Opposition (10)
43-826: Opposition Crossbench 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 Legislative Council has 15 members elected using preferential voting in 15 single-member electorates. Each electorate has approximately
86-557: A Legislative Council of six men appointed to advise the lieutenant governor of Van Diemen's Land who had sole governance of the colony. The Council initially held meetings in a room adjacent to the old Government House that was located near to the present site of Franklin Square , but by 1841 they relocated meetings to the 'Long Room' (now the Members' Lounge) in the Customs House. In 1850,
129-577: A compromise struck by the Governor between the colonists' demands for representative government and the Colonial Office 's wish to control the colony through the Governor. The first Speaker of the new Council was Sir Richard Dry . On 24 October 1856, an Act was proclaimed permitting the introduction of a bicameral , representative Parliament with the creation of the Tasmanian House of Assembly , where
172-556: A term of up to 4 years. The current distribution of seats is: The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Tasmanian Parliament. It has 15 members, each elected from a single-member electoral division . The boundaries of the divisions are reviewed by tribunal every 9 years. Elections are conducted annually on a 6-year periodic cycle; 3 divisions will be up for election in May one year, then 2 divisions in May
215-503: A vote in each house of parliament, so the Council's rights cannot be reduced, and it cannot be abolished, without its agreement. The Tasmanian Legislative Council has never been controlled by a single political party, with voters in Tasmania tending to elect independents over candidates endorsed by political parties. The Labor Party endorses candidates in some Legislative Council elections, and
258-517: Is a body that advises a head of state , typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government . The term "privy" (from French privé ) signifies private or secret. Consequently, a privy council, more common in the past, existed as a group of a ruling monarch's most trusted court advisors. Its purpose was to consistently provide confidential advice on matters of state. Despite the abolition of monarchy, some privy councils remained operational, while others were individually disbanded, allowing
301-677: Is almost unique in Australia. Other than at elections for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly , no other jurisdiction imposes expenditure limits on candidates. The New South Wales Act 1823 , passed by the British Parliament , separated Van Diemen's Land from New South Wales , making it a penal colony under the British Crown and Privy Council . The Van Diemen's Land Legislative Council
344-668: Is composed of four members, two from the HoA and two from the LC . The function of the Public Works Committee is to examine any proposed public work in Tasmania that will cost more than $ 5,000,000. The work cannot commence until the committee has passed it. The PWC examines the public value of the work, the necessity of the work, and whether it will produce revenue as expected. If the Committee decides that it does not meet these standards, then it has
387-505: Is elected from single-member districts. The reverse is the case in most of the rest of Australia; that is, the lower house is elected from single-member districts while the upper house is elected from multi-member districts. The Council has the power to block supply and force a government to election but cannot itself be dissolved early, because there is nothing in the Tasmanian constitution to allow that. The constitution can only be altered by
430-595: Is established by statute in Subordinate Legislation Committee Act 1969. This is also a joint committee, composed of three members from each house. The Subordinate Legislation Committee examines every regulation made by the executive. If the committee is of the view that the regulation does not comply with the Act under which it was made, it can refer the regulation to the parliament. Either the House of Assemble or
473-456: Is intended. The committee can establish its own inquiries, without parliamentary authorisation. The Committee is currently chaired by Independent member for Murchison, Ruth Forrest. One of the common functions of Australian upper houses is to scrutinise subordinate legislation . Subordinate legislation is necessary because the executive needs a means of creating rules more detailed than can be in legislation. The Subordinate Legislation Committee
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#1732852273523516-673: Is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania . It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the governor of Tasmania (as representative of the King ), the Legislative Council (the upper house), and the House of Assembly (the lower house). Since 1841, the Legislative Council has met in Parliament House, Hobart , with the House of Assembly following suit from its establishment in 1856. The Parliament of Tasmania first met in 1856. The powers of
559-571: Is the lower house of the Tasmanian Parliament. There are 35 members, with seven members elected from the five divisions. The divisions are: Bass , Braddon , Denison , Franklin , and Lyons . The Tasmanian House of Assembly electoral divisions share the same names and boundaries as the Australian House of Representatives divisions for Tasmania. Members are elected using the Hare-Clark voting system of multi-member proportional representation for
602-467: Is the most successful political party in the Council's history, having had a total of 20 members elected. The Liberal Party has maintained the view that the Legislative Council should not be a "party house", and has rarely endorsed candidates who have gone on to win a seat. However, the party has often tacitly backed independent conservatives, many of whom had previously been Liberal candidates or members at state or federal level. A former Liberal member of
645-463: Is unique in Australian politics, in that historically it is the only chamber in any state parliament to be significantly non-partisan . As of 2024, the chamber has a plurality of independents , although it has previously had an outright independent majority. Unlike other Australian state parliaments, the Tasmanian House of Assembly is elected from multi-member districts, while the Legislative Council
688-470: The Tasmanian Constitution Act , giving Van Diemen's Land responsible self-government and a new bicameral parliament . Queen Victoria granted Royal assent in 1855 and Van Diemen's Land became a self-governing colony. In the following year, 1856, one of the new parliament's first acts was to change the name of the colony from Van Diemen's Land to Tasmania . The Tasmanian House of Assembly
731-478: The British Parliament enacted the Australian Colonies Government Act , which gave Van Diemen's Land the right to elect its first representative government . The size of the Legislative Council was increased from six to 24. Eight members were appointed by the Governor, and 16 were elected by property owners. The new Legislative Council met for the first time in 1852, and by 1854 they had passed
774-494: The Hare-Clark system with multi-member seats, and introduced preferential voting to the Council. A redistribution in 1946 broke up Hobart and Launceston into single-member electorates. Suffrage was gradually expanded from the late 19th century onwards, with the property franchise being first eased and then abolished; ex-convicts, ex-servicemen and then women being granted the vote; the age of majority being reduced; and finally, full adult suffrage in 1968. The first woman to sit on
817-494: The Tasmanian House of Assembly . However the council wouldn't agree to any of these proposals. During Tony Rundle 's government the Legislative Council finally allowed passage of the Parliamentary Reform Bill 1998 , reducing the number of seats in the chamber from 19 to 15, and redistributing all seats through an independent Distribution Tribunal, abolishing a previous rural bias which had led to unequal seats. However,
860-515: The 2024 State Election. The Second Rockliff ministry consists of solely Liberal members. The island of Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania) was claimed and subsequently settled by the United Kingdom in 1803. Initially, it was administered by the governor of New South Wales , as part of that British Colony of New South Wales . In 1825, Van Diemen's Land became a separate British colony , administered separately from New South Wales , with
903-407: The Council was expanded to 24 members, with 16 elected by the voters and eight nominated by the Governor, who ceased to be a member. The franchise for these elections was extremely limited, with only men over 30 and who owned a certain amount of property eligible to vote. Former convicts, who made up a significant proportion of the colony's population, were not able to vote. The 1851 arrangements were
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#1732852273523946-496: The Council, Peter McKay , was first elected as an independent in 1976 but became a Liberal in 1991. Since 2009, the Liberal Party has endorsed candidates more frequently, but it has only ever had three endorsed members elected to the Legislative Council. At the 2009 Pembroke by-election , the endorsed Liberal candidate, Vanessa Goodwin , won the seat. The Tasmanian Greens endorse candidates in Legislative Council elections and won
989-456: The House of Assembly on this committee. This composition is unique in Australia where most Public Accounts Committees are dominated by lower house members. This committee is commonly referred to as the most powerful committee in an Australian Parliament. It has the power to look into any issue pertaining to the financials of the State, including government agencies, to ensure that money is going where it
1032-421: The Legislative Council can pass a resolution that disallows the regulation. This disallowance is not retrospective and will not affect the actions taken while the regulation was in effect. If neither House is sitting, then the Committee can force the authority which made the regulation to; amend the regulation to make it consistent with a model suggested by the Committee, rescind the regulation completely, or suspend
1075-543: The Legislative Council was Margaret McIntyre in 1948; the first woman to chair the upper house was Phyllis Benjamin in 1956. In the 1990s, various Tasmanian governments attempted to cut the size of parliament. Various reports proposed reducing the Tasmanian Legislative Council from 19 seats to 15. Others including the Morling Report proposed abolishing the Council and merging some of the electorates into
1118-699: The MLCs on one Committee and half on the other. These are composed entirely of Legislative Councilors. Sessional Committees are always sitting and can examine any issue relating to the Ministry for which they are responsible, or any bill referred to it by the Legislative Council. An example of a Sessional Committee is the 'Legislative Council Sessional Committee Government Administration A: Sub-Committee Fin Fish Farming in Tasmania' which held its first hearing on 11 February 2020. This Sessional Committee terms of reference indicate it
1161-720: The Parliament are prescribed in the Constitution of Tasmania . Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, Tasmania has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia , and the Constitution of Australia regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under the Australian Constitution, Tasmania ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas. The leader of
1204-607: The Presiding Officer in the Legislative Council was known as the Speaker. Sir Richard Dry was the first elected to hold this position. As part of wider parliamentary changes the title was changed in 1856 to President. The current President of the Legislative Council is Derwent MLC Craig Farrell . The Public Accounts committee is a Joint Committee, meaning that it is composed of members from both houses of parliament. Currently, there are three Legislative Councilors and three Members of
1247-425: The Tasmanian Legislative Council are: A review of Legislative Council division boundaries is required every 9 years to maintain a population variation of less than 10% between the divisions. This ensures that each member of the Legislative Council represents approximately the same number of electors. Redistribution reviews also take into account the community interest of each division. The most recent redistribution
1290-504: The committee. Select Committees can be either Joint Committees or single house committees. Estimates Committee is considered to be a select committee. The Estimates committees are established by the Legislative Council Standing Orders as a way to ‘examine and report’ on the proposed expenditure in an appropriation (money) bill. It allows the executive to be scrutinised as Independent MLCs can gather facts, consult with
1333-575: The following year and so on. As such, each member will normally serve a term of 6 years. The current distribution of seats (updated post 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election is: Senate House of Rep. Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Assembly Assembly 42°53′07″S 147°19′49″E / 42.88528°S 147.33028°E / -42.88528; 147.33028 Privy Council A privy council
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1376-418: The names of those whom they did not wish to vote for. Members were elected for a six-year term, and terms were staggered in such a way that two or three members' terms expired each year and elections were held in the first week of May. In the event of resignation or death of a member during their term, a by-election would be held to complete their term. Reforms in 1907 saw the House of Assembly switch to using
1419-557: The party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly is invited by the governor to form the Government and become the premier of Tasmania . Throughout its history, the Tasmanian Parliament frequently had members who previously served in Federal Parliament proportionally more so than the other state and territory parliaments. The Government currently consists of a Liberal Lambie minority government , formed after
1462-501: The power of the executive government resided, and the abolition of nominee positions on the Council. The Speaker's position was renamed President. A distinctive feature of the Act is that it did not enable the Governor to dissolve the Legislative Council. Like other democratic upper houses of that period, it was established using single-member electorates elected using the first-past-the-post system, with Hobart and Launceston being multi-member electorates. Voters would simply cross off
1505-517: The power to prevent work going ahead. The Committee can also suggest changes to a project. In 2015, the Committee examined the proposal to replace the St Pauls River Bridge outside Avoca . The committee recommended that the new bridge was built but suggested that the old bridge be retained for pedestrian access bridge. There are two Legislative Council Sessional Committees, Government Administration A and Government Administration B with half
1548-522: The public and hold the executive accountable for the actions they are taking in their budgets. This is especially important as the LC cannot amend money bills. Senate House of Rep. Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Assembly Parliament of Tasmania Crossbench (11) Opposition (3) Crossbench (8) The Parliament of Tasmania
1591-506: The regulation until both Houses of Parliament have dealt with the report of the Committee. The Subordinate Legislation Committee is not intended to examine the political effect of the regulation, rather they simply examine whether the regulation is clear, conforms with the Act under which it was made, and does not impinge on judicial jurisdiction. The Public Works committee is created under the Public Works Committee Act 1914 and
1634-414: The same number of electors. A review of Legislative Council division boundaries is required every 9 years; the most recent was completed in 2017. Election of members in the Legislative Council are staggered . Elections alternate between three divisions in one year and in two divisions the next year. Elections take place on the first Saturday in May. The term of each MLC is six years. Tasmanian's upper house
1677-411: The seat of Hobart at the 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election , their first and only Legislative Council success. Candidates for Legislative Council elections are required by law to restrict their expenditure to a specified limit ($ 10,000 in 2005; increasing by $ 500 per year). In addition, no other person or political party may spend money to promote a specific candidate. This requirement
1720-506: The seats were not named after their geographic location, often using land district or county names unfamiliar to most residents, so considerable confusion for voters ensued in determining which seat they were located in. At the 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election , Cassy O'Connor became the first Tasmanian Greens member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council . The 15 single-member electoral divisions of
1763-552: Was completed in 2017 which saw the electorates of Apsley and Western Tiers abolished, and the establishment of the McIntyre and Prosser electorates. The current distribution of seats (updated post 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic elections ) is: When the Legislative Council of Van Diemen's Land was created in 1825 it was a fully nominated body with the Lieutenant-Governor as Presiding Officer. Between 1850 and 1856
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1806-664: Was created in 1825 as an advisory body to the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land . The Legislative Council consisted of six members chosen by the Lieutenant-Governor, who continued to report to the Governor of New South Wales . An Imperial Act in 1828 enabled its expansion to 15 members, with the Lieutenant-Governor as Presiding Officer. The Council remained fully nominative until the Australian Colonies Government Act came into effect in Van Diemen's Land on 21 October 1851, when
1849-537: Was established to examine the implementation of the Sustainable Industry Growth Plan for the Salmon Industry in Tasmania. Select Committees are established to conduct an inquiry on one specific issue and then normally cease to exist once they have tabled their final report. The Standing Orders of the LC governs these Committees and the LC can confer powers to examine witnesses or issue summons upon
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