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Parliament
in action
The Parliament of Victoria is made up of three elements - the Legislative Assembly (lower house) of 88 members, the Legislative Council (upper house) of 40 members and the Governor of Victoria, representing the Crown.
The influence of the Parliament of Victoria is unavoidable. Its laws and regulations affect citizens and visitors alike. Its elections receive extensive media coverage. Its Members are among the most prominent public figures. It is Victoria's pre-eminent political institution.
How then, does the Parliament of Victoria work?
The Parliament of Victoria is a bicameral, or two-chamber, legislature. The Legislative Assembly, or Lower House, is the seat of Government. The Legislative Council, or Upper House, is a house of review . Accordingly, Members of Parliament either are Legislative Councillors, of whom there are 40, or Members of the 88-strong Legislative Assembly.
Within each of the chambers, Members are identified by their political affiliations and, within those groupings, by seniority and responsibilities.
The party that enjoys the support of a majority of the Legislative Assembly forms Government. The largest party or grouping opposed to the Government forms the official Opposition. Other parties, factions or Independents may choose either to align with the Government or Opposition, or maintain an ideological distance from both. This similarly applies in the Legislative Council. Electoral outcomes therefore determine the internal use and seating arrangements of the chambers.
In the Lower House, the conduct of the Chamber is controlled by the Speaker. The Speaker is generally, though not necessarily, selected from the ranks of the Government by the Government. In the Upper House, a President is similarly chosen. Both Presiding Officers are responsible for maintaining order in their respective chambers, and for representing the Parliament on official and ceremonial occasions.
From within the ranks of the Government a ministry is formed. It is led by the Premier, aided by a Deputy Premier. Ministers can be drawn from either House.
In both chambers, Government members sit to the right of the Presiding Officer. Opposition members sit to the left. Third party and other Members sit to the rear of the Chamber either on the right or left of the Presiding Officer depending on their political leaning.
Ministers sit on the front bench of their legislative chambers (as do Opposition Shadow Ministers). Those Government and Opposition members not in the Ministry or Shadow Ministry sit behind their colleagues and are referred to as backbenchers.
Party Whips are chosen from the respective backbenchers. Whips are responsible for ensuring that Members of their party are present in the Chamber when required. Other backbenchers assist their respective ministers or Opposition spokespersons.
Barring exceptional circumstances provided for in the Constitution, the term of a Parliament of Victoria is fixed at four years. After the outcome of the General Election is made clear and a Government identified, a new Parliament commences.
A parliamentary sitting is that period when the Parliament meets. In recent years, the Parliament has had Autumn and Spring sittings, each lasting for approximately ten weeks.
Sitting dates are posted on the Parliament internet site, and are available in printed form from the Papers Offices of the two Houses.
Each sitting period is in turn divided into sitting and non-sitting weeks. A sitting week means that the Parliament will meet sometime during the week, usually on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Starting and adjournment times can vary. Again, as a broad generalisation, both houses commence on Tuesdays at 2.00 p.m. and may continue until the business of the day is completed (often late at night or early the following morning). On Wednesdays and Thursdays both Houses normally commence at 9.30am.
Non-sitting periods refer to those weeks when the Parliament does not meet. But, having noted these generalisations, it must be emphasised that there are as many exceptions as rules.
It is helpful to divide the daily business of the chambers into four stages (provided it is recognised that this simplifies a much richer complexity).
Stage One: after the Speaker and President take their chairs, both chambers commence with the prayer. On Tuesdays, the first sitting day of the week, this is immediately followed by Questions Without Notice, often referred to as Question Time and the most publicised and criticised face of the Parliament. (On subsequent sitting days Questions Without Notice usually takes place at the set times of 2.00 p.m. in both Houses) Members then indicate if they have any notices of motion that they wish to place before their Chamber (usually for the next day), petitions from the public are received, any reports and documents are tabled, and any messages from the Governor or from the other Chamber are reported. This first stage in the day's work can absorb an hour or more.
Stage Two: debate on issues of topical concern, or the introduction of Bills can now take place.
Stage Three: is taken up with Orders of the Day. This is business from a previous sitting day not yet finalised and carried over for further consideration. Again it can be matters of topical concern or the examination of proposed legislation. Again, such work can take many hours over many days.
Stage Four: towards the end of the day, a motion is put 'that the House now adjourns'. The adjournment debate is a process in which backbenchers can raise issues with Ministers concerning matters in their electorates. Depending on the Standing and Sessional Orders of the Chamber, this normally takes up to one hour.
As well as work in the Chamber, Members of Parliament are also appointed to various Committees. These fall into three types.
First, the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003 establishes eleven joint investigatory committees. All of these committees are 'joint committees' in that they comprise Members from both Houses. Each committee has a specific area of responsibility (e.g. Drugs and Crime Prevention Committee, Law Reform Committee) and is supported by research and administrative staff.
Second, the Parliament may from time to time, form select committees. These normally look at a single issue and are usually made up of members from only one of the Houses. They either exist for a fixed time period or until they have completed a particular investigation.
Thirdly, Members may also serve on various 'administrative' standing committees. These are concerned with the administration of the Parliament. For example, the House Committee, oversees activities such as building maintenance.
Further information about the Committees is available on the Committees Overview page.
Members are assisted in their daily work by the Officers of the Parliament. Approximately 200 people work in the parliamentary precinct and are divided into three distinct departments:
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