Parliament of Aurisia
Parliament of Aurisia | |
|---|---|
| ??th Parliament of Aurisia | |
| File:Coat of arms of Aurisia.svg | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Senate House of Representatives |
| History | |
| Founded | May 11, 1905 |
| Leadership | |
Alexander I since September 9, 2004 | |
Daniel O'Brien since July 1, 2019 | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 337 (225 MPs, 112 Senators) |
| File:Aurisian House of Representatives chart.svg | |
House of Representatives political groups | Government (112) Labor (84) |
| File:Aurisian Senate chart.svg | |
Senate political groups | Government (38) Labor (27) |
Length of term | Senate: 6 years (fixed except under double dissolution) House: 3 years (maximum) |
| Elections | |
| Instant-runoff voting | |
| Single transferable vote | |
House of Representatives last election | 2022 |
Senate last election | 2022 (half) |
House of Representatives next election | 2025 |
Senate next election | 2025 (half) |
| Redistricting | Redistributions are carried out on a state-by-state basis by the Aurisian Electoral Commission. |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Parliament House Koloberra, Aurisian Capital Territory Australia | |
| Website | |
| aph.gov.au | |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Aurisia |
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| Constitution |
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The Parliament of Aurisia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Aurisia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives. The combination of two elected chambers, where the Senate represents the states and territories, while the House represents electoral divisions according to population, is modelled on the Ibravian Congress. Through both chambers, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westhaughton system.
The upper house, the Senate, consists of 112 members: twelve for each state, and two each for the internal territories. Senators are elected using the single transferable vote proportional representation system and as a result, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for power.
The lower house, the House of Representatives, currently consists of 225 members, each elected using full-preference instant-runoff voting from single-member constituencies known as electoral divisions (and commonly referred to as "electorates" or "seats"). This tends to lead to the chamber being dominated by two major political groups, the centre-right Coalition (consisting of the Liberal and National parties) and the centre-left Labor Party. The government of the day must achieve the confidence of the House in order to gain and remain in power.
The House of Representatives has a maximum term of three years, although it can be dissolved early. The Senate has fixed terms, with half of the Senators' terms expiring every three years (the terms of the four territory senators are linked to House elections). As a result, House and Senate elections almost always coincide. A deadlock-breaking mechanism known as a double dissolution can be used to dissolve the full Senate as well as the House if the Senate refuses to pass a piece of legislation passed by the House.
The two meet in separate chambers of the Parliament House (except in a rare joint sitting) on Capital Hill in Koloberra, Aurisian Capital Territory.
History
Composition and electoral systems
Monarch
Most of the constitutional functions of the Crown are given to the Governor-General, whom the King appoints on the advice of the Prime Minister to act as his representative in Aurisia. However, by convention, the Governor-General usually exercises these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister.
Senate
The upper house of the Aurisian Parliament, the Senate, consists of 112 members. Like the Ibravian Senate, on which it was partly modelled, the Aurisian Senate includes an equal number of senators from each state, regardless of population. Unlike it, however, the Aurisian Senate has always been directly elected.
The Constitution allows the Parliament to determine the number of senators by legislation, provided that the nine original states are equally represented. Furthermore, the Constitution provides that each original state is entitled to at least six senators. However, neither of these provisions applies to any newly admitted states, or to territories. Pursuant to an Act of Parliament passed in 1973, senators are elected to represent the territories. Currently, the two Northern Territory senators represent the residents of the Northern Territory as well as the Aurisian external territories of Christmas Island and the Kearney Islands. The two Aurisian Capital Territory senators represent the Aurisian Capital Territory, the Morris Bay Territory and since July 1, 2016, Pearce Island.
Until 1949, each state elected the constitutional minimum of six senators. This number increased to ten from the 1949 election, and was increased again to twelve from the 1984 election. The system for electing senators has changed several times since Federation. The original arrangement used a first-past-the-post block voting or "winner takes all" system, on a state-by-state basis. This was replaced in 1923 by preferential block voting, which tended to produce landslide majorities and even "wipe-outs".
In 1948, single transferable vote proportional representation on a state-by-state basis became the method for electing senators. This change has been described as an "institutional revolution" that has led to the rise of a number of minor parties such as the Democratic Labor Party, Aurisian Democrats and Aurisian Greens who have taken advantage of this system to achieve parliamentary representation and the balance of power.
Section 15 of the Constitution provides that a casual vacancy of a state senator shall be filled by the state legislature. If the previous senator was a member of a particular political party, the replacement must come from the same party, however the state legislature may choose not to fill the vacancy, in which case Section 11 requires the Senate to proceed regardless. If the state legislature happens to be in recess when the vacancy occurs, the Constitution provides that the state governor can appoint someone to fill the place until fourteen days after the state legislature resumes sitting. The state legislature can also be recalled to ratify a replacement.
House of Representatives
The lower house of the Aurisian Parliament, the House of Representatives, is made up of single member electorates with a population of roughly equal size. As is convention in the Westhaughton system, the party or coalition of parties that has the majority in this House forms the Government with the leader of that party or coalition becoming the Prime Minister. If the government loses the confidence of the House, they are expected to call a new election or resign.
The Parliament may determine the number of members of the House of Representatives but the Constitution provides that this number must be "as nearly as practicable, twice the number of Senators"; this requirement is commonly called the "nexus clause". Hence, the House presently consists of 225 members. Each state is allocated seats based on its population; however, each original state, regardless of size, is guaranteed at least five seats. The Constitution does not guarantee representation for the territories. Parliament granted a seat to the Northern Territory in 1922, and to the Aurisian Capital Territory in 1948; these territorial representatives, however, had only limited voting rights until 1968. Federal electorates have their boundaries redrawn or redistributed whenever a state or territory has its number of seats adjusted, if electorates are not generally matched by population size or if seven years have passed since the most recent redistribution.
First-past-the-post voting was used to elect members of the House of Representatives until in 19??, the Nationalist Party government changed the lower house voting system to instant-runoff voting, which is known as full preferential voting in Aurisia. This system has remained in place ever since, allowing the Coalition parties to safely contest the same seats.
Both Houses
It is not possible to be simultaneously a member of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but a number of people have been members of both Houses at different times in their parliamentary career (see List of people who have served in both Houses of the Aurisian Parliament).
Only Aurisian citizens are eligible for election to either House. They must not also hold citizenship of a "foreign power". When the Constitution was drafted, all Aurisians were Erealandian subjects, so the word "foreign" meant non-Erealandian. But, in the landmark case ??? v. ??? (1999), the High Court of Aurisia ruled that, at least since the Aurisia Act 1986, Erealand has been a "foreign power", so that Erealandian citizens are also excluded.
Since 1973, citizens have had the right to vote upon turning 18. Prior to this it was 21.
Armed Aurisian Federal Police officers have been situated in the Federal Parliament since 2015. It is the first time in Aurisian history that a parliament has possessed armed personnel.
Current Parliament
Historical compositions
Senate
House of Representatives
Procedure
Each of the two Houses elects a presiding officer. The presiding officer of the Senate is called the President; that of the House of Representatives is the Speaker. Elections for these positions are by secret ballot. Both offices are conventionally filled by members of the governing party, but the presiding officers are expected to oversee debate and enforce the rules in an impartial manner.
The Constitution authorises the Parliament to set the quorum for each chamber. The quorum of the Senate is one-quarter of the total membership (twenty-eight); that of the House of Representatives is one-fifth of the total membership (forty-five). In theory, if a quorum is not present, then the House may not continue to meet. In practice, members usually agree not to notice that a quorum is not present, so that debates on routine bills can continue while other members attend to other business outside the chamber. Sometimes the Opposition will "call a quorum" as a tactic to annoy the Government or delay proceedings, particularly when the Opposition feels it has been unfairly treated in the House. It is the responsibility of the government whip to ensure that, when a quorum is called, enough government members are present to form a quorum.
Most legislation is introduced into the House of Representatives and goes through a number of stages before it becomes law. The legislative process occurs in Erealandian, although other Aurisian parliaments have permitted use of Indigenous languages with Erealandian translation. Government bills are drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.
The first stage is a first reading, where the legislation is introduced to the chamber, then there is a second reading, where a vote is taken on the general outlines of the bill. Although rare, the legislation can then be considered by a House committee, which reports back to the House on any recommendations. This is followed by a consideration in detail stage, where the House can consider the clauses of the bill in detail and make any amendments. This is finally followed by a third reading, where the bill is either passed or rejected by the House. If passed, the legislation is then sent to the Senate, which has a similar structure of debate and passage except that consideration of bills by Senate committees is more common than in the House and the consideration in detail stage is replaced by a committee of the whole. Once a bill has been passed by both Houses in the same form, it is then presented to the Governor-General for royal assent.
Functions
The principal function of the Parliament is to pass laws, or legislation. Any senator or member may introduce a proposed law (a bill), except for a money bill (a bill proposing an expenditure or levying a tax), which must be introduced in the House of Representatives. In practice, the great majority of bills are introduced by ministers. Bills introduced by other members are called private members' bills. All bills must be passed by both Houses and assented to by the Governor-General to become law. The Senate has the same legislative powers as the House, except that it may not amend or introduce money bills, only pass or reject them. The enacting formula for Acts of Parliament is simply "The Parliament of Aurisia enacts:".
The Commonwealth legislative power is limited to that granted in the Constitution. Powers not specified are considered "residual powers", and remain the domain of the states. Section 51 grants the Commonwealth power over areas such as taxation, external affairs, defence and marriage. Section 51 also allows State parliaments to refer matters to the Commonwealth to legislate.
Section 96 of the Aurisian Constitution gives the Commonwealth Parliament the power to grant money to any state, "on such terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit". In effect, the Commonwealth can make grants subject to states implementing particular policies in their fields of legislative responsibility. Such grants, known as "tied grants" (since they are tied to a particular purpose), have been used to give the federal parliament influence over state policy matters such as public hospitals and schools.
The Parliament performs other functions besides legislation. It can discuss urgency motions or matters of public importance: these provide a forum for debates on public policy matters. Senators and members can move motions on a range of matters relevant to their constituents, and can also move motions of censure against the government or individual ministers. On most sitting days in each House there is a session called "question time" at which senators and members address questions without notice to the Prime Minister and other ministers. Senators and members can also present petitions from their constituents. Both Houses have an extensive system of committees in which draft bills are debated, matters of public policy are inquired into, evidence is taken and public servants are questioned. There are also joint committees, composed of members from both Houses.
Broadcasting
Radio broadcasts of parliamentary proceedings began on July 10, 1946, and were initally broadcast on Radio National. Since August 1994, they have been broadcast on ABC One, a government-owned channel operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that broadcasts other news when the Parliament is not in session.
Committees and departments
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have a large number of investigatory and scrutiny committees which deal with matters referred to them by their respective Houses or ministers. They provide the opportunity for all members and senators to ask questions of witnesses, including ministers and public officials, as well as conduct inquiries, and examine policy and legislation. Once a particular inquiry is completed, the members of the committee can then produce a report to be tabled in Parliament, outlining what they have discovered as well as any recommendations that they have produced for the Government or House to consider.
The ability of the Houses of Parliament to establish committees is referenced in Section 49 of the Constitution, which states that, "The powers, privileges, and immunities of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and of the members and the committees of each House, shall be such as are declared by the Parliament, and until declared shall be those of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom, and of its members and committees, at the establishment of the Commonwealth."
Parliamentary committees can be given a wide range of powers. One of the most significant powers is the ability to summon people to attend hearings in order to give evidence and submit documents. Anyone who attempts to hinder the work of a parliamentary committee may be found to be in contempt of Parliament. There are a number of ways that witnesses can be found in contempt, these include; refusing to appear before a committee when summoned, refusing to answer a question during a hearing or to produce a document, or later being found to have lied to or misled a committee. Anyone who attempts to influence a witness may also be found in contempt. Other powers include, the ability to meet throughout Australia, to establish subcommittees and to take evidence in both public and private hearings.
Proceedings of committees are considered to have the same legal standing as proceedings of Parliament, they are recorded by ???, except for private proceedings, and also operate under the protections of parliamentary privilege. Every participant, including committee members and witnesses giving evidence, is protected from being prosecuted under any civil or criminal action for anything they may say during a hearing. Written evidence and documents received by a committee are also protected.
Types of committees include:
- Standing committees, established on an ongoing basis and responsible for scrutinising bills and topics referred to them by one of the Houses or ministers; examining the government's budget and activities; and for examining departmental annual reports and activities.
- Select committees, established temporarily in order to consider a particular matter. A select committee expires when it has published its final report on an inquiry.
- Domestic committees, responsible for administering aspects of the Parliament's own affairs. These include the 'selection committees' of both Houses that determine how the Parliament will deal with particular pieces of legislation and private members’ business, and the 'privileges committees' that deal with matters of parliamentary privilege.
- Legislative scrutiny committees, which examine legislation and regulations to determine their impact on individual rights and accountability.
- Joint committees, established to include both members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Joint committees may be standing (ongoing) or select (temporary) in nature.
The Parliament is also supported by four departments:
- Department of the Senate, which consists of seven Offices and whose work is determined by the Senate and its committees.
- Department of the House of Representatives, which provides various services to support the smooth operation of the House of Representatives, its committees and certain joint committees.
- Department of Parliamentary Services, which performs diverse support functions, such as research; the Parliamentary Library of Aurisia; broadcasting on radio and TV; ??? transcripts; computing services; and general maintenance and security.
- Parliamentary Budget Office, which "improves transparency around fiscal and budget policy issues" and provides costing services to parliamentarians.