Australian Senate
Type	Upper house
President	Alan Ferguson, Liberal since 14 August 2007, with John Hogg, Labor from 1 July 2008[1]
Members	76
Political groups	Coalition (39) ALP (28) Green (4) Democrat (4) FFP (1)
Last elections	24 November 2007
Meeting place	Parliament House, Canberra, ACT
Web site	Senate

The Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. An upper house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Lower house. The President of the Australian Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The Hon Alan Baird Ferguson (born 16 September 1943 Australian politician has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since May 1992 representing The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. For other people of this name see John Hogg (disambiguation. The Hon "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a pragmatic grouping of Centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922 The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor Political party in Australia. Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia. Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. } The Australian Capital Territory (ACT is the Capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and its smallest self-governing internal territory An upper house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Lower house. The Parliament of Australia or Commonwealth Parliament is the legislative branch of government of Australia. The lower house is known as the House of Representatives. A lower house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Upper house. The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate Senators, popularly elected under a system of proportional representation, serve terms of six years. Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation or PR is a category of electoral formula aiming at a close match between the percentage of votes ^[2] Significant power is conferred upon the Senate by the Australian Constitution, including the capacity to block legislation initiated by the government in the House of Representatives, making it a distinctive hybrid of British Westminster bicameralism and an American separation of powers. The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates The Westminster system is a democratic Parliamentary system of Government modelled after the British government (the Parliament of the United Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance

Contents 1 Origins and role 2 Where the houses disagree 3 Blocking Supply 4 The membership of the Senate 4.1 Voting system 4.1.1 Senate Ballot Paper 4.2 Size 4.3 The "Unrepresentative" House? 4.4 Parties in the Australian Senate 5 The Senate in practice 5.1 The work of the Senate 5.2 Holding governments to account 5.3 Votes in the Senate 5.3.1 Political parties and voting outcomes 6 The composition of the Senate 6.1 Party composition 6.1.1 Historical 6.1.2 Recent results 7 See also 8 References 8.1 Further reading 8.2 External links

Origins and role

Australia

This article is part of a series about the Politics and government of Australia

Federal Government Executive • Queen (Elizabeth II) • Governor-General (Michael Jeffery) • Prime Minister (Kevin Rudd) • Cabinet • Federal Executive Council Legislative • Parliament    • Senate    • House of Representatives    • Opposition Leader (Brendan Nelson) • Elections    • Federal electoral system    • Electoral divisions    • Election of 1901 · 1972 · 1974 ·      1975 · 1977 · 1980 · 1983 · 1984 ·      1987 · 1990 · 1993 · 1996 · 1998 ·      2001 · 2004 · 2007 · next Judicial • High Court • Lower Courts • Constitution

State and territory governments Executive • Governors and Administrators • Premiers and Chief Ministers Legislative • Parliaments and Assemblies • State electoral systems    • ACT · NSW · NT · Qld · SA · Tas ·      Vic · WA

Local government

Major political parties Greens · Labor · Country Liberal · Family First · Liberal · National

Foreign relations

Other countries · Atlas  Politics Portal view • talk • edit

The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 established the Senate as part of the new system of dominion government in newly-federated Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Politics of Australia take place within the framework of parliamentary democracy. This article describes the federal government of Australia See Australian governments for other jurisdictions In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. TalkCommonewalth realm.-->The monarchy For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the monarch of Australia (currently Elizabeth II Queen of Australia) Major General Philip Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC (born 12 December[[ 937]] was the 24th Governor-General of Australia The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Federal Executive Council is the formal body holding executive authority under the Constitution of Australia. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The Parliament of Australia or Commonwealth Parliament is the legislative branch of government of Australia. The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate This is a List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition, who in Australian Federal Politics is a Member of Parliament in the Brendan John Nelson, MP (born 19 August 1958 is an Australian politician and former Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia, as leader See also Politics of Australia Australia elects a Legislature the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia using various electoral systems see This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. The Australian House of Representatives is elected from 150 single-member districts called Divisions. Background Following the federation of 1856 - New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria 1857 - South Australia Issues The 1972 Election was largely focused on domestic policy issues and the role of the federal government in resolving these issues Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975 All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for Background and Issues The election is remembered for the "fistful of dollars" advertisements run by the government offering tax cuts to voters Issues The mood in the electorate was moving against the Fraser Government by 1980 Background The coalition government led by Malcolm Fraser had to contend with a parlous economic situation with high inflation and high unemployment Federal elections were held in Australia on 11 July 1987 following the granting of a double dissolution on 5 June by the Governor-General Sir House of Reps preference flows The Democrats contested 138 electorates with preferences slightly favouring Labor (54 Results House of Representatives preference flows The Nationals had candidates in 13 seats where Three-cornered-contests existed Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 November, 2001. Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13 The next Australian federal election will elect members of the 43rd Parliament of Australia and must be held on or before 16 April 2011 In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. There are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian Courts the federal stream and the state and territory stream The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates The Commonwealth of Australia is made up of 8 states and territories controlled under a federal system of government In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. The Governors of the Australian states are the representatives in the six states of Australia of Australia's monarch Queen Elizabeth II. The Premiers of the Australian states are the de facto heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Commonwealth of Australia. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia. For elections to the Australian Parliament see the Australian electoral system. } The Australian Capital Territory (ACT is the Capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and its smallest self-governing internal territory The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then The Northern Territory of Australia is governed according to the principles of the Westminster system, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the Queensland Government. The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then The form of the Government of Tasmania is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1890 although it has been amended many times since then Australia has two tiers of subnational government state (or territory government and local government. Political parties in Australia lists political parties in Australia. The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. The Country Liberal Party (CLP is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the Liberal and National parties The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor Political party in Australia. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The foreign relations of Australia have spanned from the country's time as Dominion and later Realm of the British Empire to become steadfastly allied with Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities under sovereign authority within the British Empire and From a comparative governmental perspective, the Australian Senate exhibits distinctive characteristics, in that unlike upper houses in other Westminster system governments, the Senate is not a vestigial body with limited legislative power, but rather it was intended to play, and does play, an active role in legislation. The Westminster system is a democratic Parliamentary system of Government modelled after the British government (the Parliament of the United Rather than being modelled after the House of Lords, as the Canadian Senate was, the Australian Senate was in part modelled after the United States Senate, by giving equal representation to each state. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" The Senate of Canada (Le Sénat du Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives The Constitution intended to give less populous states added voice in a Federal legislature, while also providing for the revising role of an upper house in the Westminster system.

Although the Prime Minister, by convention, serves as a member of the House of Representatives, other ministers may come from either house, and the two houses have almost equal legislative power. The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate As with most upper chambers in bicameral parliaments, the Senate cannot introduce Appropriation Bills (bills that authorise government expenditure of public revenue) or bills that impose taxation, that role being reserved for the lower house. In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral An appropriation bill or supply bill is a legislative motion ( Bill) which authorizes the Government to spend money That degree of equality between the Senate and House of Representatives is in part due to the age of the Australian constitution – it was enacted before the confrontation in 1909 in Britain between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which ultimately resulted in the restrictions placed on the powers of the House of Lords by the Parliament Act – but also reflected the desire of the Constitution's authors to have the upper house act as a 'stabilising' influence on the expression of popular democracy (much as the colonial Legislative Councils functioned as at the time). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" The Parliament Acts are two Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1911 and 1949 that form part of the Constitution of the United A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies The smaller states also desired strong powers for the Senate as a way of ensuring that the interests of more populous states as represented in the House of Representatives did not totally dominate the government.

In practice, however, most legislation (except for Private Member's Bills) in the Australian Parliament is initiated by the Government, which has control over the lower house. A Private Member's Bill is a proposed Law introduced by a backbench member of Parliament, whether from the government or the opposition side to that It is then passed to the Senate, which may amend the bill or refuse to pass it. In the majority of cases, voting takes place along party lines, although there are occasional conscience votes. In Politics, the line or the party line is an Idiom for a Political party or Social movement 's canon Agenda A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are each expected to vote according to their own personal conscience rather

Where the houses disagree

There are detailed conventions and rules regarding situations in which the Senate and the House of Representatives disagree. If the Senate repeatedly refuses to pass legislation initiated in the lower house, the Government may either abandon the bill, continue to revise it, or, in certain circumstances, dissolve the entire parliament in a double dissolution. This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. This is followed by an election at which all seats in the parliament are contested. If the government is returned, the bills in question are reintroduced, and they again fail to pass the Senate, the government may call a joint sitting of the two houses in an attempt to pass the bills.

On 8 October 2003, the Prime Minister John Howard initiated public discussion of whether the mechanism for the resolution of deadlocks between the houses should be reformed. See also Howard Government John Winston Howard AC (born 26 July 1939 was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March High levels of support for the existing mechanism, and a very low level of public interest in that discussion, resulted in the abandonment of these proposals. ^[3]

Blocking Supply

The constitutional text denies the Senate the power to originate or amend appropriation bills, in deference to the conventions of the classical Westminster system, under which the executive government is responsible for its use of public funds to the lower house, which has the power to bring down a government by blocking its access to Supply – i. The Westminster system is a democratic Parliamentary system of Government modelled after the British government (the Parliament of the United In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. Loss of supply occurs where a government in a Parliamentary democracy using the Westminster System or a system derived from it is denied a supply of treasury or exchequer e. revenue appropriated through taxation. In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services The arrangement as expressed in the Australian Constitution, however, still leaves the Senate with the power to reject supply bills or defer their passage – undoubtedly one of the Senate's most contentious and most powerful abilities.

The ability to block Supply was the origin of Australia's most significant constitutional crisis, that of 1975. A constitutional crisis is a severe breakdown in the orderly operation of Government. The Opposition used its numbers in the Senate to defer supply bills, refusing to deal with them until an election was called for both Houses of Parliament, an election which it hoped to win. Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government particularly in a Westminster -based Parliamentary system The Prime Minister of the day, Gough Whitlam, contested the legitimacy of the blocking and refused to resign. The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916 known as Gough Whitlam (ˈɡɒf goff is an Australian former politician and 21st The crisis brought to a head two Westminster conventions that, under the Australian constitutional system, were in conflict – firstly, that a government may continue to govern for as long as it has the support of the lower house, and secondly, that a government that no longer has access to Supply must either resign or be dismissed. A lower house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Upper house. The crisis was resolved in November 1975 when Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Whitlam's government and appointed a caretaker government on condition that elections for both houses of parliament be held. John Kerr may refer to one of the following Government and politics John Kerr (Governor-General (1914&ndash1991 Australian Governor-General This action in itself was a source of controversy and debate continues on the proper usage of the Senate's ability to block Supply and on whether such a power should even exist.

The membership of the Senate

Under the Constitution, the Senate must:

• comprise an equal number of Senators from each original state;
• have at least six Senators per state;
• contain a total number of Senators that is as close as possible to half the number of members of the House of Representatives; and
• ensure any laws governing the election of Senators is non-discriminatory among states.

These conditions have periodically been the source of debate, and within these conditions, the composition and rules of the Senate have varied significantly since federation.

Voting system

The voting system for the Senate has changed twice since it was created. The original arrangement involved a first past the post block voting mechanism. The plurality voting system is a Single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member This was replaced in 1919 by preferential block voting. Block voting tended to grant landslide majorities and even "wipe-outs" very easily. A landslide is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement such as rock falls deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows which can occur In 1946, the Australian Labor Party government won 33 out of the 36 Senate seats. In 1948, partially in response to this extreme situation, proportional representation became the method for electing the Senate. Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation or PR is a category of electoral formula aiming at a close match between the percentage of votes

Senate Ballot Paper

The Australian Senate voting paper under the single transferable vote system resembles this example, which shows the candidates for Tasmanian senate representation in the 2004 federal election. Single transferable vote (STV is a preferential Voting system designed to minimize Wasted votes and provide Proportional representation Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member

Senate election – Tasmania
A [_] Liberal	B [_] CEC	C [_] Democrats	D [_] Family First	E [_] CDP	F [_] Ind. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The Citizens Electoral Council of Australia ( CEC) is a minor nationalist political party in Australia affiliated with the international LaRouche Movement The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology The Christian Democratic Party (CDP is a minor Political party in Australia.	G [_]	H [_] Greens	I [_] ALP	Ungrouped
[_] Abetz E [_] Barnett G [_] Parry S	[_] Larner R [_] Watts A	[_] Onsman Y [_] Cass S	[_] Petrusma J [_] Bergman L [_] Smith L	[_] Mitchell D [_] Fracalossi M	[_] Murphy S	[_] Martin S [_] Newman J	[_] Milne C [_] Cassidy K [_] Millen T	[_] O'Brien K [_] Polley H [_] Price D [_] Wells N	[_] Newitt R [_] Gargan E [_] Ottavi D [_] McDonald J

Electors must either:

• Vote for an individual party by writing the number "1" in a single box above the line – this means the elector wants their preferences distributed according to a party's or group's officially registered ticket. The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. Eric Abetz (born 25 January 1958 in Stuttgart, Federal Republic of Germany) has been a Liberal Party member of the Australian Guy Barnett (born 4 April 1962) has been a Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate since February 2002 representing the state of Stephen Shane Parry (born 31 October 1960) Australian politician has been a Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate since July Shayne Michael Murphy (born 8 January 1952) Australian politician was a member of the Australian Senate, representing Tasmania, from Christine Anne Milne is an Australian Senator from the Australian Greens. Kerry Williams Kelso O'Brien (born 19 July 1951) Australian politician has been a member of the Australian Senate for the state of Helen Beatrice Polley ( February 9, 1957) is an Australian Labor Party Senator for the state of Tasmania, since July 1 A ticket refers to a single Election choice which fills more than one Political office or seat
• Vote for all candidates by writing the numbers 1, 2, 3, through to the last number (in this example, 26) in all the individual boxes below the line.

Because each state elects 6 senators at each half-senate election, the quota for election is only 1/7th or 14. 3% (1/3rd or 33. 3% for territories, where only 2 senators are elected). Once a candidate has been elected with votes reaching the quota amount, any votes they receive in addition to this may be distributed to other candidates as preferences.

Some states may have upwards of 70 candidates on their ballot papers, and the voter must individually number every single candidate for a "below the line" vote to count. As a result the "above the line" system was implemented. Over 95% of electors vote "above the line".

The ungrouped candidates in the far right column do not have a box above the line. Therefore they can only get a primary (number 1) vote from electors who vote below the line. For this reason, some independents register as a group, either with other independents or by themselves, such as groups F and G in the above example.

Size

The size of the Senate has changed over the years. The Australian Constitution requires that the number of Senators approximate as nearly as possible to half of the number of members of the House of Representatives, and it has therefore grown periodically. The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates The Constitution originally provided for six Senators for each state, and thus a total of 36 senators. This was increased to ten Senators per state (and a total of 60) in 1948. In 1975, the two territories, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, elected 2 Senators each for the first time, bringing the number to 64. The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent as well as the central northern regions } The Australian Capital Territory (ACT is the Capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and its smallest self-governing internal territory The last expansion took place in 1984, under which the number of senators from each state increased from 10 to 12, and the entire Senate to 76. ^[4] The Senators from the Northern Territory also represent constituents from Australia's Indian Ocean Territories (Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands), while the Senators from the Australian Capital Territory also represent voters from the Jervis Bay Territory. The Territory of Christmas Island is a small territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean, 2600 kilometres (1600 mi northwest of The Jervis Bay Territory is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia.

Normally, senators and members of the House of Representatives are elected at the same time, although their terms do not coincide. Slightly more than half of the Senate is contested at each general election (half of the 72 state senators, and all four of the territory senators), along with the entire House of Representatives. State senators are normally elected for fixed terms of six years, commencing on 1 July following the election, and ceasing on 30 June six years later. The terms of the four senators from the territories are not fixed, but are defined by the dates of the general elections for the House of Representatives, the period between which can vary greatly, to a maximum of three years and three months. Members of the lower house commence their terms on election day, and their terms expire the day prior to the following general election day ^[5]. As a result, the new Parliament will for some time comprise a new House of Representatives and a substantially old, lame-duck Senate. A lame duck is an elected official who loses political power or is no longer responsive to the Electorate as a result of losing an election or retiring

Following a double dissolution, all 76 senators face re-election. This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. There have been elections at which only half the Senate was up for election. The last time this occurred was on 21 November 1970.

The "Unrepresentative" House?

As a body intended to provide equal representation to smaller states, the Senate (like many upper houses) necessarily does not adhere to the principle of "one vote one value"; Tasmania, with a population of 450,000, elects the same number of Senators as New South Wales, which has a population of 6-7 million. " One man one vote " is a slogan used in pointing out a perceived imbalance in a given voting system Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass Perhaps because of this imbalance, Prime Minister Paul Keating famously referred to the Senate's members as "unrepresentative swill". Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944 was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, from 1991 to 1996 ^[6] Nevertheless, the proportional election system within each state ensures that the Senate incorporates more political diversity than the lower house, which is basically a two party body. A two-party system is a form of Party system where two major Political parties dominate voting in nearly all Elections at every The elected membership of the Senate more closely reflects the first voting preference of the electorate as a whole than does the composition of the House of Representatives, despite the large discrepancies from state to state in the ratio of voters to Senators. ^[7][8] This often means that the composition of the Senate is different to that of the House of Representatives, contributing to the Senate's function as a house of review. An upper house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Lower house.

Parties in the Australian Senate

The overwhelming majority of Senators have always been elected as representatives of political parties. Parties which currently have representation in the Senate are:

• Australian Democrats (until July 2008)
• Australian Greens
• Australian Labor Party
• Family First Party
• The Coalition (Liberal/National/CLP)

Parties which have held Senate seats in the past include the Democratic Labor Party, Liberal Movement, One Nation and the Nuclear Disarmament Party. The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor Political party in Australia. The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a pragmatic grouping of Centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922 The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The Country Liberal Party (CLP is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the Liberal and National parties The Democratic Labor Party (abbreviated as the DLP was an Australian Political party that existed from 1955 until 1978 The Liberal Movement ( LM) was a minor South Australian political party in the 1970s Not to be confused with the One Nation program of infrastructure works carried out from 1991 to 1996 by the Keating Labor Government The Nuclear Disarmament Party ( NDP) is a political party in Australia. The Australian Democrats won no seats in the 2007 federal election, and will have no federal representation after the current senators' terms end in June 2008. The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13

Due to the need to obtain votes state-wide, independent candidates have difficulty getting elected. The exceptions in recent times have been the Tasmanian Brian Harradine and the South Australian Nick Xenophon. Brian Harradine (born 9 January 1935) Australian Politician, was an independent member of the Australian Senate from 1975 to 2005 Nicholas (Nick Xenophon, originally Nicholas Xenophou, (born 29 January 1959 in Adelaide) is a South Australian barrister anti-gambling

The Australian Senate serves as a model for some politicians in Canada, particularly in the Western provinces, who wish to reform the Canadian Senate to take a more active legislative role. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Senate of Canada (Le Sénat du Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general

There is also a small faction in the United Kingdom (both from the right and left) whom wish to the see the House of Lords take on a structure similar to that of the Australian Senate.

The Senate in practice

The work of the Senate

The Australian Senate typically sits for 50 to 60 days a year. ^[9] Most of those days are grouped into 'sitting fortnights' of two four-day weeks. These are in turn arranged in three periods: the autumn sittings, from February to April; the winter sittings, which commence with the delivery of the budget in the House of Representatives on the first sitting day of May and run through to June or July; and the spring sittings, which commence around August and continue until December, and which typically contain the largest number of the year's sitting days.

In addition to the work of the main chamber, the Senate also has a large number of committees which deal with matters referred to them by the Senate. This article is about committees of the Senate For consideration of bills 'in committee' see Committee of the Whole The committees of the Australian Senate are These committees also conduct hearings three times a year in which the government's budget and operations are examined. These are known as estimates hearings. Traditionally dominated by scrutiny of government activities by non-government senators, they provide the opportunity for all senators to ask questions of ministers and public officials. This may occasionally include government senators examining activities of independent publicly-funded bodies, or pursuing issues arising from previous governments' terms of office. There is however a convention that senators do not have access to the files and records of previous governments when there has been an election resulting in a change in the party in government.

The senate has a regular schedule that structures its typical working week. ^[10]

Holding governments to account

One of the functions of the Senate, both directly and through its committees, is to scrutinise government activity. This article is about committees of the Senate For consideration of bills 'in committee' see Committee of the Whole The committees of the Australian Senate are The vigour of this scrutiny has been fuelled for many years by the fact that the party in government has seldom had a majority in the Senate. Whereas in the House of Representatives the government's majority has sometimes limited that chamber's capacity to implement executive scrutiny, the opposition and minor parties have been able to use their Senate numbers as a basis for conducting inquiries into government operations. When the Howard government won control of the Senate in 2005, it sparked a debate about the effectiveness of the Senate in holding the government of the day accountable for its actions. Government members argued that the Senate continues to be a forum of vigorous debate, and its committees continue to be active. ^[11] The Opposition leader in the Senate suggested that the government had attenuated the scrutinising activities of the Senate. ^[12] The Australian Democrats, a minor party which has frequently played mediating and negotiating roles in the Senate, expressed concern about a diminished role for the Senate's committees. The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology ^[13]

Votes in the Senate

Senators are called upon to vote on matters before the Senate. These votes are called divisions in the case of Senate business, or ballots where the vote is to choose a Senator to fill an office of the Senate (such as President of the Australian Senate). The President of the Australian Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. ^[14]

Party discipline in Australian politics is extremely tight, so divisions almost always are decided on party lines. The Politics of Australia take place within the framework of parliamentary democracy. Nevertheless, the existence of minor parties holding the balance of power in the Senate has made divisions in that chamber more important and occasionally more dramatic than in the House of Representatives.

When a division is to be held, bells ring throughout the parliament building for four minutes, during which time Senators must go to the chamber. At the end of that period the doors are locked and a vote is taken, by identifying and counting senators according to the side of the chamber on which they sit (ayes to the right of the chair, noes to the left). The whole procedure takes around eight minutes. Senators with commitments that keep them from the chamber may make arrangements in advance to be 'paired' with a senator of the opposite political party, so that their absence does not affect the outcome of the vote.

The senate contains an even number of Senators, so a tied vote is a real prospect (which regularly occurs when the party numbers in the chamber are finely balanced). Section 23 of the Constitution requires that in the event of a tied division, the question is resolved in the negative. The system is however different for ballots for offices such as the President. If such a ballot is tied, the Clerk of the Senate decides the outcome by the drawing of lots. The Clerk of the Australian Senate is the head of the Department of the Senate which is the parliamentary department supporting the work of the Australian Senate. In reality, conventions govern most ballots, so this situation does not arise.

Political parties and voting outcomes

The extent to which party discipline determines the outcome of parliamentary votes is highlighted by the rarity with which members of the same political party will find themselves on opposing sides of a vote. The exceptions are where a conscience vote is allowed by one or more of the political parties; and occasions where a member of a political party crosses the floor of the chamber to vote against the instructions of their party whip. A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are each expected to vote according to their own personal conscience rather In Politics, crossing the floor is to vote against party lines especially where this is considered unusual or controversial Whip is a role in party-based politics whose primary purpose is to ensure control of the formal decision-making process in a parliamentary legislature

One feature of the government having a majority in both chambers between 1 July 2005 and the 2007 elections was the potential for an increased emphasis on internal differences between members of the government parties. ^[15] This period saw the first instances of crossing the floor by Senators since the conservative government took office in 1996:^[16] Gary Humphries on civil unions in the Australian Capital Territory, and Barnaby Joyce on voluntary student unionism. Gary John Joseph Humphries (born 6 July 1958 is a member of the Australian Senate from the Australian Capital Territory. Barnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce (born 17 April 1967) Australian politician has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate ^[17] A more significant potential instance of floor crossing was averted when the government withdrew its Migration Amendment (Designated Unauthorised Arrivals) Bill, of which several government Senators had been critical, and which would have been defeated had it proceeded to the vote. ^[18] The controversy that surrounded these examples demonstrated both the importance of backbenchers in party policy deliberations and the limitations to their power to influence outcomes in the Senate chamber. For other meanings see Backbench A backbencher is a Member of Parliament (MP or a legislator who does not hold governmental

The composition of the Senate

Main articles: State-by-state upper house results, Members of the Australian Senate, 2005-2008, Members of the Australian Senate, 2008-2011

The election results of the most recent federal election, were as follows:

Senate (STV GV) — Turnout 95. The following tables show state-by-state results in the Australian Senate at the 2007 federal election, 37 coalition (32 Liberal, four National Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13 Single transferable vote (STV is a preferential Voting system designed to minimize Wasted votes and provide Proportional representation Group voting tickets are a way to simplify Preferential voting, for example in a single transferable vote election 17% (CV) — Informal 2. Compulsory voting requires electors to Vote in Elections or attend a polling place on voting day In Voting, a Ballot is considered to be spoilt, void, null or informal if it is regarded by the Election authorities 55%^[19][20]

	Party	Votes	%	Swing	Seats Won	Seats Held	Change
	Australian Labor Party	5,101,200	40. 30	+5. 28	18	32	+4
	Liberal/National coalition[21]	5,055,095	39. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a pragmatic grouping of Centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922 94	–5. 15	18	37	–2
	Australian Greens	1,144,751	9. The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. 04	+1. 38	3	5	+1
	Family First Party	204,788	1. The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor Political party in Australia. 62	–0. 14	0	1	0
	Australian Democrats	162,975	1. The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology 29	–0. 80	0	0	–4
	Independents	174,458	1. 38	*	1	1	+1
	Other	813,538	6. 43	–0. 21	0	0	0
	Total	12,656,805			40	76

Independents: Nick Xenophon

The new Senators, and thus the new composition of the Senate, commence their terms in July 2008. Nicholas (Nick Xenophon, originally Nicholas Xenophou, (born 29 January 1959 in Adelaide) is a South Australian barrister anti-gambling

Party composition

Historical

The Senate has included representatives from a range of political parties, including several parties that have seldom or never had representation in the House of Representatives, but which have consistently secured a small but significant level of electoral support, as the table shows. ^[22]

Year	Total	ALP	Coalition	Democrats	Greens	Other
1974-1975	60	29	29			2 (Townley, 1 LM)
1975-1978	64	27	35			2 (Harradine, 1 LM)
1978-1981	64	26	35	2		1 (Harradine)
1981-1983	64	27	31	5		1 (Harradine)
1983	64	30	28	5		1 (Harradine)
1984	76	34	33	7		2 (Harradine, 1 NDP)
1987-1990	76	32	34	7		3 (Harradine, Vallentine, 1 NDP)
1990-1993	76	32	34	8	1	1 (Harradine)
1993-1996	76	30	36	7	2	1 (Harradine)
1996-1999	76	28	37	7	2	2 (Harradine, Colston )
1999-2002	76	29	35	9	1	2 (Harradine, 1 One Nation)
2002-2005	76	29	35	8	2	2 (Harradine, 1 One Nation)
2005-2008	76	28	39	4	4	1 (Family First)
2008-2011	76	32	37	0	5	2 (Nick Xenophon, 1 Family First)

Recent results

The 2004 result meant that, from 1 July 2005 until the 2007 general election, the party governing in the House of Representatives also had a majority of votes in the Senate. The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a pragmatic grouping of Centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922 The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. Michael Townley (born 4 November 1934) is a former Tasmanian senator. The Liberal Movement ( LM) was a minor South Australian political party in the 1970s Brian Harradine (born 9 January 1935) Australian Politician, was an independent member of the Australian Senate from 1975 to 2005 The Nuclear Disarmament Party ( NDP) is a political party in Australia. Josephine Vallentine (b May 30, 1946) is a peace activist and a former Australian Senator for Western Australia. Dr Malcolm Arthur Colston (5 April 1938 &ndash 23 August 2003 Australian Politician, was a Senator in the Parliament of Australia representing Not to be confused with the One Nation program of infrastructure works carried out from 1991 to 1996 by the Keating Labor Government Nicholas (Nick Xenophon, originally Nicholas Xenophou, (born 29 January 1959 in Adelaide) is a South Australian barrister anti-gambling This government majority meant that, for the first time in a generation, a government did not generally have to negotiate with other political parties if it wanted to secure passage of legislation through parliament.

Party	02-08	05-11	ACT & NT	Parliament 05-08
Liberal/National coalition	18	19	2	39
Australian Labor Party	12	14	2	28
Australian Democrats	4	0	0	4
Australian Greens	2	2	0	4
Family First	0	1	0	1
Total	36	36	4	76

The 2007 election resulted in changes in the composition of the Senate, which come into effect on 1 July 2008. The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a pragmatic grouping of Centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922 The Australian Democrats is an Australian Political party espousing a centrist or Social liberal ideology The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Until that date, the ALP government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd faces a hostile Senate controlled by an absolute majority of Liberal/National Coalition Senators. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor This is the first time since 1975 that a government in the House of Representatives has needed to negotiate with a Senate controlled by the Opposition. From July 2008 the Opposition will lose its absolute majority, and a balance of power situation is likely to resume. In Parliamentary politics the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor Political party or other grouping whose guaranteed

See also

• President of the Australian Senate
• Women in the Australian Senate
• Members of the Australian Senate, 2005-2008
• List of longest-serving members of the Australian Senate
• Clerk of the Australian Senate
• Canberra Press Gallery
• Candidates of the Australian legislative election, 2007

References

Further reading

• Stanley Bach, Platypus and Parliament: The Australian Senate in Theory and Practice, Department of the Senate, 2003.
• Harry Evans, Odgers' Australian Senate Practice, A detailed reference work on all aspects of the Senate's powers, procedures and practices.
• John Halligan, Robin Miller and John Power, Parliament in the Twenty-first Century: Institutional Reform and Emerging Roles, Melbourne University Pulishing, 2007.
• Wilfried Swenden, Federalism and Second Chambers: Regional Representation in Parliamentary Federations: the Australian Senate and German Bundesrat Compared, P. I. E. Peter Lang, 2004.
• John Uhr, The Senate and Proportional Representation: Public policy justifications of minority representation, Working Paper no. 69, Graduate Program in Public Policy, Australian National University, 1999.

External links

• Official website of the Australian Senate
• Australian Parliament – live broadcasting

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