The Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer in the
Legislative Assembly. The office has existed since the creation of the Legislative Assembly in 1890 under the ''
Constitution Act 1889''. The 31st and current Speaker is
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
MLA
Michelle Roberts
Michelle Hopkins Roberts (née Thomas; born 29 February 1960) is an Australian politician currently serving as Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. She has been a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly since 1994. S ...
, who has held the role since the
2021 state election.
The role of the Speaker
The Speaker is elected to the position by a ballot of the members of the Legislative Assembly from among its members after being nominated by the
Premier of Western Australia
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...
. It is generally a partisan position; the governing party almost always installs one of its members in the position. As with the other states and territories, the Speaker continues to attend party meetings and stands at general elections as a party candidate, if they are indeed a member of a party. There is no convention that the Speaker should be unopposed for reelection.
On the other hand, the Speaker is not a political figure like those in the United States. The Speaker does not take part in debates in the House, does not vote in the House except in the (rare) event of a tied vote, and does not speak in public on party-political issues (except at election time in his or her own constituency).
The Speaker's principal duty is to preside over the Assembly. The occupant of the Chair must maintain order in the House, uphold the Standing Orders (rules of procedure) and protect the rights of backbench members. The Speaker is expected to conduct the business of the House in an impartial manner, and generally does so. The Speaker is assisted by a member-elected Deputy Speaker, who is usually also of the governing party.
List of speakers of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
# Members of the Legislative Assembly were not officially associated with organised
parties
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
until 1904.
See also
*
President of the Western Australian Legislative Council
The President of the Western Australian Legislative Council, also known as the Presiding Officer of the Council, is the presiding officer of the Western Australian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia. The po ...
References
*
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
{{Government of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...