Parliament of New South Wales
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Legislative Council Legislative Assembly
Leadership
President of the Legislative Council	Peter Primrose, Labor Party since 8 May 2007
Speaker of Legislative Assembly	Richard Torbay, Independent since 8 May 2007
Structure
Members	135 42 Councilors 93 Assembly Members
Meeting place
Parliament House, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Website
www.parliament.nsw.gov.au

The Parliament of New South Wales is the supreme law making body in New South Wales, a state of Australia. It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. As Australia is a federation of six states, the parliament shares law making powers with the national government, being the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia.

The state parliament consists of the Queen, the New South Wales Legislative Council, being the upper house, and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, being the lower house. Each house is directly elected by the people of New South Wales. The sovereign is the head of the parliament and is represented in the state by the Governor of New South Wales.

Contents 1 Location 2 Legislature 3 Executive 4 Separation of Powers 5 History 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Location

The two legislative chambers of the New South Wales Parliament are housed in the historic Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney.

[edit] Legislature

Generally, for a bill to become law, it must be passed by both the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly and be assented to by the Governor. A bill appropriating revenue for the ordinary annual services of the Government can be presented to the Governor for assent even if the upper house has not agreed to it (section 5A Constitution Act 1902, NSW)

[edit] Executive

The party or coalition with the most seats in the Legislative Assembly is invited by the Governor to form government. The head of government is the Premier.

[edit] Separation of Powers

Because members of the Government sit in Parliament, according to the Westminster system the separation of powers into Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches is different to the American model.

[edit] History

The Parliament of New South Wales is Australia's oldest parliament. The Parliament is housed in a former hospital, the Rum Hospital built in exchange for granting of a monopoly to import rum.

[edit] See also

• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories

• Official Openings by the Monarch in Australia

[edit] External links

• Parliament of New South Wales web site
• Results of all elections for the Legislative Assembly since 1856

v • d • e Parliaments of Australia Commonwealth of Australia States and Territories Australian Capital Territory  · New South Wales  · Northern Territory  · Queensland  · South Australia  · Tasmania  · Victoria  · Western Australia External Territories Norfolk Island

v • d • e Government of New South Wales Executive Monarchy • Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Premier • Deputy Premier • Cabinet • Departments • Opposition Leader Legislative Parliament • Legislative Assembly • Legislative Council • Electoral districts • MLAs • MLCs Legislative elections 1976 • 1978 • 1981 • 1984 • 1988 • 1991 • 1995 • 1999 • 2003 • 2007 • 2011 Judicial High Court • Supreme Court • District Court • Local Court • Other courts and tribunals

Coordinates: 33°52′03″S 151°12′46″E / 33.86739°S 151.21269°E / -33.86739; 151.21269