What is the Legislative Council?

The Legislative Council is one of the two chambers of the South Australian Parliament.

Legislative Councillors represent all residents in the South Australian Parliament in the same way that Senators represent all residents for their State in the Federal Parliament.

Australian Parliaments are generally bicameral, that is they are structured into two chambers or “houses”. One set of members represent electorates or “seats” and the other set represent the whole State. The former is often referred to as the lower house and the latter referred to as the upper house.

Upper houses have strong committee systems and a more diverse representation of minor parties. One of the key purposes of upper houses is to review legislation.

For more information about the Parliament and the Legislative Council please visit the South Australian Parliament website.

Speeches

Parliamentarians usually make speeches to explain their position on specific Bills. Within the Liberal Party, Bills upon which we reach an agreed position are delegated to one member to express our views on behalf of the Party.

There are also opportunities for Members to raise topics of personal interest. These are during the first (or “maiden”) speech, in the Address in Reply and in Matters of Interest.

As a Shadow Minister I tend to concentrate on my areas of in speeches and questions.

Committees

Committees enable the Parliament to examine issues in detail. Membership may be drawn from one or both Houses, various political parties and independents. Evidence may be received in verbal or written form which is reported to the Parliament in a final report.

Select Committees are established for a particular purpose and dissolved at the conclusion of the report. For instance a committee has been established to look into the implications of peak oil.

Standing Committees are ongoing with a specific field of responsibility to which the Parliament may refer issues. For instance, the Environment Development and Resources Standing Committee of which I am a member exists "to investigate matters relating to the environment, landuse conservation and transport". Particular matters that have been referred to the Environment Development and Resource Committee include aquaculture policies, plastic bags, natural burial grounds, salinity, wind farms, marine protected areas, coastal development and stormwater. Please go to Parliamentary Committees for more information.

Committees that I have been involved with: