New South Wales Legislative Council

Upper house of the Parliament of New South Wales

Labor (15)

Opposition (15)
Liberal (10)
National (5)

Crossbench (12)
Greens (4)
Shooters, Fishers, Farmers (2)
Animal Justice (1)
Legalise Cannabis (1)
Libertarian (1)
One Nation (1)

Independent (2)^[a]

Length of term

8 yearsElections

Voting system

Single transferable vote

Last election

25 March 2023

Next election

2027Meeting place

Legislative Council Chamber
Parliament House, Sydney,
New South Wales, AustraliaWebsiteNSW Legislative Council

The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. It is normal for legislation to be first deliberated on and passed by the Legislative Assembly before being considered by the Legislative Council, which acts in the main as a house of review.

The Legislative Council has 42 members, elected by proportional representation in which the whole state is a single electorate. Members serve eight-year terms, which are staggered, with half the Council being elected every four years, roughly coinciding with elections to the Legislative Assembly.

History

The parliament of New South Wales is Australia's oldest legislature. It had its beginnings when New South Wales was a British colony under the control of the Governor, and was first established^[1] by the New South Wales Act 1823.^[2] A small, 5-member appointed Legislative Council began meeting on 25 August 1824 to advise the Governor on legislative matters. It grew to seven members in 1825, and between ten and fifteen in 1829. Under the Constitution Act 1843, the Legislative Council was expanded to 36 members, of which 12 were appointed by the Governor in the name of the Crown, and the remainder elected from among eligible landholders.^[3] In 1851, the council was enlarged to 54 members with 36 of its members elected by adult males who met certain property requirements and 18 appointed members.^[4] In 1856, under a new Constitution, the Parliament became bicameral with a fully elected Legislative Assembly and a fully appointed Legislative Council with a Government taking over most of the legislative powers of the Governor. The right to vote was extended to all adult males in 1858.^[5]

On 22 May 1856, the newly constituted New South Wales Parliament opened and sat for the first time. With the new 54-member Legislative Assembly taking over the council chamber, a second meeting chamber for the 21-member upper house had to be added to the Parliament building in Macquarie Street.^[1] In 1901, New South Wales became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia and many government functions were transferred to the new Commonwealth government. In 1902, women gained the right to vote and the current Constitution of New South Wales was adopted,^[5] and in 1918, reforms permitted women to be members of parliament.^[5]

In 1925, 1926 and 1929, Premier Jack Lang made attempts to abolish the Legislative Council, following the example of the Queensland Legislative Council in 1922, but all were unsuccessful. The debate did, however, result in another round of reforms, and in 1933, the law was changed so that a quarter of the Legislative Council was elected every three years by members of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, rather than being appointed by the Governor. In 1962 Indigenous Australians gained the unfettered right to vote in all state elections, over riding historical restrictions on some Aboriginal people voting such as protection orders.^[6] In 1978, the Council became a directly elected body in a program of electoral reform introduced by the Wran Labor government. The number of members was reduced to 45, although transitional arrangements meant that there were 43 members from 1978 to 1981, and 44 from 1981 to 1984. Further reform in 1991 by the Greiner Liberal-National government saw the size of the Legislative Council cut to 42 members, with half being elected every 4 years. In 1991, the Legislative Assembly reduced from 109 to 99 Members and then to 93 members in 1999.

As with the federal parliament and other Australian states and territories, voting in the election to select members for the council is compulsory for all New South Wales citizens over the age of 18. As the result of a 1995 referendum, every four years half the seats in the Council come up for election on the fourth Saturday in March, barring exceptional circumstances.

Opening of parliament

The King of Australia has a throne in the Legislative Council. Queen Elizabeth II opened the New South Wales Parliament on two occasions. The first was on 4 February 1954, as part of her first visit to Australia. It was the first time that the monarch of Australia had opened a session of any Australian parliament. The other occasion was on 20 February 1992, during her visit to Sydney to celebrate the sesquicentenary of the incorporation of the City of Sydney, on which occasion she stated:

This is my second opportunity to address this Parliament – a Parliament which I described on the previous occasion, in 1954, as the Mother Parliament of Australia. It is interesting to reflect that that was the first time on which the Sovereign had opened a Session of an Australian Parliament. I was also on my first visit to Australia as your Queen. I have returned to New South Wales eight times since then and am always delighted by the warm and generous hospitality accorded to Prince Philip and me by the people of this State. On this occasion I have come to join in commemorating Sydney's first one hundred and fifty years as a city.^[7]

Presidency of the Legislative Council

From 1846 to 1856 the title of the presiding officer was Speaker of the Legislative Council, and after that date it has been President of the Legislative Council.

Chamber

The Legislative Council chamber is a prefabricated cast-iron building, intended as an "iron store and dwelling with ornamental front", which had been manufactured in Scotland and shipped to Victoria. In 1856, when plans for a new chamber for the Legislative Council were not ready in time, this building was purchased and shipped to Sydney, where it was erected as an extension to Parliament House. The Legislative Council chamber is furnished in red, which follows the British tradition for the upper house.^[8]

Composition and powers

Proportional representation, with the whole state as a single electorate, means that the quota for election is small. This almost guarantees the representation of minor parties in the Legislative Council, including micro-parties that might attract less than 2% of the primary vote but are elected through preferences.

In the 1999 elections, a record number of parties contested seats in the council, resulting in an unwieldy ballot paper (referred to as the "table cloth" ballot paper), and a complex exchange of preferences between the numerous parties running candidates. As a result, party registration requirements have since been made more restrictive (e.g., requiring more voters as members, and a larger number of candidates to become eligible for a simple "above-the-line" voting box), and the replacement of party preference arrangements with optional preferential voting. This reduced the number of parties contesting elections and increased the difficulty for small, upstart parties to be elected, so that only six minor parties are now represented in the council (the Greens; One Nation; Shooters, Fishers and Farmers; Animal Justice; Legalise Cannabis and Liberal Democrats), along with Labor, Liberal, and National Party members.

Current distribution of seats (2023–2027)

Party	Current Council
Labor	15
Liberal	10
National	5
Greens	4
Independent^[a]	2
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers	2
Animal Justice	1
Legalise Cannabis	1
Libertarian	1
One Nation	1

The President of the Legislative Council has a casting vote should the result be equal from among those present eligible and choosing to vote. With 42 members, with one removed as president, a majority is 21 of the 41 possible of the whole 42.

Section 22I of the NSW Constitution states that "All questions arising in the Legislative Council shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the Members present other than the President or other Member presiding and when the votes are equal the President or other Member presiding shall have a casting vote."

Notes

^ ^a ^b Mark Latham and Rod Roberts

References

^ ^a ^b "Role and history of the Council". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
^ "Democratic Growth in New South Wales" (PDF). Parliament of New South Wales. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 June 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ "An Act to provide for the division of the Colony of New South Wales into Electoral Districts and for the Election of Members to serve in the Legislative Council.It is also the most important place in the parliament". Act No. 16 of 23 February 1843 (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
^ "An Act to provide for the division of the Colony of New South Wales after the separation of the District of Port Phillip therefrom into Electoral Districts and for the Election of Members to serve in the Legislative Council.". Act No. 48 of 2 May 1851 (PDF). Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "1856 to 1889 – Responsible Government and Colonial Development". Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
^ "The History of the Legislative Assembly". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
^ "The Queen's Speech". NSW Parliament – Hansard. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
^ Parliament of New South Wales: History Bulletin 1 "The Heritage Buildings of Parliament House". Sydney: Parliament of New South Wales. 2011.

External links

Official Website
Legislative Council on Twitter
Australia's Upper Houses - ABC Rear Vision A podcast about the development of Australia's upper houses into STV proportional representation elected chambers.
New South Wales Legislative Council Practice

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Assembly

v t e Members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Legislative Assembly	1856–1858 1858–1859 1859–1860 1860–1864 1864–1869 1869–1872 1872–1874 1874–1877 1877–1880 1880–1882 1882–1885 1885–1887 1887–1889 1889–1891 1891–1894 1894–1895 1895–1898 1898–1901 1901–1904 1904–1907 1907–1910 1910–1913 1913–1917 1917–1920 1920–1922 1922–1925 1925–1927 1927–1930 1930–1932 1932–1935 1935–1938 1938–1941 1941–1944 1944–1947 1947–1950 1950–1953 1953–1956 1956–1959 1959–1962 1962–1965 1965–1968 1968–1971 1971–1973 1973–1976 1976–1978 1978–1981 1981–1984 1984–1988 1988–1991 1991–1995 1995–1999 1999–2003 2003–2007 2007–2011 2011–2015 2015–2019 2019–2023 2023–2027
Legislative Council	1823–1843 1843–1851 1851–1856 1856–1861 1861–1864 1864–1869 1869–1872 1872–1874 1874–1877 1877–1880 1880–1882 1882–1885 1885–1887 1887–1889 1889–1891 1891–1894 1894–1895 1895–1898 1898–1901 1901–1904 1904–1907 1907–1910 1910–1913 1913–1917 1917–1920 1920–1922 1922–1925 1925–1927 1927–1930 1930–1932 1932–1934 1934–1937 1937–1940 1940–1943 1943–1946 1946–1949 1949–1952 1952–1955 1955–1958 1958–1961 1961–1964 1964–1967 1967–1970 1970–1973 1973–1976 1976–1978 1978–1981 1981–1984 1984–1988 1988–1991 1991–1995 1995–1999 1999–2003 2003–2007 2007–2011 2011–2015 2015–2019 2019–2023 2023–2027

v t e Government of New South Wales
Executive	Monarch Governor Lieutenant-Governor Executive Council Premier Deputy Premier Attorney General Treasurer Leader in the Legislative Council Cabinet Entities Police Local Government
Legislative	Parliament Legislative Assembly Speaker Leader MPs Electoral districts Legislative Council President MLCs Opposition Leader
Judicial	Chief Justice Solicitor General Supreme Court District Court Local Court Other courts and tribunals
Elections	2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 By-elections Electoral Commission Caretaker government
Political parties	Labor Coalition Liberal National Greens Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Animal Justice Legalise Cannabis Liberal Democrats One Nation Other parties

Current Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council

Labor (15)

Coalition (15)

Liberal (10)	Susan Carter Scott Farlow Aileen MacDonald Natasha Maclaren-Jones Taylor Martin Rachel Merton Jacqui Munro Chris Rath Damien Tudehope Natalie Ward
Nationals (5)	Wes Fang Sam Farraway Ben Franklin Sarah Mitchell Bronnie Taylor

Greens (4)

SFF (2)

Other (6)

v t e Former electoral districts of the New South Wales Legislative Council
Elections	1843 (results) 1848 (results) 1851 (results) by-elections
Members	1843–1851 1851–1856
Towns	Cumberland Boroughs North Eastern Boroughs Northumberland Boroughs Town of Parramatta Southern Boroughs City of Sydney Sydney Hamlets
Counties	Argyle Bathurst Camden Cook and Westmoreland Cumberland Durham Gloucester and Macquarie Gloucester, Macquarie, and Stanley Hunter, Brisbane and Bligh King and Georgiana Murray and St Vincent Murray, King and Georgiana Northumberland Northumberland and Hunter Phillip, Brisbane and Bligh Roxburgh and Wellington Roxburgh, Phillip and Wellington St Vincent and Auckland Western Boroughs
Pastoral districts	Clarence and Darling Downs Lachlan and Lower Darling Liverpool Plains and Gwydir Maneroo Murrumbidgee New England and Macleay Wellington and Bligh
Victoria	Town of Melbourne Port Phillip
Queensland	Pastoral Districts of Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett, and Maranoa County of Stanley Stanley Boroughs