Victorian Legislative Council
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The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. It 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 Council is presided over by a President, equivalent to the Assembly's Speaker.
The Council was created in 1851, four years before the Assembly.
Today the Council has 40 members serving four-year terms. They represent 8 electoral regions, with five members representing each region.
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[edit] New system in 2006
The system changed for the 2006 Victorian election, as a result of major reforms passed by Steve Bracks' Labor government in 2003. Under the new reforms, members serve fixed four-year terms, unless the Assembly is dissolved sooner. The state is divided into the following 8 electoral regions:
- Eastern Metropolitan Region
- Eastern Victoria Region
- Northern Metropolitan Region
- Northern Victoria Region
- South Eastern Metropolitan Region
- Southern Metropolitan Region
- Western Metropolitan Region
- Western Victoria Region
Each region consists of 11 contiguous Legislative Assembly districts with about 420,000 electors who will elect 5 members of the Legislative Council by the single transferable vote. There are now 40 members of the Legislative Council, 4 fewer than before. The changes introduce proportional representation and remove the Council's ability to block supply. The reforms have made it easier for minor parties to gain election to the chamber and possibly gain the balance of power, as opposed to single major party majority control.
[edit] Old system prior to 2006
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 provinces in 2005.
The old system traditionally favoured the Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia (often in coalition) over the Australian Labor Party and other members. This caused many incidences where a Labor-controlled Assembly faced an opposition-controlled Council — a rare occurrence elsewhere in Australia.
- Ballarat Province
- Central Highlands Province
- Chelsea Province
- Doutta Galla Province
- East Yarra Province
- Eumemmerring Province
- Geelong Province
- Gippsland Province
- Higinbotham Province
- Jika Jika Province
- Koonung Province
- Melbourne Province
- Melbourne North Province
- Melbourne West Province
- Monash Province
- North Eastern Province
- North Western Province
- Silvan Province
- Templestowe Province
- Waverley Province
- Western Province
- Western Port Province
[edit] Distribution of Seats
| Party | Seats held |
|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 19 |
| Liberal Party | 15 |
| National Party | 2 |
| Greens | 3 |
| Democratic Labor Party | 1 |
[edit] See also
- President of the Victorian Legislative Council — contains a list of all past Presidents.
- Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
- List of members of the Victorian Legislative Council
[edit] Reference
at the Victorian Parliament website
Government: Parliament (Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council) • Monarchy • Governor
Courts: High Court of Australia • Supreme Court • County Court • Magistrates' Court • VCAT
Victorian Legislative Elections: 1988 • 1992 • 1996 • 1999 • 2002 • 2006
