The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...
Parliament of Victoria in
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 ...
; the upper house being the
Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at
Parliament House in
Spring Street Spring Street may refer to:
* Spring Street (Los Angeles), USA
* Spring Street (Manhattan), New York City, USA
* Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia
* Spring Street, Singapore
* Spring St (website), a US based lifestyle website
Subway and trolle ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
.
The presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly is the
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 ...
. There are presently 88 members of the Legislative Assembly elected from single-member divisions.
History
Victoria was proclaimed a Colony on 1 July 1851 separating from the
Colony of New South Wales by an act of the British Parliament. The Legislative Assembly was created on 13 March 1856 with the passing of the ''Victorian Electoral Bill'',
five years after the creation of the original
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 ...
Legislative Council. The Assembly first met on 21 November 1856,
[ and consisted of sixty members representing thirty-seven multi and single-member electorates.]
Membership and elections
The Legislative Assembly presently consists of 88 members, each elected in single-member electoral districts, more commonly known as electorates or seats, using preferential voting, which is the same voting system used for the federal lower house, the Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.
The term of members of ...
. Members represent approximately the same population in each electorate.
Since 2006, members of the Legislative Assembly are elected for a fixed term of 4 years, with elections occurring on the last Saturday of November every 4 years. There are no limits to the number of terms for which a member may seek election. Casual vacancies are filled at a by-election.
Current membership
Distribution of seats
Officials
Speaker
At the beginning of each new parliamentary term, the Legislative Assembly elects one of its members as a presiding officer, known as the Speaker. If the incumbent Speaker seeks a new term, then the House may re-elect him or her merely by passing a motion; otherwise, a secret ballot is held. In practice, the Speaker is usually a member of the governing party or parties, who have the majority in the House. The Speaker continues to be a member of his or her political party, but it is left to their individual discretion as to whether or not they attend party meetings. The Speaker also continues to carry out his or her ordinary electorate duties as a member of Parliament and must take part in an election campaign to be re-elected as a member of Parliament.
A Deputy Speaker is also elected by the Assembly, who supports and assists the Speaker in the execution of their duties.
Non-member officials
The Legislative Assembly is also supported by a department of civil servants who provide procedural and administrative advice on the running of the Assembly, and performs other functions. The head of the department is the Clerk of the Assembly, who is assisted by a deputy clerk, an assistant clerk committees and an assistant clerk procedure.[Staff of the Legislative Assembly]
/ref>
The Assembly is also assisted by a serjeant-at-arms
A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, ...
, who at present also holds the position of assistant clerk procedure.[
]
2022 Victorian election
Results
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; margin-bottom:0"
, +Legislative Assembly ( IRV) – ( CV)Freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...
, 61,812
, 1.71
, +1.71
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Victorian Socialists
, 48,865
, 1.35
, +0.91
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Democratic Labour
, 42,385
, 1.17
, +0.48
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Liberal Democratic
, 12,791
, 0.35
, +0.23
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Shooters, Fishers and Farmers
, 11,588
, 0.32
, −0.37
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, lang ...
, 10,907
, 0.30
, −0.06
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Pauline Hanson's One Nation
Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON or ONP), also known as One Nation or One Nation Party, is a right-wing populist political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson.
One Nation had electoral success in the late 1990s, before sufferin ...
, 8,077
, 0.22
, +0.22
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
, 7,927
, 0.22
, −0.04
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Legalise Cannabis
, 5,838
, 0.16
, +0.16
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", New Democrats
, 4,874
, 0.13
, +0.13
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Angry Victorians
, 3,037
, 0.08
, +0.08
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Health Australia
, 862
, 0.02
, +0.02
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Transport Matters
, 605
, 0.02
, −0.27
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Companions and Pets
, 526
, 0.01
, +0.01
, 0
,
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Independents
, 196,796
, 5.44
, −0.63
, 0
, 3
, -
! colspan="8" ,
, -
, colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" , Total valid votes
, 3,617,000
, 94.59
, –
, –
, –
, -
, colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" , Invalid/blank votes
, 211,791
, 5.53
, –
, –
, –
, -
, colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" , Total
, 3,828,791
, 100
, –
, 87
,
, -
, colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" , Registered voters / Turnout
, 4,394,465
, 87.13
, –
, –
, –
, -
! colspan="8" , Two-party-preferred vote*
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Labor
, 1,989,350
, 55.00
, −2.30
, 56
, 1
, -
, ,
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="2", Coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
, 1,627,650
, 45.00
, +2.30
, 27
,
* TPP votes are calculated based on the estimate provided by the ABC election computer overseen by Antony Green.
Procedure
Most legislation is initiated in the Legislative Assembly. The party or coalition with a majority of seats in the lower house is invited by the Governor to form government. The leader of that party subsequently becomes Premier of Victoria, and their senior colleagues become ministers responsible for various portfolios. As Australian political parties traditionally vote along party lines, almost all legislation introduced by the governing party will pass through the legislative assembly.
Committees
* Privileges Committee
* Standing Orders Committee
See also
*2018 Victorian state election
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...
* List of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
* List of elections in Victoria
* List of Victorian state by-elections
* Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
Notes
References
External links
VLA Hansard Assembly Members ListElections since 1856Roles
{{Political parties in Victoria (Australia)
Parliament of Victoria
Victoria
1856 establishments in Australia