Queensland

How it all started

• Queensland was not always a separate State. It was originally governed as part of New South Wales and was known as the Moreton Bay District.

• The people of the Moreton Bay District struggled for a number of years to gain self-rule, and in 1859 the area became a separate colony known as Queensland.

• In 1860 the first Queensland Parliament met. This Parliament was bicameral. The Upper House, called the Legislative Council, had 15 members all appointed by the Governor. The Lower House, the Legislative Assembly, had 26 members elected from 16 electorates by adult males who owned land in the colony or paid substantial rent.

• Queensland's first Parliament was a form of Responsible Government, but it was not a democratically elected parliament like the ones that other Australian colonies had at this time. The Constitution Act of 1869 passed by the Queensland Parliament brought together all the Acts which had been passed earlier to allow for Responsible Government.

• Queensland Premier, Samuel Griffith, played a major role in producing the first draft of the Australian Constitution in 1891. However, Queensland did not send delegates to the constitutional conventions held in 1897-98.

• Many Queenslanders, particularly those from Brisbane, were against the idea of federation. Federation would bring free trade between the states. Queensland business owners feared that their businesses would be harmed by competition from New South Wales once free trade started. In north and central Queensland, however, the federation movement was more popular. In the end, the strong federation vote in these two areas overcame those against federation in the Brisbane region.

About Parliament

• DID YOU KNOW Queensland's Parliament is the only State Parliament with one House, the Legislative Assembly. In 1922, the Theodore Labor Government abolished the Legislative Council, making Queensland's Parliament the first unicameral Parliament in Australia.

• There are currently 89 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), each from a single electoral division. MLAs are elected for three years.

• Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected using the optional preferential voting system.

Who votes?

• Voting in Queensland State elections is compulsory for all citizens aged 18 years or over, who have been living in the State for a month or more. The right to vote also is given to citizens of Great Britain who were enrolled to vote in Queensland between 1 May and 31 July 1983.

• Originally, the only people with the right to vote were adult males who owned land in the colony or paid substantial rent.

• After 1905, all men and women aged 21 and over who were British or naturalised to Queensland were allowed to vote. The same right was only given to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in 1965. The current voting rights came into effect in 1973.

State Government

• The Head of State of Queensland is the Queen who appoints the Governor as her representative. The Governor is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Premier. Since the Australia Act was passed by the Commonwealth Parliament and the British Parliament in 1986, there are no legal links between the Australian State Governors and the Government of England.

• The functions of the Governor fall mainly into three categories constitutional and statutory duties, formal ceremonial duties, and non-ceremonial social duties. One of the Governor's constitutional and statutory tasks is to give Assent to Bills which have been passed by Parliament. This must be done before a Bill can become law.

• The head of the Queensland Government is the Premier. The Premier is the leader of the party or coalition of parties that can command the most votes in the Legislative Assembly.

• The Premier is assisted by a group of Ministers who form the Cabinet. Ministers, who usually belong to the same party or coalition as the Premier, run a number of government departments, called a portfolio. Together with the Premier the Ministers make up the State's Executive Government.

Local Government

• Queensland has 157 local councils with a total of 1,400 members. These local government bodies include 18 city councils, 3 town councils, 104 Shire councils, and 15 Aboriginal and 17 Islander Community Councils.

• Queensland's local government bodies have the power to make laws called by-laws. They make decisions on local, town or city matters, such as street signs and traffic control; drains, footpaths; sports grounds; childcare centres, libraries; rubbish collection; animal control; building permits; and the collection of local taxes known as rates.

• Voting in council elections is compulsory for all people qualified to vote in State elections. Elections are held every three years in March.

• In local government areas, which are divided into a number of single-member divisions, councillors are elected using the optional preferential system. In areas which are single multi-member divisions, a first-past-the-post system is used.

• DID YOU KNOW The Brisbane City Council has the largest budget of any local government area in Australia and originally covered all of Brisbane - the city and its suburbs?

State symbols

Queensland has no official colours, but state sporting teams traditionally wear maroon.

	The shield depicted on the Queensland Coat of Arms was given to the colony in 1893 by Queen Victoria. The supporters, a red deer and a brolga, were assigned in 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II. The Latin motto 'Audax et Fidelis' is translated as 'Bold, Aye, and Faithful Too'.
	The Queensland flag became official in 1876. It consists of the blue ensign, showing the Southern Cross, with the union flag in the corner, and the State Badge. The current design came into use in 1953, when the crown on the badge was changed to the Crown of St Edward's.
	The State Badge shows a Maltese cross with the Crown of St Edward's in the centre on a white disc. The style of the crown in the middle of the cross is altered in keeping with the style of crown chosen by the King or Queen of England. The design was officially changed in 1954 following Queen Elizabeth II's choice of the St Edward's Crown for her coronation in 1952.
Reproduced with permission of the Queensland Parliament	Queensland's Parliament House is on the corner of George Street and Alice Street in Brisbane. It was opened in 1868 and is considered to be one of the finest buildings in Queensland. DID YOU KNOW: The original design of Parliament House included a porte cochere (carriage porch). However, due to a lack of money, this was not built until changes were carried out in 1979-82.
	In 1959 the Cooktown Orchid was made the State Flower Emblem of Queensland.
	The Koala was made the State Animal Emblem of Queensland in 1971.
	The Brolga was made the State Bird Emblem of Queensland in 1986.
	The Sapphire was made the State Gem Emblem of Queensland in 1985.

Fact file

Chartist checkbox

Queensland (Self-government from 1859)