The New South Wales Parliament consists of a Lower House, the
Legislative Assembly, and an Upper House, the Legislative Council.
The Legislative Council has three main functions: to represent the
people, to legislate and to
scrutinise the executive government as a ‘House of review’.
1. To represent the people
The Legislative Council provides an alternative and complementary system
of representation to that of the Legislative Assembly. Members of the
Council are elected for eight years under a system of proportional
representation from a single electorate encompassing the whole State of
New South Wales. By contrast, members of the Assembly are elected for
four years using optional preferential voting from 93 separate
electorates within the State.
As a result of these different
electoral arrangements, the Council’s membership usually includes
representatives from a range of political parties, in proportion to the
votes cast, while the Assembly’s membership is more likely to be drawn
from the two main sides of politics. The Council’s membership
therefore tends to be more diverse, reflecting a wide range of opinions
and views. This diversity enhances the democratic quality of the
Parliament making it more representative of the people it serves.
A table depicting the composition of the Council since the introduction
of popular elections for the Council is available here.
2. To legislate
The two Houses of the New South Wales Parliament have equal power in the
making of laws, except in respect of certain money bills. The Council
has power to amend, reject, or fail to pass any bill submitted to it by
the Assembly. Consequently, the government of the day requires the
agreement of both Houses, and not just the Lower House, to implement its
legislative agenda.
The need for legislation to be passed by both Houses provides protection
against a government with a disciplined majority in the Lower House
introducing extreme measures for which it does not have broad community
support. It also provides an opportunity for further consultation on
proposed legislation and for amendments to be made to legislation where
required.
The Council also has the right to initiate legislation. As a result, the
Council is not confined to considering only those legislative proposals
brought forward by the government. Over recent years, there have been
several important pieces of legislation which have originated in the
Legislative Council on the initiative of members not belonging to the
government of the day.
3. To scrutinise executive government as a ‘House of Review’
The Legislative Council acts as
a ‘House of review’ by scrutinising the actions of the executive
government and holding it to account. While the government is
formed by the party or coalition of parties which has the majority of
seats in the Lower House, under the system of responsible government
that operates in New South Wales,
the government is accountable to
the Upper House as well.
The reality of responsible government is that the Lower House has come
to be dominated by the executive government through the mechanism of
strict party control. The Council therefore has a crucial role to play
in superintending the actions of government.
The Council’s capacity to
perform this scrutiny role is enhanced by the fact that since 1988, no
government has had a majority of members in the Council. Lack of
government control has coincided with an increased level of Council
scrutiny of government, and greater activism by the Council in its role
as the ‘House of review’.
Mechanisms by which the Council undertakes its role as a ‘House of
review’ include its extensive
committee system, the annual Budget Estimates inquiry, the review of
legislation, orders for the production of state papers, and the
questioning of ministers in Question Time.