48-692: Opposition (9) Liberal (9) Crossbench (6) Greens (4) Independents for Canberra (1) The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory (known in short as the ACT Legislative Assembly ) is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Square, close to
96-536: A home on the property in 1927, and renamed the property Melrose . There is a sign marking the location of the former homestead on the pathway between present-day Theodore Street and James Place, Curtin . Maguire farmed Melrose until 1963 when the land was resumed by the government to establish suburbs in Woden Valley. Melrose Drive and Melrose High School were named after the Maguire's property. Illoura . Thomas Cargill
144-727: A period as the Legislative Assembly), which existed from 1976 to 1986, but had no executive power, with a principal function of advising the Commonwealth on matters relating to the Territory. At its inception, the Assembly was elected by a modified d'Hondt system, the ACT comprised one electorate, electing seventeen members to the Assembly. A 1992 referendum supported the Hare-Clark method, which
192-545: Is a set of contiguous residential suburbs that surround the Woden Town Centre , which includes a major shopping centre, called Westfield Woden , or more commonly known as Woden Plaza . Woden is also home to the tallest building in Canberra, Lovett Tower , which stands at 22 stories. Lovett Tower and a number of other buildings host staff from Australian Government agencies; there is also some light industrial development in
240-700: Is also the Treasurer, Minister for Climate Action, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism. The position of Chief Minister is analogous to the Premier in the Australian states. Barr is the longest serving Chief Minister in ACT history, as well as the longest serving current Premier or Chief Minister in Australia, having taken the post in December 2014. The ACT Labor Party has been in power since 2001, although with
288-831: Is enacted on "notification"—publication in the Government Gazette of a notice authorised by the Chief Minister. However, the Governor-General of Australia does have the power to dissolve the Assembly if it is "incapable of effectively performing its functions or is conducting its affairs in a grossly improper manner". Senate House of Rep. Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Assembly Assembly Liberal Party of Australia (Australian Capital Territory Division) The Canberra Liberals , officially known as
336-467: Is very popular amongst juniors. Woden Valley also has a rugby league team Woden Rams and an Australian rules football team (Woden Blues). It also has a tenpin bowling centre and produced NSW champion and award-winning sports journalist Reagan Murphy, who lived in Garran and attended Woden Valley High School in the 1970s. While the majority of the destruction caused by the 2003 Canberra bushfires occurred in
384-741: The 2016 election . There has only been one majority government in the history of the Legislative Assembly, with Labor winning 9 of 17 seats at the 2004 election . As with the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly , the ACT Legislative Assembly lacks the full powers of a state legislature. Section 122 of the Constitution of Australia provides that the Commonwealth Parliament "may make laws for
432-427: The 2024 Australian Capital Territory election , 10 Labor members, 9 Liberal members, 4 Green members, 1 Independent for Canberra member, and 1 Fiona Carrick Independent member are projected to be elected, with Labor to hold power in a minority government. As of 2024 Members of the Legislative Assembly are paid a base salary of $ 188,798, while additional remuneration is provided depending on the additional office or role
480-479: The Hare-Clark system , a variation of the Single Transferable Vote form of proportional representation . Members of the Legislative Assembly vote to elect a Chief Minister . In practice, Chief Minister is the leader of whichever party is able to form government . The Chief Minister, in turn, selects ministers to form a cabinet . The leader of the second-largest party in the Assembly usually becomes
528-641: The Leader of the Opposition . Election dates for the Assembly are fixed in legislation, with elections held on the third Saturday in October every four years (until 1997, elections were held in February). The term of the Assembly was increased in 2004 from three to four years. The last election was held on Saturday the 19th of October, 2024, with the next election expected to be held on 21 October 2028. Electing five members to
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#1732844241493576-459: The Liberal Party of Australia ( Australian Capital Territory Division ), is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The party has been in opposition in the ACT Legislative Assembly for much of its existence, but held power with the support of minor parties and independents between 1989 and 1991 and again between 1995 and 2001. It is currently
624-479: The soldier settlement lease scheme. Four of the earliest homesteads established in the valley were Yamba, Yarra Glen, Melrose and Illoura. Yamba . In 1920, Walter Eddison was granted a soldier settlement lease on the 764 acres (309 ha) Woden Block 132, covering roughly the present-day suburbs of Phillip and Swinger Hill. In 1925, he applied for an additional block and was granted the 1,601 acres (648 ha) Woden Block 28A, which extended further south covering
672-507: The Assembly, Brindabella contains the town centre and all of the suburbs of Tuggeranong . It also includes all of the ACT which is south of the Murrumbidgee River , thus making it the largest electorate by area. It used to exclude the whole of the suburb of Kambah . Electing five members to the Assembly, Ginninderra contains the town centre and all of the suburbs of Belconnen excluding Giralang and Kaleen . Its southern boundary
720-517: The Canberra Liberals and its electoral performance among different voter segments, and would propose strategies to regain federal representation. Woden Valley Woden Valley ( / ˈ w oʊ d ɪ n / ) is a district in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia . The district is subdivided into divisions ( suburbs ), sections and blocks. The name of Woden Valley is taken from
768-497: The City, opened in November 1967. At the 2021 census , there were 34,760 people in the Woden Valley district, of these 48.7 per cent were male and 51.3 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.4 per cent of the population, which was lower than the national and territory averages. The median age of people in the Woden Valley district was 39 years, which
816-704: The Federal Government again threatened to overrule the ACT Stanhope Government's anti-terror legislation, which was not consistent with other state laws. In 2011 the Federal Parliament passed a private senator's bill which removed this power in respect to both the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The ACT is unique among Australian states and self-governing territories, as it has no vice-regal post exercising authority as
864-712: The Liberals won 7 seats and Carnell formed a minority government with the support of independent members Michael Moore and Paul Osborne . Carnell served as Chief Minister until October 2000 when she resigned in advance of a no confidence motion over the increased costs of the Canberra Stadium . She was succeeded by Humphries but the party lost power in the 2001 election. It has been in opposition ever since, having installed and removed multiple leaders including Brendan Smyth , Bill Stefaniak , Zed Seselja , Jeremy Hanson , Alistair Coe and Elizabeth Lee . The current leader of
912-453: The Woden Valley district had a slightly higher than average proportion (27.5 per cent) where a language other than English was spoken at home (national average was 24.8 per cent); and a slightly lower proportion (71.0 per cent) where only English was spoken at home (national average was 72.0 per cent). Woden Valley is a vital area when it comes to sport in the Territory. Its association football club, Woden Valley FC (Woden Rival),
960-535: The Woden Valley to house an estimated 55,000 residents. Work commenced on the first two suburbs, Hughes and Curtin , in late-1962. Some of the first homes built in Curtin were advertised for £6,870 to £8,055. Hughes was officially declared open on 9 May 1964. Chifley and Lyons were the next suburbs to be developed (1965), followed by Garran , Pearce and Torrens (1966), Mawson , Farrer and Phillip (1966), O'Malley (1973) and Isaacs (1986). By late-1965, in
1008-437: The adjacent 825 acres (334 ha) Block 39 in 1922, and named his property Yarra Glenn. In August 1925, the two blocks were merged to become the smaller 1,200 acres (490 ha) Block 27A, which extended from the vicinity of the present-day Royal Australian Mint south to include the present-day suburb of Hughes . In 1927, Gifford sold the lease to George Campbell, a descendant of Robert Campbell of Duntroon . George worked
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#17328442414931056-418: The appropriateness of the size of the Legislative Assembly for the ACT, and options for changing the number of members and electorates. The Electoral Commission recommended increasing "the size of the Legislative Assembly to three electorates each returning seven members, giving a total of 21 members". In 2014, the Assembly voted to expand the number of members to the present 25, with the change taking effect at
1104-638: The centre of the city of Canberra . Unlike the legislatures of the other mainland states and territories, the Assembly also has the functions of a local council; the city of Canberra has no other local government. It replaced the House of Assembly when the ACT was granted self-government in 1986. Voters had previously rejected self government in a 1978 plebiscite. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, elected from five electorates ― Brindabella , Ginninderra , Kurrajong , Murrumbidgee and Yerrabi ― each having five members. Members are elected for four-year terms by
1152-598: The district was established in 1966 by the Commonwealth via the gazettal of the Districts Ordinance 1966 (Cth) which, after the enactment of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988, became the Districts Act 1966. This Act was subsequently repealed by the ACT Government and the district is now administered subject to the Districts Act 2002. Woden Valley is represented by: The district
1200-489: The earlier stages of Woden Valley's development, there were complaints from local residents that the new suburbs lacked shopping and recreational facilities, and the first schools in the area, such as Curtin Primary, were overcrowded as surrounding suburbs were developed. The first section of Hindmarsh Drive, connecting Woden Valley with Fyshwick and South Canberra, opened in December 1966. Yarra Glen, connecting Woden Valley with
1248-715: The edge of the present-day suburb of Curtin, in what is currently known as the Illoura agistment paddocks. The homestead was located just to the southeast of the Tuggeranong Parkway / Cotter Road intersection. A clump of large eucalyptus trees still visible to the left of where the southbound onramp meets the Parkway marks the former location of the homestead. In the early 1960s the National Capital Development Commission developed plans to establish 10 suburbs in
1296-543: The exception of 2004-2008, have served in minority or coalition governments with the support of the ACT Greens. At the 2020 Australian Capital Territory election , 10 Labor members, 9 Liberal members and 6 Greens members were elected. Following the expulsion of Elizabeth Kikkert from the Canberra Liberals party room on 10 September 2024, the Liberals presently have 8 members, with Kikkert becoming an independent. At
1344-522: The government of any territory" surrendered by any State to the Commonwealth. The Governor-General, on the advice of the Executive, previously had the power to override laws passed by the Assembly. Although this was rare in practice, the Civil Unions Act 2006 , which allowed same-sex couples to enter into "civil unions" was overruled following concerns that the civil unions mimicked marriage. In July 2006,
1392-460: The homestead's garden. The main parkway connecting Woden Valley with central Canberra, constructed in 1966, was named Yarra Glenn after the former property. Melrose . Jack Maguire was granted a 10-year soldier settler lease for the 994 acres (402 ha) Woden Block 25A in 1926. His block covered much of present-day suburbs of Curtin , Lyons and Chifley . He initially called his property Oakey Hill and used it solely for grazing sheep. He built
1440-494: The member holds. The current Legislative Assembly was created by four acts of the Commonwealth Parliament in 1988, including the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 . The first election was held on 4 March 1989 and the assembly first sat on 11 May that year. Until this point, the ACT had been directly administered by the Commonwealth Government. It replaced the House of Assembly (also known for
1488-552: The name of a nearby homestead owned by James Murray who named the homestead in October 1837 after the Old English god of wisdom, Woden . He named it this as he was to spend his life in the pursuit of wisdom. However, historian Harold Koch considers that the name may have its origins in the Aboriginal word for possum, either wadyan or wadhan , influenced in interpretation by the term known to English speakers of 'Woden'. In 1964 it
Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly - Misplaced Pages Continue
1536-469: The only state or territory division of either major party to be unrepresented in the Federal Parliament. The first Liberal branch in Canberra was formed in order to field a candidate in the newly created Division of Australian Capital Territory at the 1949 federal election . The first meeting of the branch was held at the Albert Hall on 27 January 1949. The inaugural meeting of the Canberra women's branch
1584-509: The party formed a coalition known as the Alliance with the Residents Rally that lasted from December 1989 until June 1991 when a dispute over school closures broke up the coalition and returned the parties to opposition. Kaine was briefly replaced as leader by Gary Humphries , but regained the position a month later. Two years later he was replaced by Kate Carnell . At the 1995 election
1632-497: The party is Leanne Castley . In the 2022 federal election , Seselja, who was the sole Canberra Liberals parliamentarian in federal parliament, lost his Senate seat to independent David Pocock . This left the Canberra Liberals with no representation in the 47th Parliament . A review into the territory division's defeat at the election would be headed by former WA Liberal leader Mike Nahan and former Victorian Liberal senator Helen Kroger . The review would include an examination of
1680-652: The present-day suburbs of Pearce and Torrens. Walter initially continued to live at his property The Oaks in Queanbeyan while farming his new property, but then established his homestead Yamba on the property in 1926 and worked the land with his three sons, Tom, Keith and Jack. In 1929, 43 acres (17 ha) were withdrawn from block 28A for the construction of the Woden Cemetery (Woden Block 30). Walter's three sons all fought overseas during World War II , and sadly all three were killed and buried overseas. The Yamba homestead
1728-520: The property with his two sons, Robert and Curtis. The Yarra Glen homestead was located near the intersection of present-day Carruthers Street and Yarra Glen, Curtin . The large conifer on the Yarra Glen median strip near the Carruthers Street overpass was once part of the homestead garden, and the row of large trees to the left (east) of the southbound Yarra Glen offramp were originally a windbreak for
1776-469: The representative of the monarch, such as a governor or an Administrator . The functions vested in a state Governor or territorial Administrator as nominal head of the Executive—commissioning government, proroguing parliament and enacting legislation—are exercised by the Assembly itself and by the Chief Minister. Instead of vice-regal or regal assent, a Bill passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly
1824-493: The suburbs of Evatt , Lawson and McKellar . Molonglo was an electorate of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly that was contested from the 1995 election to the 2012 election, it covered Inner North Canberra , Inner South Canberra , Weston Creek and most of the suburbs of Woden and Gungahlin . It was a 7-seat electorate. The current Chief Minister is Andrew Barr, who
1872-524: The suburbs of the Molonglo Valley , Weston Creek , Woden Valley and also includes the suburbs of Deakin , Yarralumla , Forrest and Red Hill . It used to also include the whole of the suburb of Kambah . Electing five members to the Assembly, Yerrabi contains all the suburbs of Gungahlin as well as the Belconnen suburbs of Giralang and Kaleen and the village of Hall . It used to also include
1920-653: The town centre. Within the district are a number of community facilities including the Phillip campus of the Canberra College , a secondary school catering to years 11 and 12 (16 – 18 years old); a library, the Woden Youth Centre, and the Canberra Hospital , which is located in the north of the district. In the mid-1920s following World War I , much of the Woden Valley was granted to returned soldiers under
1968-661: Was held on 29 June 1949. By 1961, there were three branches of the Liberal Party in the ACT, and a branch of the Young Liberals was created around the same time. The party held a number of seats in the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly throughout its existence. In the first election under self-government in 1989 the Liberal Party won four seats. The Liberals were led in the Assembly by Trevor Kaine , initially in opposition but in December 1989
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2016-466: Was introduced for the 1995 election . As of this change, the Legislative Assembly had 17 members, elected from three electorates. Brindabella and Ginninderra elected five members, and the now-defunct electorate of Molonglo elected seven. On 30 April 2002, the ACT Electoral Commission made a submission to the ACT Legislative Assembly's Standing Committee on Legal Affairs, which inquired into
2064-499: Was located in the vicinity of present-day 11 Irving Street, Phillip . Eddison Park in Woden is named in honour of the Eddison family. The main north–south arterial road passing to the east of central Woden was named Yamba Drive in honour of the former property. Yarra Glen . Frank Gifford was granted a soldier settler lease on the 779 acres (315 ha) Woden Block 32 in 1920, and a lease on
2112-475: Was offered a ten-year soldier settlement lease for the 1,015 acres (411 ha) Woden Block 26A in 1926, which extended from present-day Curtin and Lyons across to present-day North Weston to the west. In 1928 he sold his lease to Guy Tanner, and the Tanner family continued to farm the area until the property was resumed in the early 1970s. Illoura homestead was located between present-day Tuggeranong Parkway and
2160-444: Was significantly higher than the national average, and similar to the territory average. At the 2021 census, the most common ancestries reported in the Woden Valley area were English (31.7 per cent), Australian (29.4 per cent), Irish (12.9 per cent), Scottish (10.7 per cent) and Indian (4.9 per cent). 40.3 per cent of residents described themselves as having "No Religion", higher than the national average at 38.4 per cent. Households in
2208-399: Was slightly higher than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 17.4 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.5 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 50.4 per cent were married and 10.1 per cent were either divorced or separated. The median weekly income for residents within the Woden Valley district
2256-476: Was the Molonglo River prior to the 2016 election. It used to exclude the suburbs of Evatt , Lawson and McKellar . Electing five members to the Assembly, Kurrajong contains all the suburbs of Inner North Canberra , Inner South Canberra and Oaks Estate . It used to include the suburbs of Deakin , Yarralumla , Forrest and Red Hill . Electing five members to the Assembly, Murrumbidgee contains all
2304-528: Was the first satellite city to be built, separate from the district of Canberra Central . It has its own shopping centre, employment opportunities and accommodation with twelve suburbs arranged around the Woden Town Centre . At the 2021 census , the population of the district was 39,279. Following the transfer of land from the Government of New South Wales to the Commonwealth Government in 1911,
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