A referendum concerning reform of the
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...
was put to
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
voters on 25 May 1991. The referendum coincided with that year's
New South Wales general election. The change passed comfortably.
The text of the question was:
Do you approve of the Bill entitled 'A Bill for an Act:
(a) to reduce the number of politicians in the Legislative Council and to reduce their maximum term of office; and
(b) to apply to the Legislative Council the same method of filling casual vacancies as applies to the Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
?
Amendments to the constitution
At the time of the referendum, the Legislative Council consisted of 45 members, with 15 members elected at each election and members serving for three terms of the Legislative Assembly, giving a maximum term of 12 years. If a casual vacancy arose, the member was replaced by the next unelected candidate and it was only if the candidates were exhausted that the party could nominate a candidate at the election was declared.
The headline changes by the proposal were to alter the
Constitution Act 1902
The Constitution Act 1902 is the founding document of the State of New South Wales, and sets out many of the basic principles of the Government of New South Wales. This act created the foundation of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial bran ...
to:
* reduce the total number of members from 45 to 42;
* reduce the term of members from three to two terms of the Legislative Assembly, reducing the maximum term from 12 to 8 years; and
* increase the number of members elected at each election from 15 to 21, the effect of this was that the quota of votes to be elected would be reduced from 6.25% to 4.55%.
* require casual vacancies to be filled by appointment of a candidate nominated by the same political party.
The transitional arrangements were that from the 1991 election, the council would consist of:
* the 15 members elected at the
1991 election;
* the 15 members elected at the
1988 election; and
* the first 12 members elected at the
1984 election.
From the next election, scheduled to be in 1995, the council would consist of:
* the 21 members elected at the
1995 election;
* the 15 members elected at the
1991 election;
* the first 6 members elected at the
1988 election.
Results
Legislative Council referendums
This was the fourth referendum in New South Wales on the subject of the Legislative Council.
See also
*
Referendums in New South Wales
There have been 18 referendums in New South Wales, 8 of which concerned proposals to amend the New South Wales Constitution, half of which concerned the Legislative Council. While the Constitution of Australia was adopted after the 1898 and 18 ...
*
Referendums in Australia
Referendums have been held in Australia to approve parliament-proposed changes to the Constitution of Australia or to the constitutions of states and territories.
Polls conducted on non-constitutional issues are sometimes but not always referre ...
*
Government of New South Wales
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
Notes
References
{{New South Wales elections, state=autocollapse
1991 elections in Australia
1991 referendums
Referendums in New South Wales
1990s in New South Wales
May 1991 events in Australia