NSW Legislative Council
| New South Wales Legislative Council | |
|---|---|
| 55th Parliament | |
 |
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1823 |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
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Political groups
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Total: 42 seats GovernmentLiberal (13) The Nationals (7) Opposition Labor (12) Crossbench Greens (5) Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (2) CDP (2) Animal Justice Party (1) |
| Elections | |
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Last election
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26 March 2015 |
| Meeting place | |
 |
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| Legislative Council Chamber Parliament House, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Website | |
| NSW Legislative Council | |
Total: 42 seats
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or 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 the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as the upper house. It is normal for legislation to be first deliberated on and enacted in the lower house, and then considered in the upper house, which acts in the main as a house of review. The Council has 42 members, elected by proportional representation in which the whole state is treated as a single electorate. Members serve eight-year terms, which are staggered so that half the Council is up for election every four years—roughly coinciding with elections to the Legislative Assembly.
The parliament of New South Wales is Australia's oldest legislature. It had its beginnings when New South Wales was a British colony under the control of the Governor and was first established in 1823 by the New South Wales Act. A small, 5-member appointed Legislative Council began meeting on 24 August 1824 to advise the Governor on legislative matters. It grew to seven members in 1825, and between ten and fifteen in 1829. Under the Constitution Act 1843, the Legislative Council was expanded to 36 members, of which 12 were appointed by the Governor in the name of the Crown, and the remainder elected from amongst eligible landholders. In 1851 the Council was enlarged to 54 members with 36 of its members elected by adult males who met certain property requirements and 18 appointed members. In 1856, under a new Constitution, the Parliament became bicameral with a fully elected Legislative Assembly and a fully appointed Legislative Council with a Government taking over most of the legislative powers of the Governor. The right to vote was extended to all adult males in 1858.
On 22 May 1856, the newly constituted New South Wales Parliament opened and sat for the first time. With the new 54-member Legislative Assembly taking over the council chamber, a second meeting chamber for the 21-member upper house had to be added to the Parliament building in Macquarie Street. In 1901, New South Wales became a sovereign state of the Commonwealth of Australia and many government functions were transferred to the new Commonwealth government. In 1902, women gained the right to vote and the current Constitution of New South Wales was adopted, and in 1918, reforms permitted women to be members of parliament.
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