What is the Legislative Council?

The Legislative Council is one of the two chambers of the South Australian Parliament.

Legislative Councillors represent all constituents in the South Australian Parliament in the same way that Senators represent all constituents for their State in the Federal Parliament.

Australian Parliaments are generally bicameral, that is they are structured into two chambers or “houses”. One set of members represent electorates or “seats” and the other set represent the entire State. The former is often referred to as the lower house and the latter referred to as the upper house.

Upper houses have strong committee systems and a more diverse representation of minor parties. One of the key purposes of upper houses is to review legislation.

For more information about the Parliament and the Legislative Council please go to the following link: South Australian Parliament

Speeches

Parliamentarians usually make speeches to explain their position on specific Bills. Within the Liberal Party, Bills upon which we reach an agreed position are delegated to one member to express our views on behalf of the Party.

There are also opportunities for Members to raise topics of personal interest. These are during the first (or “maiden”) speech, in the Address in Reply and in Matters of Interest.

As my particular interests include aged care, health and WorkCover I tend to concentrate on these areas in speeches and questions.

Committees

Committees enable the Parliament to examine issues in detail. Membership may be drawn from one or both Houses, various political parties and independents. Evidence may be received in verbal or written form which is then reported to the Parliament.

Standing Committees are ongoing with a specific field of responsibility to which the Parliament may refer issues. For instance, the Social Development Committee of which I am a member exists "to investigate matters relating to the social well being of the community".

Particular matters that have been referred to the Social Development Committee include obesity, poverty, supported accommodation, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and post natal depression. Please go to Parliamentary Committees for more information

Select Committees are established for a particular purpose and dissolved at the conclusion of the report. For instance a committee has been established to look into the status of fatherhood.