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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Australian Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in the Australian Constitution.
Australian Senate | |
---|---|
45th Parliament | |
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Structure | |
Seats | 76 |
Political groups | Government (29) Coalition |
Elections | |
Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 2 July 2016 |
Next election | On or before 18 May 2019 |
Meeting place | |
Senate chamber Parliament House Canberra, ACT, Australia | |
Website | |
Senate |
There are a total of 76 senators, each representing a state or territory. 12 Senators are elected from each of the six states and two from each of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. State Senators serve fixed six-year terms, with the terms of half of each state's senators expiring every three years, unless the entire Senate is dissolved earlier in a double dissolution. The terms of the territory senators expire at the same time as the House of Representatives. There is no constitutional requirement for a Senate election to take place at the same time as a House of Representatives election, although the government usually synchronises the dates.
Unlike upper houses in most Westminster parliamentary systems, the Senate is vested with significant power, including the capacity to block legislation initiated by the government in the House of Representatives, making it a distinctive hybrid of British Westminster bicameralism and US-style bicameralism.
Senators are popularly elected under the single transferable vote system of proportional representation. As a result of proportional representation, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for power. The governing party or coalition, which has to maintain the confidence of the lower house, rarely has a majority in the Senate and usually needs to negotiate with other parties and Independents to get legislation passed.