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 and the 22-seat Legislative Council. 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.
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, making the role of the governor effectively the same as those of the other states.
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.
History
Early colonial period and establishment
At the founding of the Province of South Australia under the South Australia Act 1834, governance of the new colony was divided between the Governor of South Australia and a Resident Commissioner, who reported to a new body known as the South Australian Colonization Commission. Under this arrangement, there was also a governing Council comprising the Governor, the Judge or Chief Justice, the Colonial Secretary, the Advocate-General and the Resident Commissioner, with broad legislative and executive powers including the imposition of rates, duties, and taxes. This council was sometimes referred to as the "Legislative Council". Confusion and dispute about the division of power between the two roles led to the South Australia Government Act 1838, which combined the role of Resident Commissioner with that of the Governor.In 1842, the South Australia Act 1842 was passed in order to replace the South Australian Colonisation Commission appointed in 1834 with a more standard British model of government, with a Governor advised by a Legislative Council. The 1842 Act gave the British Government, which was responsible for appointing a Governor and at least seven other officers to the Legislative Council, full control of South Australia as a Crown Colony, after financial mismanagement by the first administration had nearly bankrupted the colony. This new Legislative Council was the first true parliamentary body in South Australia. The Act also made provision for a commission to initiate the establishment of democratic government, electoral districts, requirements for voting rights, and terms of office. Although the old governing Council advising the Governor met at Government House, this new Legislative Council met at a new purpose built chamber on North Terrace. This chamber eventually grew into what is now known as "Old Parliament House".
The Australian Colonies Government Act 1850 was a landmark development which granted representative constitutions to New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania and the colonies enthusiastically set about writing constitutions which produced democratically progressive parliaments with the British monarch as the symbolic head of state. In 1851 elections for the Legislative Council were held. The new Council consisted of 24 members, four official and four non-official members, both nominated by the governor on behalf of the Crown, and 16 elected members chosen from single-member districts. The right to vote for these positions was not universal, however, being limited to propertied men. In addition, the reforms meant that the Governor no longer oversaw proceedings, with the role being filled by a Speaker who had been elected by the members.
In 1853 the Legislative Council sent London a Parliament Act 1853 that provided for a new constitution that established a bicameral parliament with an elected lower house and an upper house made up of members nominated for life. The colonists were mistakenly under the impression that only such a scheme would be acceptable to the British Government. The Governor, Sir Henry Young, had been advised that this was not the case but he kept this information to himself. The colonists were furious and 5,000 petitioned Westminster to give them two elected houses. The offending constitution was returned and in 1855, a new Legislative Council was elected with a mandate to establish something far more radical and democratic than had been seen in the British Empire before.
This was expressed by the Constitution Act 1856 establishing the constitution of the Parliament of the Province of South Australia.
Responsible government
This Constitution Act provided for a bicameral parliament with full authority to enact laws, apart from a few Acts requiring the monarch's personal Royal Assent. The 18-member Legislative Council was elected by property owners only, while the 36-member House of Assembly was elected by a full male franchise. The Act also provided for a system of responsible government, where the members of the executive branch must sit in parliament and, by convention, can only remain in office while they hold the confidence of a majority of the members of the House of Assembly. It was the first Constitution in the Australian colonies to provide "manhood" suffrage. The adoption of the "one man, one vote" principle also removed the ability of voters to vote in any electorate in which they owned property. The Act also defined the rules of tenure for the parliamentarians.Later in 1856, in preparation for responsible government, the old Legislative Council passed an Electoral Act providing for the secret ballot system of voting to be used for the new parliament, also known as the Australian Ballot.
The first bicameral parliament of South Australia was elected on 9 March 1857, with Boyle Travers Finniss as the inaugural Premier of South Australia responsible to parliament. The parliament first sat on 22 April 1857.
Until 1887, membership of parliament was an unpaid position as members were expected to be able to support themselves through other means. This changed with the passage of the Payment of Members Act 1887 that set an annual salary of 200 pounds for members of both Houses who were not ministers. This rate has subsequently continued to evolve with the rate now set by an independent remuneration tribunal.
In 1889, the House of Assembly moved out of the original Parliament House and took up residence in a new building constructed next door. Due to costs, this "New Parliament House" would remain unfinished for 50 years while the Legislative Council continued to be housed in the original Parliament House.
Women gained the right to vote and stand for election in 1895, taking effect at the 1896 election. Once passed, South Australia become the fourth state in the world to give women the vote and the first to give women the right to be elected to parliament.
After federation
South Australia became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, following a vote to federate with the other British colonies of Australia. One consequence of federation was that the powers of the Parliament of South Australia were limited by the provisions of the Constitution of Australia, with some powers transferred to the federal parliament. Another consequence was a bit of a "brain drain", with many of the parliament's most prominent members moving to the federal sphere.From 1857 to 1933, the House of Assembly was elected from multi-member districts, commonly known as "seats," with each district returning between one and six members. The size of the Assembly grew during the colonial period—36 members from 1857 to 1875, 46 members from 1875 to 1884, 52 members from 1884 to 1890, 54 members from 1890 to 1902.
In response to the Federation of Australia, the House of Assembly was reduced to 42 members from 1902 to 1912 and 40 members from 1912 to 1915 after the Northern Territory was ceded to federal administration. From 1915 to 1938 the size was again increased to 46 members.
The Legislative Council half of the "New Parliament House" was finally completed in 1939, 50 years after the House of Assembly portion of the building.
Playmander years
One distinctive aspect of the history of the South Australian parliament was the "Playmander", a pro-rural electoral malapportionment introduced by the incumbent Liberal and Country League government, and in place for 32 years from 1936 to 1968. The already entrenched rural overweighting was increased to a 2:1 ratio, the number of MPs was reduced to 39 and the multi-member seats were abandoned for single-member seats. The House of Assembly now consisted of 26 low-population rural seats, which due to population shifts, were holding up to a 10-to-1 advantage over the 13 high-population metropolitan seats, even though rural seats contained only a third of South Australia's population. At the peak of the malapportionment in 1968, the rural seat of Frome had 4,500 formal votes, while the metropolitan seat of Enfield had 42,000 formal votes.Labor managed to win enough parliamentary seats to form government just once during the Playmander against the odds − in 1965. Labor won comprehensive majorities of the statewide two-party vote whilst failing to form government in 1944, 1953, 1962 and 1968.
More equitable boundaries were subsequently put in place following the 1968, 1975, and 1989 elections. Since 1975, the distribution of the 47 electoral boundaries has been set by the South Australian Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission, an independent body. Since a referendum in 1991, boundaries have been redistributed after each election. Previously they were redistributed after every third election. There are currently 34 in the Adelaide metropolitan area and 13 in rural areas. These seats are intended to represent approximately the same population in each electorate.