Parliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly (lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council (upper house).[2] General elections are held every 4 years, with all of the lower house and half of the upper house filled at each election. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government with the executive branch required to both sit in parliament and hold the confidence of the House of Assembly. The parliament is based at Parliament House on North Terrace in the state capital of Adelaide.
Parliament of South Australia
Governor of South Australia (as representative of the King)[a]
22 April 1857
since 7 October 2021
69
47 MHAs
22 MLCs
Government (28)
Labor (28)
Opposition (14)
Liberal (14)
Crossbench (5)
Independent (5)[b]
21 February 1851 as unicameral Legislative Council
9 March 1857 as bicameral parliament
Redistributions are carried out after each election by the South Australian Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission.
Unlike the federal parliament and the parliaments of most other states, the South Australian Constitution does not define the parliament as including either the monarch or the governor of South Australia as one of its constituent parts. However, the constitution also vests legislative power in the state's governor acting with the advice and consent of both houses of parliament,[3] making the role of the governor effectively the same as those of the other states.[1]
The parliament may make laws for any matter within South Australia, subject to the Constitution of South Australia. Its power is further limited by the ability for the federal parliament to override it in some circumstances, subject to the Constitution of Australia. Similarly, the Supreme Court of South Australia, and ultimately the High Court of Australia, provides judicial oversight of parliament. The parliament is also vested with other powers, such as the means to investigate matters, conduct research and summon witnesses.[4]
Resolution of deadlocks between the Houses[edit]
In the event that there is a conflict between the two Houses over legislation, the South Australian Constitution lays out a mechanism for how these deadlocks can be resolved.
Under section 41 of the South Australian Constitution, if a bill is passed by the House of Assembly during a session of parliament and in the following parliament after a general election for the lower house is rejected by the Legislative Council on both occasions, it is permitted for the Governor of South Australia to either issue a writ for the election of 2 additional members of the Legislative Council or to dissolve both Houses at the same time to elect an entirely new parliament.[42] This procedure is known as a double dissolution. As the upper house consists of 22 members, with 11 elected statewide at each general election for an 8-year term at a quota of 8.33%, this would result in an election for all 22 members at a quota of 4.35%. In the event of a double dissolution election, the 11 Legislative Councillors that would not have won their seats under an ordinary election go up for re-election at the first general election after only serving 3 years, rather than the usual 6 years.[43]
Although it has been threatened, this South Australian double dissolution procedure has never been used.[20][44]
Although the practice has mostly fallen out of favour in other parliaments that use a bicameral Westminster system, the South Australian parliament still regularly appoints a "Conference of Managers" from each House to negotiate compromises on disputed bills in private. The Conference Managers then prepare a report of recommendations that is submitted to both Houses.[45]