led the Labor Party to its first election victory since 1971 at the 1983 Western Australian state election, defeating the Liberal-National government of Ray O'Connor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Victoria</span> Bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria

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.

In Australia, referendums are public votes held on important issues where the electorate may approve or reject a certain proposal. The term is commonly used in reference to a constitutional referendum which is legally required to make a change to the Constitution of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Australian Legislative Council</span> Upper house of the legislature of Western Australia

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.

Government in Australia is elected by universal suffrage and Australian women participate in all levels of the government of the nation. In 1902, the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia became the first nation on earth to enact equal suffrage, enabling women to both vote and stand for election alongside men Women have been represented in Australian state parliaments since 1921, and in the Federal Parliament since 1943. The first female leader of an Australian State or Territory was elected in 1989, and the first female Prime Minister took office in 2010. In 2019 for the first time, a majority of members of the Australian Senate were women. At the time of its foundation in 1901, and again from 1952 to 2022, Australia has had a female monarch as ceremonial Head of State, while the first female Governor of an Australian State was appointed in 1991, and the first female Governor-General of Australia took office in 2008.

Elections to the 1989 Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on Saturday, 4 March. This was the first direct election by voters in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for their power legislative body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1901 Australian federal election</span> Election for the 1st Parliament of Australia

The 1901 Australian federal election for the inaugural Parliament of Australia was held in Australia on Friday 29 March and Saturday 30 March 1901. The elections followed Federation and the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. All 75 seats in the Australian House of Representatives, six of which were uncontested, as well as all 36 seats in the Australian Senate, were up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Australian National Party</span> Australian political party

The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, branded The Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity. Since the 2021 state election, the Nationals WA is the senior party in an opposition alliance with the WA Liberal Party in the WA Parliament. Prior to the election, the National Party was sitting in the crossbench and the Liberal Party was the sole opposition party. The election resulted in the National Party winning more seats than the Liberal Party and gaining official opposition status. Under the opposition alliance, the National Party leader and deputy leader would be the opposition leader and deputy opposition leader respectively, the first since 1947, and each party would maintain their independence from each other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Western Australian state election</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Western Australian state election</span> State general election for Western Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norbert Keenan</span> Lawyer and politician of Western Australia

Sir Norbert Michael Keenan QC was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1905 to 1911 and again from 1930 to 1950. He was the leader of the Nationalist Party from 1933 to 1938, during the time when it was the junior partner in the coalition with the Country Party. Keenan had earlier served as a minister in the government of Newton Moore and the second government of Sir James Mitchell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Australia Party</span> Political party in Australia

The Western Australia Party is a regional political party active in Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Western Australian state election</span> State general election for Western Australia, held on 13 March 2021

The 2021 Western Australian state election was conducted on 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 were up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2025 Western Australian state election</span> Upcoming state general election for Western Australia

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

  1. "Australian Christians | Political Party | WA". Australian Christians Political Party WA. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  2. "New Cook Cabinet team unveiled". Government of Western Australia. 7 June 2023.
  3. Constitution Act 1889
  4. The count: Declaring results. Australian Electoral Commission. 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  5. Handbook of the 44th Parliament (2014) "Part 5 – Referendums and Plebiscites – Referendum results". Parliamentary Library of Australia..