Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
Encyclopedia
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
(ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building
Legislative Assembly Building, Canberra
The ACT Legislative Assembly Building, also known as the South Building, is located on the southern side of Civic Square, London Circuit, Civic in the Australian Capital Territory....
located on Civic Square, close to the centre of the city
City Centre, Australian Capital Territory
The central business district of Canberra, Australia's capital city, is officially named City . However it is also referred to as Civic, Civic Centre, City Centre, Canberra City and Canberra ....
of Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
It was created by four acts of the Commonwealth Parliament in 1988, including the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988
Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988
The Australian Capital Territory Act 1988 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia enacted on 6 December 1988, that establishes ‘a body politic under the Crown by the name of the Australian Capital Territory’ and is the Territory’s constitutional foundation.From 1930 the ACT was administered by...
. The first election
Australian Capital Territory legislative election, 1989
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 4 March 1989. This was the first direct election by voters in the Australian Capital Territory for their own legislative body....
was held on 4 March 1989 and the assembly first sat on 11 May that year. Until this point, the ACT had been directly administered by the Commonwealth Government. It replaced the House of Assembly
Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly
The Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly was the main elected representative body of the Australian Capital Territory between 1975 and 1986, when preparations began to be made for the granting of self-government to the Territory...
(also known for a period as the Legislative Assembly), which existed from 1976 to 1986, but had no executive power, with a principal function of advising the Commonwealth on matters relating to the Territory.
The Legislative Assembly has 17 members, elected for four-year terms by the Hare-Clark system, a variation of the Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
form of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. The 17 members come from three constituencies—Brindabella
Brindabella electorate
The Brindabella electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has five seats, and is the largest of the electorates in geographic area.-History:...
and Ginninderra
Ginninderra electorate
The Ginninderra electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has five seats, and is the smallest of the electorates in geographic area.-History:...
, which have five members, and Molonglo
Molonglo electorate
The Molonglo electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has seven seats, and is the largest of the electorates in terms of population.-History:...
, which has seven members. The Assembly was originally elected by a modified d'Hondt
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
system, but a 1992 referendum supported the Hare-Clark
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
method, and this was introduced in 1993.
Members of the Legislative Assembly vote to elect a Chief Minister
Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
The Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of party with the largest representation of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usually takes on the role...
—in practice, the leader of whichever party can form government. The Chief Minister, in turn, selects up to five ministers to form a cabinet. The leader of the second-largest party in the assembly usually becomes the Leader of the Opposition.
The ACT is unique among Australian states and territories, as it has no vice-regal post exercising authority as the representative of the Head of State, such as a Governor
Governors of the Australian states
The Governors of the Australian states are the representatives of the Queen of Australia in each of that country's six states. The Governors perform the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level...
or an Administrator
Administrator of the Northern Territory
The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to exercise powers analogous to that of a state governor...
. Instead, the functions of the head of the Executive—commissioning government, proroguing parliament and enacting legislation—are exercised by the Assembly itself and by the Chief Minister. Instead of vice-regal or regal assent, a Bill passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly is enacted on ‘notification’—publication of a notice authorised by the Chief Minister, in the Government Gazette.
Election dates for the Assembly are fixed in legislation, with elections held in October every four years (until 1997, elections were held in February). Elections are always held on Saturdays. The term of the Assembly was increased in 2004 from three to four years.
As with the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral parliament of the Northern Territory in Australia. It sits in Parliament House, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of Darwin.-History:...
, the ACT Assembly lacks the full powers of a state legislature. As a result, legislation passed by the Assembly can be overruled by a Commonwealth act of Parliament or by the Governor-General acting on the advice of the Commonwealth government. Although this is rare in practice, the Civil Unions Act, which allowed same-sex couples to enter into "civil unions" was overruled following concerns that the civil unions mimicked marriage. In July 2006, the federal Government again threatened the ACT Stanhope
Jon Stanhope
Jonathan Ronald Stanhope is a former Australian politician who was Labor Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2001 to 2011. Stanhope represented the Ginninderra electorate in the ACT Legislative Assembly from 1998 until 2011. He resigned as Chief Minister on 12 May 2011 and as...
Government to overrule its anti-terror legislation, which was not consistent with other state laws. The Commonwealth also retained control of the Territory's justice system until handing it over to the Assembly in 1992. The Assembly has the functions of a local council and the city of Canberra has no other local government.
Current distribution of seats
Australian Capital Territory general election, 2008
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 18 October 2008. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Zed Seselja. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single...
| Electorate | Seats held | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molonglo Molonglo electorate The Molonglo electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has seven seats, and is the largest of the electorates in terms of population.-History:... (7) |
|||||||
| Ginninderra Ginninderra electorate The Ginninderra electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has five seats, and is the smallest of the electorates in geographic area.-History:... (5) |
|||||||
| Brindabella Brindabella electorate The Brindabella electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has five seats, and is the largest of the electorates in geographic area.-History:... (5) |
|||||||
See also
- Parliaments of the Australian states and territoriesParliaments of the Australian states and territoriesThe Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia. Before the formation of the Commonwealth in 1901, the six Australian colonies were self-governing, with parliaments which had come into existence at various...
- Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative AssemblyMembers of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative AssemblyFollowing are lists of members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly:*Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, 1989–1991*Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, 1992–1995...