Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Legislative Assembly of Queensland
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <h3>1860–1948</h3> <p>Initially, the Legislative Assembly was the lower house of a <a href="/facts/Bicameral/qdbjFfpm">bicameral</a> parliament influenced by the <a href="/facts/Westminster_system/qaW6mkHp">Westminster system</a>. The <a href="/facts/Upper_house/c1en2HMa">upper house</a> was the <a href="/facts/Legislative_Council_of_Queensland/9t9Dk9WA">Legislative Council</a>, its members appointed for life by the <a href="/facts/Governor_of_Queensland/pHjuNKvI">governor</a>, on advice of the government of the day. The first sitting, in May 1860, was held in the old converted convict barracks in <a href="/facts/Queen_Street%2c_Brisbane/8xQR7L1W">Queen Street</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> It consisted of 26 members from 16 electorates, nearly half of whom were pastoralists or squatters. Early sessions dealt with issues of land, labour, railways, public works, immigration, education and gold discoveries.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>In April 1864, Australia's first <a href="/facts/Hansard/FDXT84He">Hansard</a> was produced. That year also saw member numbers increased to 32, and by 1868—as more redistributions occurred—the number grew to 42. Members were not paid until 1886, effectively excluding the working class from state politics.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>The Assembly was elected under the <a href="/facts/Plurality_voting_system/n4mcp5VF">first-past-the-post</a> (plurality) system 1860 to 1892. From then until 1942 an unusual form of preferential voting called the <i><a href="/facts/Contingent_vote/PxbBwBzP">contingent vote</a></i> was used. This was introduced by a conservative government to hinder the emerging Labor Party from gaining seats with minority support.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>In 1942 the plurality system was reintroduced. The Labor government then in power had seen its vote decline in the 1940s and sought to divide the opposition. In 1962, it was replaced with full preferential voting, as the governing conservatives wanted to take advantage of a split in Labor. In 1992, this was changed to the optional preferential system which was used until full preferential voting was reinstated in 2016.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>After 1912, electorates elected only a single member to the Assembly.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> In 1922, the Legislative Council was abolished, with the help of members known as the <i>suicide squad</i>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> who were specially appointed to vote the chamber out of existence. This left Queensland with a <a href="/facts/Unicameral/Uv6VUhG4">unicameral</a> parliament—currently the only Australian state with this arrangement. </p> <h3>Queensland's gerrymander 1948–1989</h3> <p>From 1948 until the reforms following the end of the <a href="/facts/Joh_Bjelke-Petersen/Ioj9xhp1">Bjelke-Petersen</a> era, Queensland used an electoral zoning system that was tweaked by the government of the day to maximise its own voter support at the expense of the opposition. It has been called a form of <a href="/facts/Gerrymander/Vb7ECslS">gerrymander</a>, dubbed the "<i><a href="/facts/Bjelkemander/8l274Lb4">Bjelkemander</a></i>" however it is more accurately referred to as an <a href="/facts/Australian_electoral_system/GvsAsa6U">electoral malapportionment</a>. In a classic gerrymander, electoral boundaries are drawn to take advantage of known pockets of supporters and to isolate areas of opposition voters so as to maximise the number of seats for the government for a given number of votes and to cause opposition support to be "wasted" by concentrating their supporters in relatively fewer electorates. </p><p>The Queensland "gerrymander", first introduced by the <a href="/facts/Australian_Labor_Party_(Queensland_Branch)/rlVwnpmM">Labor Party</a> (ALP) government of <a href="/facts/Ned_Hanlon_(politician)/VtMeFTrV">Ned Hanlon</a> in 1949 used a series of electoral zones based on their distance from Brisbane. </p><p>Initially Queensland was divided into three zones—the metropolitan zone (Brisbane), the provincial cities zone (which also included rural areas around provincial cities) and the rural zone. While the number of electors in each seat in a zone was roughly equal, there was considerable variation in the number of electors between zones. Thus an electorate in the remote zone might have as few as 5,000 electors, while a seat in the metropolitan zone might have as many as 25,000. Using this system the Labor government was able to maximise its vote, particularly in its power base of the provincial city zone. </p><p>With the split in the party in the late 1950s the ALP lost office and a conservative <a href="/facts/Coalition_(Australia)/ENAhYx1C">Coalition</a> government led by the Country Party (later <a href="/facts/National_Party_of_Australia_%25E2%2580%2593_Queensland/dJ3CYoUs">National Party</a>) under <a href="/facts/Frank_Nicklin/dLTjKEgI">Frank Nicklin</a> came to power, which, as discussed above, initially modified the voting system to introduce preferential voting, to take advantage of Labor's split. It also separated the provincial cities from their hinterlands. The hinterlands were added to the rural zone, where new Country Party seats were created. </p><p>As the divisions in the ALP abated in the early 1970s, and tensions in the conservative coalition grew, (thus reducing the advantage to be gained by the use of preferential voting), the conservative government, now led by <a href="/facts/Joh_Bjelke-Petersen/Ioj9xhp1">Joh Bjelke-Petersen</a>, modified the zoning system to add a fourth zone—a remote zone, comprising seats with even fewer electors. Thus the conservative government was able to isolate Labor support in provincial cities and maximise its own rural power base. On average, the Country Party needed only 7,000 votes to win a seat, compared with 12,800 for a typical Labor seat. </p><p>The entrenchment of a Coalition government was also caused by <a href="/facts/Socio-economic/ywuuTTUN">socio-economic</a> and <a href="/facts/Demographic/VktYwWUD">demographic</a> changes associated with mechanisation of farms and urbanisation which led to a drift of working class population from rural and remote electorates to the cities. </p><p>By the late 1980s the decline in the political fortunes of the National Party, together with rapid growth in south east Queensland meant that the zonal system was no longer able to guarantee a conservative victory. </p><p>In addition, in 1988 the Federal Labor Government held <a href="/facts/1988_Australian_referendum/o71558eb">four constitutional referendums</a>—<a href="/facts/Australian_referendum%2c_1988_(Fair_Elections)/o71558eb">one of which</a> was for the adoption of fair electoral systems around Australia. Although the referendum did not succeed, it heightened public awareness of the issue. A large public interest non-partisan organisation, the Citizens for Democracy, lobbied extensively the Liberal and Labor parties to abolish the gerrymander and to make it a major issue in the lead up to the landmark 1989 Queensland election. </p><p>Despite the malapportionment, Labor was rarely able to garner a higher percentage of the vote than the Coalition for most of this period. </p> <h3>1989–present</h3> <p>In 1989 Labor won government, promising to implement the recommendations of the <a href="/facts/Fitzgerald_Inquiry/NoFR8xom">Fitzgerald Inquiry</a> into police corruption, including the establishment of an Electoral and Administrative Reform Commission (EARC). EARC recommended the abolition of the zonal system in favour of a "modified one vote, one value" system. Under this proposal, subsequently adopted, most electorates consisted of approximately the same number of electors, but with a greater tolerance for fewer electors allowed in a limited number of remote electorates. This plan is still in use today. Presently, 42 seats are contested in Greater Brisbane and 47 in the rest of the state. </p><p>The youngest person ever elected to Queensland's Legislative Assembly was <a href="/facts/Lawrence_Springborg/6Rp3F4my">Lawrence Springborg</a>, former Minister for Natural Resources and <a href="/facts/Leader_of_the_Opposition_(Queensland)/dpPLLCx3">Leader of the Opposition</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> In 1989, he entered parliament aged 21. </p> <h2 id="parliament-house">Parliament House</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Parliament_House%2c_Brisbane/w6puIBsP">Parliament House, Brisbane</a></p> <p>The Queensland Legislative Assembly sits in <a href="/facts/Parliament_House%2c_Brisbane/w6puIBsP">Parliament House</a> in the <a href="/facts/Brisbane_central_business_district/dtAUlVBs">Brisbane central business district</a>. The building was completed in 1891. The lower house chamber is decorated dark green in the traditional <a href="/facts/Westminster_system/qaW6mkHp">Westminster</a> style. The chamber once featured central tables which divided two rows of elevated benches on each side. The room is now configured in a U-shape away from the Speaker's chair with three rows of benches that have their own desks and microphones.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="distribution-of-seats">Distribution of seats</h2> <p>As of October 2024, the LNP (Liberal National Party) has 52/93 seats and formed majority government within the unicameral chamber.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/2024_Queensland_state_election/AqgyUm7Q">2024 Queensland state election</a> and <a href="/facts/Members_of_the_Queensland_Legislative_Assembly%2c_2024%25E2%2580%25932028/rGPRczj7">Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 2024–2028</a></p> <p>As of October 2024, the composition of Parliament is: </p> <table><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Party</th><th colspan="2">Seats</th></tr><tr><th></th><th>Current Assembly <i>(Total 93 Seats)</i></th></tr><tr><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Liberal_National_Party_of_Queensland/6PekAsF0">Liberal National</a></td><td>52</td><td>52 </td></tr><tr><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Australian_Labor_Party_(Queensland_Branch)/rlVwnpmM">Labor</a></td><td>36</td><td>36 </td></tr><tr><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Katter%2527s_Australian_Party/DGw4crnD">Katter's Australian</a></td><td>3</td><td>3 </td></tr><tr><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Queensland_Greens/WwD1Eyol">Greens</a></td><td>1</td><td>1 </td></tr><tr><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Independent_politicians_in_Australia/D2Vtakdk">Independent</a></td><td>1</td><td>1 </td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li>47 votes as a majority is required to pass legislation.</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li>Queensland portal</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/facts/2024_Queensland_state_election/AqgyUm7Q">2024 Queensland state election</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Members_of_the_Queensland_Legislative_Assembly/z7UCsHUm">Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly</a> by date</li> <li>Category:Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly by name</li> <li><a href="/facts/Parliaments_of_the_Australian_states_and_territories/zbH1tqlE">Parliaments of the Australian states and territories</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Politics_of_Queensland/R7She3Lt">Politics of Queensland</a></li></ul> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/">Queensland Parliament</a> official website</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Electoral Law Ructions in the Queensland Parliament". Antony Green's Election Blog. 21 April 2016. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170301215320/http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2016/04/electoral-law-ructions-in-the-queensland-parliament.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20170301215320/http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2016/04/electoral-law-ructions-in-the-queensland-parliament.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>[1] <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/qld/2024/results?filter=indoubt&sort=az" target="_blank">https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/qld/2024/results?filter=indoubt&sort=az</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Armstrong, Lyn (1997), "'A somewhat rash experiment':Queensland Parliament as a microcosm of society", in Shaw, Barry (ed.), Brisbane:Corridors of Power, Papers, vol. 15, Brisbane: Brisbane History Group Inc, pp. 54–55, ISBN 0-9586469-1-0 <a href="0-9586469-1-0" target="_blank">0-9586469-1-0</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Armstrong, Lyn (1997), "'A somewhat rash experiment':Queensland Parliament as a microcosm of society", in Shaw, Barry (ed.), Brisbane:Corridors of Power, Papers, vol. 15, Brisbane: Brisbane History Group Inc, pp. 54–55, ISBN 0-9586469-1-0 <a href="0-9586469-1-0" target="_blank">0-9586469-1-0</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Armstrong, Lyn (1997), "'A somewhat rash experiment':Queensland Parliament as a microcosm of society", in Shaw, Barry (ed.), Brisbane:Corridors of Power, Papers, vol. 15, Brisbane: Brisbane History Group Inc, pp. 54–55, ISBN 0-9586469-1-0 <a href="0-9586469-1-0" target="_blank">0-9586469-1-0</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Wanna, John (2003). "Queensland". In Moon, Campbell; Sharman, Jeremy (eds.). Australian Politics and Government: The Commonwealth, the States and Territories. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 93–94. ISBN 0-521-82507-5. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. <a href="0-521-82507-5" target="_blank">0-521-82507-5</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Wanna, John (2003). "Queensland". In Moon, Campbell; Sharman, Jeremy (eds.). Australian Politics and Government: The Commonwealth, the States and Territories. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 93–94. ISBN 0-521-82507-5. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. <a href="0-521-82507-5" target="_blank">0-521-82507-5</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Wanna, John (2003). "Queensland". In Moon, Campbell; Sharman, Jeremy (eds.). Australian Politics and Government: The Commonwealth, the States and Territories. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 93–94. ISBN 0-521-82507-5. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. <a href="0-521-82507-5" target="_blank">0-521-82507-5</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Parliament and Government in Queensland: Information booklet for secondary schools" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. Parliament House, Brisbane. November 2022. p. 5. Retrieved 2 May 2024. <a href="https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/Explore/Education/informationBooks/LevelTwoBk.pdf" target="_blank">https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/Explore/Education/informationBooks/LevelTwoBk.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Bligh calls early Queensland election". The Courier-Mail. News Limited. 22 February 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2011. <a href="http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/bligh-calls-early-queensland-election/story-e6freol3-1111118937542" target="_blank">http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/bligh-calls-early-queensland-election/story-e6freol3-1111118937542</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Wanna, John; Tracy Arklay (2010). The Ayes Have it: The History of Queensland Parliament 1957–1989. Canberra: ANU E Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-921666-30-8. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. <a href="978-1-921666-30-8" target="_blank">978-1-921666-30-8</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>[2] <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/qld/2024/results?filter=indoubt&sort=az" target="_blank">https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/qld/2024/results?filter=indoubt&sort=az</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>