How does Parliament work?
The Parliament of South Australia is divided into two Houses: the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council.
The political party that wins the most seats in the House of Assembly (or Lower House), including who wins in your local electorate, forms government. The leader of that party becomes Premier. The Premier appoints Ministers to run government departments.
The Two Houses
House of Assembly (Lower House): Consists of 47 Members representing 47 individual electoral districts, including the one you live in, called your 'electorate'. They are elected for four years.
Legislative Council (Upper House): Consists of 22 Members who represent the entire state as one electorate. It was initially formed over a hundred years ago because it was believed that, with just three-year terms (now four), the members of the House of Assembly lacked long-term thinking and leadership. People elected to the Legislative Council (Upper House) were given eight-year terms so they could be more forward-thinking for the state. They also act as a house of review, scrutinising legislation passed by the lower house.
How Laws are Made (Bills)
All new laws or changes to existing laws begin as proposals called Bills. These Bills go through three stages.
Introduction: A Bill is introduced and debated in one of the Houses.
Passage: It must go through several stages of debate and be voted on by a majority in both the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council.
Royal Assent: Once passed by both Houses, the Bill is signed by the Governor (who represents the King) to officially become an Act of Parliament.
Elections
General elections are held every four years. At each election, all 47 seats in the House of Assembly are contested, while half (11) of the 22 Legislative Council seats are up for election.
The Opposition
The largest party (or group) not in power, who sit opposite the government and should question them to keep them transparent and to present alternative policies.
The Crossbench
These are independents and members of minor parties who sit on separate benches between the government and opposition. They often hold the "balance of power" if no major party (currently Labor or Liberal) holds an outright majority. They must therefore be negotiated with in order to win their vote to allow legislation to be passed.