Senate now
Senate NOW explores the Senate right now—what the chambers look like, who sits where and the all important numbers.
On this page you will find the following areas of content:
- About the Senate
- What does the senate look like?
- Who sits where?
- Senate composition
- Senate events
- PEO links
- Other links
About the Senate
The Senate has some defining characteristics. They are:
- The Senate is one of two houses of the Australian federal Parliament.
- The Senate is the states house because in it, each state has an equal voice with each of the other states. Each state is represented by 12 senators regardless of size or population. Each territory is represented by two senators. There are 76 senators elected to the Senate.
- The Senate reviews and considers legislation, most of which is introduced in the House of Representatives. The Senate may also introduce legislation.
- The Senate is a forum for a wide range of views because its multi-member system tends to lead to a strong voice for minor parties that help to scrutinise the activities of the government.
What does the Senate look like?
The Senate chamber in Australia's Parliament House
The Senate bears the following distinctive characteristics:
- Colour: Red is the traditional colour of royalty and is used in the British House of Lords. The Australian Senate maintains this tradition while calling to mind the ochres and reds of the Australian landscape.
- Shape: The U-shaped seating arrangement is characteristic of Australian chambers. The U-shape encourages participation and debate, since all senators can see and hear each other clearly.
- Size: The current Senate seats 76 senators, including several unfilled seats that are in excess of present needs. Each senator represents one of Australia’s six states or two territories. Section 24 of the Australian Constitution states that the number of members of the House of Representatives must be twice the number of senators, or as near as practicable. Thus, as the population of Australia grows and more senators are required, a sixth row of seats will be added to the existing chamber. Australia’s Parliament House has been built with the expectation of serving Australia for 200 years.
- Galleries: Members of the public are invited to view the chamber in session and are seated in public galleries which seat up to 396 people. The press, who occupy half of the second floor of Parliament House, enjoy a prime view of the chamber being seated above and behind the President. In addition there are two small enclosed rooms at the end of the chamber. One for chamber attendants and the other for broadcasting announcers and technicians.
- Other features: The chamber houses a number of other interesting features including the Black Rod.
Who sits where?
Senate seats are arranged in a U-shape, with the President sitting on the President's Chair at the top of the room. Government senators sit on the right of the President and opposition senators sit on the left. Leaders sit at a central table in front of ministers and shadow ministers who sit on the front bench on their respective sides. Other senators sit on the backbenches including smaller parties and/or independent senators. Parliamentary officers and officials sit towards the top of the chamber.
Senate composition
The Senate of the 41st Parliament comprises 76 senators; 12 representing each state and 2 representing each territory. State senators are elected for a period of six years. A system of rotation ensures that half the state senators retire every three years. By contrast, the four senators who represent the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory are elected for a period of three years at the same time as the members of the House of Representatives and half of the Senate. All senators can stand for re-election. State senators elected on 24 November 2007 commenced on 1 July 2008, becoming members of the 42nd Parliament. To check out all the current senators go to Senators
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/senators/index.htm
A parliamentary party is a political party with at least one member elected to the Parliament of Australia. The party works together to form the government, opposition or a minor party. All senators of the current Senate are party members. The composition of the current Senate is described in the tables below. To find out more about all the political parties registered in Australia go to Political Parties and Organisations
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/pol/polparti.htm
| Political Party | Numbers | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government | Australian Labor Party (ALP) | 32 | 32 |
| Opposition coalition | Liberal Party of Australia (LPA) | 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 |
This table can be expanded as follows:
| STATE | ALP | LPA | 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 |
Senate events
Except during January and July, members of parliament usually meet for two consecutive weeks throughout the year—this is known as a parliamentary sitting. During a sitting week, the Senate conducts business from Monday to Thursday, but on occasions may have late night sittings and special sittings on Friday or even over the weekend. To find out if the Senate is sitting this week go to Scheduled Sittings for 2008
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/info/sittings
There are a number of things that take place in the Senate on a sitting day:
- proposed laws, known as bills, are debated and voted on (often amendments are made to the proposed laws by the Senate)
- inquiries are initiated (or referred) to parliamentary committees
- issues of national importance are discussed
- votes, including divisions, are taken on matters before the Senate
- questions are asked of the ministers during the period known as Question Time
- statements are made about issues relevant to senators’ constituents and states
- reports and other documents are presented.
To find out what is happening in the Senate right now go to the
Senate Order of Business
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/work/red/red.pdf
Download: Senate NOW [371KB, 5 pages]
PEO links
Do you want to know more about the federal Parliament?
FAQ: The FAQ covers many frequently asked questions about the history, role and operation of the Parliament of Australia.
Parliamentary Glossary: The Parliamentary Glossary contains a collection of parliamentary definitions.
Fact Sheet Series: The Fact Sheet Series is a comprehensive set of one page fact sheets on the federal Parliament.
Other Links
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/general
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/Senators
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/work
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/pubs
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/whatsnew.htm