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Facts and figures
Some interesting facts about the current parliament:
- After 17 days of negotiation, the Australian Labor Party, supported by a member of the Australian Greens and three Independents, formed a 'minority government'. To win their support the Australian Labor Party agreed to a list of parliamentary reforms including strict time limits during Question Time.
- Australia has not had a minority government since 1940. For the first time in 70 years, a government does not hold an absolute majority in the lower house.
- The Hon Julia Gillard MP is the first female Prime Minister of Australia to be elected at a general election.
- After the 21 August federal election, Mr Wyatt Roy MP became the youngest person ever to be elected to Australia's Parliament at the age of 20. Mr Roy represents the electorate of Longman in Queensland.
- Mr Ken Wyatt MP was elected as the first Indigenous member of the House of Representatives. He represents the electorate of Hasluck in Western Australia. Two Indigenous members of parliament have previously served in the Senate; Senator Neville Bonner from Queensland (1971 – 1983) and Senator Aden Ridgeway from New South Wales (1999 – 2005).
- The new ministry, led by Prime Minister the Hon Julia Gillard MP, was sworn in by the Governor-General on Tuesday, 14 September 2010 at Government House in Canberra.
- The 43rd Parliament was formally opened in the Senate chamber on 28 September 2010.
- The Opening of Parliament included a Welcome to Country ceremony, which is now enshrined in the Standing Orders of both houses.
- New candidates elected to the Senate for the first time in the August federal election will not take up their seats until 1 July 2011.
Some interesting statistics about the current parliament:
| Under 30 | 2 | Over 60 | 27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Indigenous | 225 | Indigenous | 1 |
| Male | 162 | Female | 64 |
| Born in Australia | 199 | Born Overseas | 27 |
*As at 18 November 2010
| House of Representatives | Senate | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Questions without Notice | 195 | 167 | 362 |
| Petitions presented | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Signatures to petitions received | 0 | 534 | 534 |
*As at 28 October 2010
| Bills passed (Royal Assent) | 8 |
| Bills not passed (negatived/discharged)** | 1 |
*As at 28 October 2010
**Includes bills that were negatived, reintroduced then either passed or negatived for a second time.
**Includes bills that were negatived, reintroduced then either passed or negatived for a second time.
| House of Representatives** | 11 |
| Senate** | 10 |
| Total | 21 |
*As at 28 October 2010
**Includes Joint Committees administered by this house of Parliament
**Includes Joint Committees administered by this house of Parliament
| Political Party | Numbers | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government* | Australian Labor Party (ALP) | 72 | 72 |
| Opposition coalition | Liberal Party of Australia (Lib) | 44 | 72 |
| Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNPQ) | 21 | ||
| The Nationals (the NATS) | 6 | ||
| Country Liberals (CLP) | 1 | ||
| Crossbench | Australian Greens (AG) | 1 | 1 |
| Independents (IND) | 4 | 4 | |
| WA National | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 150 | 150 |
*Formed through an alliance between the ALP, three Independents and one member of the Australian Greens.
| Political Party | Numbers | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government | Australian Labor Party (ALP) | 32 | 32 |
| Opposition coalition | Liberal Party of Australia (Lib) | 32 | 37 |
| The Nationals (the NATS) | 4 | ||
| Country Liberal Party (CLP) | 1 | ||
| Crossbench | Australian Greens (AG) | 5 | 7 |
| Family First Party (FFP) | 1 | ||
| Independents (IND) | 1 | ||
| Total | 76 | 76 |
| State | ALP | Lib | LNP | The NATS | CLP | AG | IND | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 26 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 48 | |||
| VIC. | 22 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 37 | |||
| QLD | 8 | 21 | 1 | 30 | ||||
| WA | 3 | 11 | 1 | 15 | ||||
| SA | 6 | 5 | 11 | |||||
| TAS. | 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||
| ACT | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| NT | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Australia | 72 | 44 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 150 |
| State | ALP | Lib | The NATS | CLP | AG | FFP | IND | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | ||||
| Vic. | 5 | 6 | 1 | 12 | ||||
| QLD | 5 | 5 | 2 | 12 | ||||
| SA | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |||
| WA | 4 | 6 | 2 | 12 | ||||
| Tas. | 5 | 5 | 2 | 12 | ||||
| NT | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| ACT | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Australia | 32 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 76 |
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