South Australia
About Parliament | History | State symbols | Chartist checkbox | Did you know?
About Parliament
- South Australia's Parliament has two Houses. The Upper House is the Legislative Council. The Lower House is the House of Assembly. There are important differences between the two Houses. The government of the day is formed in the Lower House. The Upper House is often called 'the House of Review'.
- There are currently 22 Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs). For Legislative Council elections, the whole State of South Australia acts as a single electorate from which all MLCs are elected. That is, there are no separate electorates or provinces. All voters may choose to vote for any of the available candidates.
- To ensure that not all the MLCs are changed at once, eleven Members are elected at each Legislative Council election. Casual vacancies are filled by people chosen at a joint sitting of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly.
- Members of the House of Assembly are known as MHAs. One MHA is elected by each of South Australia's 47 electoral districts.
- Members of both Houses are elected by secret ballot. Members of the House of Assembly are elected using a preferential voting system, while Members of the Legislative Council are elected under a form of proportional representation. The term for both Houses is four years.
- Elections for the South Australian Parliament are held on the third Saturday in March, four years after the previous elections. All citizens aged 18 and over are entitled to enrol to vote.
Histroy
- South Australia was first settled by Europeans in 1836. It was to be a planned settlement without convicts.
- From 1842, it was administered by an eight Member Legislative Council consisting of the Governor and seven nominated Members.
- In 1851, the Legislative Council was enlarged to 24 Members. Eight of these Members were chosen by the Governor while 16 were elected by adult males who owned land or paid rent in the colony.
- The South Australian Constitution Bill was passed by the Legislative Council in 1855 and was agreed to by Britain in 1856. This Bill created a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly.
- Responsible government began in South Australia in 1857. In this year, the 18 Members of the Legislative Council were elected by adult males who owned land in the colony. All adult males were allowed to vote for the 36 Member House of Assembly.
- South Australians voted for federation by a very large majority. The Premier, Charles Kingston, was a strong supporter of federation and played an important role in drafting the Australian Constitution. Although he was the leader of a colony with a very small population, Kingston was not in favour of a strong federal Senate. He supported the efforts made by Victoria and New South Wales to limit the power of the Senate to control money.
State symbols
The Department of the Premier and Cabinet, South Australia has given permission for their State's insignia and emblems to be reproduced for educational purposes.
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The South Australian Coat of Arms was granted in 1984 by Queen Elizabeth II, replacing Arms granted by King Edward VIII in 1936. The shield shows the State Badge, the State's Floral Emblem, and the State Colours. |
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The South Australian flag was made official on 13 January 1904. It consists of the blue ensign with the Union Flag in the corner and the State Badge. |
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The State Badge was made official in 1904. It shows the piping shrike, or magpie, standing on a gum tree staff. |
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The State's official colours are red, blue and gold. |
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The Parliament House of South Australia is on the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, next to the site of the first, original building. Built of Kapunda marble on granite, the Parliament House was constructed in two stages, 50 years apart. |
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In 1961 the Sturt's Desert Pea was made the State Flower Emblem of South Australia. |
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The Hairy-nosed, or Plains Wombat, was made the State Animal Emblem in 1970. |
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Opal was adopted as the Gemstone Emblem of South Australia in 1985. |
Chartist checkbox
South Australia (Self-government from 1857)
| Democratic right |
Date right achieved for Assembly |
| Universal adult male suffrage |
1856 |
| Secret ballot |
1856 |
| Annual parliament |
Not implemented |
| No property qualifications for Members of Parliament |
1856 |
| Payment of Members of Parliament |
1887 |
| Equal Electorates |
1975 Electorates can vary by 10% |
| Adult female suffrage |
1894 |
| Voting rights for Indigenous Australians |
Indigenous men received the right to vote with other British Subjects as the right was acquired for some colonial parliaments in the 1850s; and Aboriginal women acquired the right on the same terms as other women as the franchise was widened in some colonies and states. Other prohibitions and qualifications, and bureaucratic interpretation, however, sometimes conspired to deny Indigenous people the exercise of the right. |
Did you know?
- Until 1942, voting in elections for both South Australian Houses of Parliament was voluntary. In 1942, voting in House of Assembly elections was made compulsory for all people listed on the State electoral roll. These conditions were applied to the Legislative Council in 1985.
- Enrolment to vote in South Australian State elections is voluntary. However, once enrolled, electors must vote. As it is compulsory to enrol to vote for the Commonwealth Parliament, and as South Australia and the Commonwealth share a common roll, in effect enrolment is compulsory for citizens aged 18 and over.
- In 1894, South Australia became the first Australian State to give women the right to vote and to stand for Parliament.
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