Commonwealth Parliament

Crown

• The Queen of Australia is represented by the Governor-General (currently Peter Cosgrove)¹
• Roles: The Crown fulfils a number of ceremonial duties; grants royal assent to bills; appoints ministers; dissolves the lower house at election times

Senate

• The Senate is the upper house
• 76 members (12 each state, 2 each territory)
• Roles:
  • Acts as a house of review
  • States’ house (all states are given equal representation)

House of Representatives

• The lower house
• 150 members (1 from each of the 150 electorates approx. 80,000 people)
• Roles:
  • Houses the government (the political party with the majority of seats in the lower house)
  • Represents the majority of people in Australia.

Victorian Parliament

Crown

• The Queen of Australia is represented by the Governor (currently Alex Chernov)²
• Roles: The Crown fulfils a number of ceremonial duties; grants royal assent to bills; appoints ministers; dissolves the lower house at election times

Legislative Council

• Upper house
• 40 members (Vic divided into 8 provinces, 5 from each)
• Roles:
  • To equally represent rural and urban areas.
  • Acts as a house of review.

Legislative Assembly

• Lower house
• Consists of 88 members (one from each electorate 30,000-35,000 people each)
• Roles:
  • Houses government
  • Represents the majority of people when making law.

Analysis of roles

The Senate’s capacity to review bills effectively depends on their composition. Where the government holds a majority in the upper house, the Senate may simply affirm bills rather than thoroughly scrutinizing them. Conversely, where the opposition holds a majority in the Upper House, the Senate may simply block bills introduced by the government to undermine their governing ability to introduce effective laws. These two situations illustrate that the Senate’s capacity to review bills in an unbiased manner is largely dependent upon their composition, questioning whether the Senate indeed fulfills its role.

See also:

The Legislative Process

1. https://www.gg.gov.au/  ↩

2. http://www.governor.vic.gov.au/victorias-governor/biography/the-hon-alex-chernov-ao-qc  ↩