| Education
Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs)
 When
was the Australian Capital Territory granted self
government?
How
many members are there in the Legislative Assembly?
Who
is the Chief Minister in the ACT?
Who
is the Leader of the Opposition in the ACT?
What
is the role of the Speaker in the Legislative
Assembly?
What
are the Standing Orders?
How
many members of each political party are represented
in the Sixth Legislative Assembly?
How
many members of the Sixth Legislative Assembly
are female?
What
is an electorate?
Which
electoral system is used in the ACT?
When
will the next ACT election be held?
How
does the ACT Parliament fill casual vacancies?
What
is a Question on Notice?
What
is a Question Without Notice?
What
is a Petition?
What
is the Cross bench?
When was the Australian
Capital Territory granted self government?
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was granted
self-government in 1989. Before self-government,
the ACT was administered by the Federal Parliament.
Our parliament is called the Legislative Assembly
for the Australian Capital Territory. The Assembly
is unique in Australia because it holds the power
to look after both state and local functions of
the Territory.
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How many members are
there in the Legislative Assembly?
There are 17 members of the Legislative Assembly.
They are elected every four years by the people
of the ACT to represent them and make decisions
on their behalf.
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Who is the Chief Minister
in the ACT?
Mr Jon Stanhope is the Chief Minister, as he was
elected by the Members of the Assembly on the
1st sitting day. He is the head of government
in the ACT. His parliamentary party (Australian
Labor Party) gained the largest number of seats
at the last ACT election.
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Who is the Leader of
the Opposition in the ACT?
The Leader of the Opposition is Mr Zed Seselja.
He leads the largest non-government party (Liberal
Party).
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What is the role of the
Speaker in the Legislative Assembly?
The Speaker is the Member of the Assembly who
controls the proceedings of the chamber. The Speaker
presides over all debates, speeches and question
time, making sure that the standing orders (rules
of conduct) and practices of the Assembly are
followed. The Speaker is elected by the Assembly
and sits at the head of the chamber on a raised
bench. The Speaker of the Assembly is Mr Wayne
Berry.
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What are the Standing
Orders?
The rules that govern the conduct of debate and
Assembly proceedings (including Committees).
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How many members of each
political party are represented in the Sixth Legislative
Assembly?
The Australian Labor Party has 9 members, the
Liberal Party has 6 members, the ACT Greens
has one member and the Richard Mulcahy Canberra Party has one member.
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How many members of the
Sixth Legislative Assembly are female?
There are 6 female members in the Sixth Legislative
Assembly. They are: Mrs Jacqui Burke (Liberal),
Mrs Vicki Dunne (Liberal), Dr Deb Foskey (ACT
Greens), Ms Katy Gallagher (ALP), Ms Karin MacDonald
(ALP), and Ms Mary Porter AM (ALP).
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What is an electorate?
An electorate is an area represented by one or
more members of parliament. Electorates are sometimes
referred to as a seat, division or a constituency.
The ACT Legislative Assembly has three multi-member
electorates: Ginninderra (5 members), Molonglo
(7) and Brindabella (5).
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Which electoral system
is used in the ACT?
The Hare-Clark electoral system is used in the
ACT. It is a proportional representation electoral
system. A booklet, The ACT's Hare-Clark Electoral
System: How it works is available from Elections
ACT (Ph: 02 6205 0033). More information is also
available on the Elections ACT website: www.elections.act.gov.au
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When will the next ACT
election be held?
The most recent ACT election was held on 16 October
2004. The ACT has a set election date of the third
Saturday of October, every four years. The next
ACT election will be held on the 18 October, 2008.
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How does the ACT Parliament
fill casual vacancies?
Unlike other parliaments in Australia, to fill
a casual vacancy (created by the death or resignation
of a Member), the ACT Parliament does not hold
a by-election. Instead, the new Member is chosen
by recounting the votes received by the vacating
Member to establish which candidate is next preferred
by these voters (the people who originally voted
for the vacating Member). For a candidate to be
considered in this process, they must have contested
the original election and also have indicated
that they wish to contest the casual vacancy.
In the event that it is not possible to fill the
casual vacancy through this process, (for example,
if a candidate does not come forward to contest
the vacancy), the Legislative Assembly will choose
a person to fill the vacancy. If the vacating
Member was elected as a member of a registered
political party - the new Member must be of the
same political party. If the vacating Member was
not a member of a political party (for example,
an Independent Member), the person chosen to fill
the vacancy cannot have been a member of a registered
political party in the 12 months prior to filling
the vacancy.
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What is a Question
on Notice?
A written question listed on the Notice Paper
asked of a Minister which is answered in writing.
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What is a Question Without
Notice?
A question asked orally of a Minister where the
Minister usually has no warning of the content
of the question.
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What is a Petition?
A petition is a written request, calling for the
redress of a grievance or seeking action, presented
to the Legislative Assembly by a Member. Any citizen
or group of citizens of the ACT can submit a petition
asking for an action to be taken by the Assembly.
It can also ask the Assembly to consider action
concerning a personal grievance (e.g. an administrative
error). The matter under consideration must be
an ACT matter and not a Federal one.
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What is the Cross bench?
This is the set of seats for the Members of the
Legislative Assembly who belong to neither the
government nor the opposition. This is where Members
who represent a minor party or who are independent
(do not belong to a party) sit. Currently, in the Sixth Assembly
there are two Members sitting on the crossbench
— Dr Deb Foskey (ACT Greens) and Richard Mulcahy (Independent).
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Know your Assembly