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Parliament of New South Wales
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| Parliament of New South Wales |
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| Type |
Bicameral |
| Houses |
Legislative Council
Legislative Assembly |
| President of the Legislative Council |
Peter Primrose, Labor Party
since May 8, 2007 |
| Speaker of Legislative Assembly |
Richard Torbay, Independent
since May 8, 2007 |
| Members |
135
42 Councilors
93 Assembly Members |
| Political groups |
Legislative Council: Labor party, Liberal Party, National Party, Greens NSW, Christian Democratic Party, Shooters Party
Legislative Assembly: Labor party, Liberal Party, National Party, Independent
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| Last elections |
March 24, 2007 |
| Meeting place |
Parliament House, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Web site |
www.parliament.nsw.gov.au |
The Parliament of New South Wales is the supreme law making body in New South Wales, a state of Australia. It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. As Australia is a federation of six states, the parliament shares law making powers with the national government, being the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia.
The state parliament consists of the Queen, the New South Wales Legislative Council, being the upper house, and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, being the lower house. Each house is directly elected by the people of New South Wales. The sovereign is the head of the parliament and is represented in the state by the Governor of New South Wales.
Location
The two legislative chambers of the New South Wales Parliament are housed in the historic Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney.
Legislature
Generally, for a bill to become law, it must be passed by both the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assesmbly and be assented to by the Governor. A bill appropriating revenue for the ordinary annual services of the Government can be presented to the Governor for assent even if the upper house has not agreed to it (section 5A Constitution Act 1902, NSW)
Executive
The party or coalition with the most seats in the Legislative Assembly is invited by the Governor to form government. The head of government is the Premier.
Separation of Powers
Because members of the Government sit in Parliament, according to the Westminster system the separation of powers into Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches is different to the American model.
History
The Parliament of New South Wales is Australia's oldest parliament. The Parliament is housed in a former hospital, the Rum Hospital built in exchange for granting of a monopoly to import rum.
See also
External links
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