Queensland Legislative Assembly
From Freepedia
The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. It consists of the Legislative Assembly. It is the only unicameral state parliament in the country, the upper chamber, the Legislative Council, having been abolished in 1922. The Legislative Assembly sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Brisbane.
The Assembly has 89 'Members of Parliament' (MPs). These are intended to represent approximately the same population in each electorate. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting system (OPV). Elections are held approximately once every three years.
The Governor of Queensland is not a member of the Parliament of Queensland. Nor is the Governor elected. The Governor's position is a Vice-Regal one, with the Governor of Queensland representing the Monarch (Queen Elizabeth II), as Head of State, in Queensland. Among the Governor's vice-regal duties are the opening of Parliament and the signing of Acts which are passed by the Queensland Parliament.
The party or coalition with the most seats in the house is invited by the Governor to form government.
The leader of that party subsequently becomes Premier of Queensland, leading a Cabinet of Ministers. Among the National and Liberal parties, the Premier selects members of their party to act as Ministers. In the Labor Party, the Ministers are elected by partyroom ballot, with the Leader then assigning ministerial portfolios to each one.
A by-election took place on August 20 for the electorates of Chatsworth and Redcliffe following the resignations of Deputy Premier Terry Mackenroth and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Ray Hollis. Both formerly safe Labor seats saw Liberal members Michael Caltabiano (Chatsworth) and Terry Rogers (Redcliffe) elected.
Current distribution of seats
| Party | Seats held |
|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party | 61 |
| National Party of Australia | 15 |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 7 |
| One Nation Party | 1 |
| Independent | 5 |
See also
- Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
- List of members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
Categories: Articles to be merged | Government of Queensland | Australian parliaments | Legislatures of subnational entities
