The Parliament of Queensland is the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. 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 Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

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 Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. All laws applicable in Queensland are authorised by the Parliament of Queensland, with the exception of specific legislation defined in the Constitution of Australia, very limited criminal law applying under the Australia Act 1986 as well as a small volume of remaining historical laws passed by the Parliament of New South Wales and the Imperial Parliament. Following the outcome of the 2015 election, successful amendments to the electoral act in early 2016 include: adding an additional four parliamentary seats from 89 to 93, changing from optional preferential voting to full-preferential voting, and moving from unfixed three-year terms to fixed four-year terms.

History

The Parliament was founded 22 May 1860, less than a year after the Colony of Queensland was created in June 1859. It was convened at military and convict barracks converted for the purpose located on

Queen Street, Brisbane Queen Street is the main street of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. It is named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. The western part of the street is covered by a new plaza at the base of Brisbane Square and underneath ...

. Immigration was an important issue for the early Parliament. Population growth was encouraged with new settlers enticed by land ownership. In 1915, Queensland became the first state to make voting compulsory at state elections. Since 1 April 2003, live audio broadcasts have streamed through the internet from the Parliament while it is in session. In June 2007, the Parliament started broadcasting video of parliamentary proceedings. Nine in-house television cameras are used to record sessions. The first female

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

Fiona Simpson Fiona Stuart Simpson (born 18 April 1965 in Sea Lake, Victoria) is an Australian politician serving as Liberal National Party (LNP) member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, representing Maroochydore since 1992. Simpson served as Speaker ...

was elected on 15 May 2012.

Membership

The Assembly has 93 Members of Parliament (MPs). These are intended to represent approximately the same population in each electorate. Voting is by the

Full Preferential Voting One of the ways in which ranked voting systems vary is whether an individual vote must express a minimum number of preferences to avoid being considered invalid ("spoiled" or "informal"). Possibilities are: * Full preferential voting (FPV) requir ...

system (FPV), with elections held approximately once every three years. In April 2016, legislation was passed to increase the number of seats in the parliament by four to a total of 93. An amendment was also passed to abolish optional preferential voting. A referendum held the previous month was passed, supporting a bill to establish fixed four-year terms.

Royal assent

The role of the monarch in Parliament is to give

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

to legislation. This function is in practice exercised by the

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

, who conventionally will never refuse assent to a bill that has passed the Legislative Assembly. The party or coalition with the most seats in the house is invited by the Governor to form a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

. The leader of that party subsequently becomes Premier of Queensland, leading a

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

of Ministers. In the Liberal National Party, the Premier selects members of their party to act as Ministers. In the Labor Party, the Ministers are elected by partyroom ballot, with the Leader then assigning ministerial portfolios to each one.

Operations

Once all winning candidates have been declared, the

proclaims a date for the start of the new Parliament. It is the role of the Clerk of the Parliament to call members to attendance. According to the Constitution of Queensland, members of Parliament must swear an oath or affirmation to the Monarch of Australia as well as an oath of office before signing a Roll of Members. The Clerk of the Parliament has the power to swear in members. Sworn-in representatives are required to elect a Speaker to preside over the House's business. Before this occurs the Clerk may select and point to the next member who may speak. Once elected the Speaker is dragged to the chair and presented to the Governor at Government House. The ceremonial opening of the new Parliament is marked by a speech by the Governor. Traditionally the speech is written by the new government and it may outline current activities, budget details, statistics and proposed lists of legislation which are intended to be introduced. Speakers Chair

A day in Parliament usually begins with housekeeping matters, including prayers, notifications and the tabling of any documents. An opportunity is then given to Ministers to make statements. During a period of no more than an hour, known as question time, any member may pose a question to a Minister.

Distribution of seats

As of 31 October 2020, the composition of Parliament is: * 47 votes as a majority are required to pass legislation.

References

External links

* {{Authority control

1860 establishments in Australia