Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly
57th Victorian Parliament
Type
Type	Lower house
Leadership
Speaker	Ken Smith, Liberal since 21 December 2010
Deputy Speaker	Christine Fyffe, Liberal since December 2010
Manager of Government Business	Andrew McIntosh, Liberal since December 2010
Manager of Opposition Business	Jacinta Allan, Labor since December 2010
Government Whip	David Hodgett, Liberal since December 2010
Opposition Whip	Marlene Kairouz, Labor since March 2011
Structure
Members	88
Political groups	Her Majesty's Government     Liberal (35)     National (10) HM Most Loyal Opposition     Labor (43)
Committees	Standing *Privileges Committee *Standing Orders Committee
Elections
Last election	27 November 2010
Meeting place
Parliament House, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Website
www.parliament.vic.gov.au

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.

History

The State of Victoria was proclaimed in 1851 originally as a Colony of the United Kingdom, separating the land from that of New South Wales by an act of the British Parliament. The Legislative Assembly was created in 1855, four years after the creation of the Legislative Council.

Membership and Elections

The Assembly consists of 88 members, each coming from a single-member electorate. These are commonly known as seats. They are intended to represent approximately the same population in each electorate. Voting is by the preferential system, as with the equivalent federal chamber, the Australian House of Representatives.

Each member is elected for a fixed term of 4 years, with elections occurring on the last Saturday of November every 4 years. There are no limits to the number of terms for which a member may seek election.

Current Membership

Main article: Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, 2010–2014

Main article: Electoral districts of Victoria

Distribution of Seats by Party

Legislative Assembly seat outcome of the Victorian 2010 election

Party			Seats held	Percentage of Assembly
Liberal/National Coalition
		Liberal Party	35	39.77
		National Party	10	11.36
	Sub-Total		45	51.13
	Australian Labor Party		43	48.86
Total			88	100

Officials

At the beginning of each new parliamentary term, the Legislative Assembly elects one of its members as a presiding officer, known as the Speaker. If the incumbent Speaker seeks a new term, then the House may re-elect him or her merely by passing a motion; otherwise, a secret ballot is held. In practice, the Speaker is usually a member of the governing party or parties, who have the majority in the House. The Speaker continues to be a member of his or her political party, but it is left to their individual discretion as to whether or not they attend party meetings. The Speaker also continues to carry out his or her ordinary electorate duties as a member of Parliament and must take part in an election campaign to be re-elected as a member of Parliament.

A Deputy Speaker is also elected by the Assembly, who supports and assists the Speaker in the execution of their duties.

Non-Member Officials

The Legislative Assembly is also supported by a department of civil servants who are not elected members of Parliament and who provide procedural and administrative advice on the running of the Assembly. The head of the department is the Clerk of the Assembly. The Clerk is assisted by the Deputy Clerk, the Assistant Clerk Committees and the Assistant Clerk Procedure.

The Assembly is also assisted by the Serjeant-at-Arms, at present the positions of Assistant Clerk Procedure and Serjeant-at-Arms are filled by the same person.

2010 Victorian Election

Results

Main article: Victorian state election, 2010

Victorian state election, 2010 Legislative Assembly << 2010 — 2014 >>
Enrolled Voters		3,582,232
Votes Cast		3,329,865		Turnout	92.96	+0.23
Informal Votes		165,134		Informal	4.96	+0.40
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Liberal	1,203,654	38.03	+3.59	35	+12
	Labor	1,147,348	36.25	–6.81	43	–12
	Greens	354,697	11.21	+1.17	0	±0
	National	213,492	6.75	+1.58	10	+1
	Family First	72,354	2.29	–2.00	0	±0
	Country Alliance	42,938	1.36	+1.36	0	±0
	Democratic Labor	28,176	0.89	+0.89	0	±0
	Sex Party	17,252	0.55	+0.55	0	±0
	Socialist Alliance	1,787	0.06	+0.02	0	±0
	Christian Democrats	636	0.02	+0.02	0	±0
	Other	82,395	2.60	+0.31	0	–1
Total		3,164,729			88
Two-Party Preferred
	Coalition		51.58	+5.96
	Labor		48.42	–5.96

The Liberal/National government was sworn in on 2 December 2010. Daniel Andrews replaced Brumby as Labor leader on 3 December.

Procedure

Most legislation is initiated in the Legislative Assembly. The party or coalition with the most seats in the lower house is invited by the Governor to form government. The leader of that party subsequently becomes Premier of Victoria, and their senior colleagues become ministers responsible for various portfolios. As Australian political parties traditionally vote along party lines, most legislation introduced by the governing party will pass through the Legislative Assembly.

Committees

• Privileges Committee
• Standing Orders Committee

See also

• List of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories

External links

• VLA Hansard
• Assembly Members List
• Roles