Parliament of Georgeland
| Parliament of the United Islands of Georgeland | |
|---|---|
|
379 seats House of Commons 301 seats Senate 78 seats | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type |
Bicameral |
| Houses |
House of Commons Senate |
| History | |
| Founded |
1 July 1891 (constitution) 3-5 September 1891 (first election) 20 October 1891 (first session) |
| Preceded by | Colonial Parliament of Georgeland |
| Leadership | |
|
Charlton Robards (Ind.) Since 11 September 2017 | |
|
Troy Ross (Ind.) Since 14 February 2023 | |
|
Albert Doody (Ind.) Since 13 August 2019 | |
| Structure | |
 | |
House of Commons political groups |
GRA: 131 seats Vox: 61 seats LDP: 30 seats Con.: 25 seats RFF: 18 seats NF: 6 seats Green: 6 seats SWP: 1 seat Ind. 25 seats |
 | |
Senate political groups |
GRA: 26 seats Vox: 13 seats LDP: 9 seats Con.: 13 seats RFF: 2 seats Green: 9 seats Ind. 6 seats |
| Elections | |
House of Commons voting system |
d'Hondt count proportional representation (House of Commons) Single Transferable Vote (Senate) |
| Meeting place | |
| Houses of Parliament, Topstad | |
The Parliament of Georgeland, formally the Parliament of the United Islands of Georgeland, informally the Federal Parliament, is the bicameral parliament of the United Islands of Georgeland and the country's supreme legislative body. It consists of three elements: the federal President, the Senate, and the House of Commons. Georgeland's system of government is largely derived from the Westminster system, with some evolutions and innovations since self-government in the 19th century. The concept of two equal houses, one representing the states and one elected on the basis of population, was derived from the United States Congress and adopted, with some changes, by Australia and India, among other nations, in the 20th century.
The upper house, the Senate, consists of 78 members; twelve for each of the six states, four for Delmago Island and two for the Federal District. At the next election this number will increase to 100; sixteen for each state and two for each territory. Senators are chosen for six-year terms using the Single Transferable Vote system by the voters of each state. Usually, half the senate is up for election at any given time, excepting rare occasions in which the entire senate is elected, referred to as a double dissolution or a full dissolution. Before 2007, senators served a term of eight years, and each state reserved the right to choose the manner in which its senators were elected, which at times resulted in one-sided majorities; for the most part, however, senate majorities have been rare for governments since the 1940s. Traditionally the senate has contained more parties than the Commons and an array of smaller parties, but in recent years more parties have won Commons seats.
The House of Commons consists of 301 members, and is elected for a three-year term through a different system of proportional representation using the d'Hondt count, with 300 of the members representing one of sixty five-member constituencies (Delmago Island elects one single member by instant-runoff). This system was first implemented for the 2022 election; prior to this, House of Commons members represented single-member constituencies and were elected by the first-past-the-post system until 2007 and from 2007 to 2022 by the instant-runoff method. The Commons has, for most of its history, been dominated by either the centre-right Conservative Party or one of several centre-left parties, most notably the now-defunct Labour Party, but in recent years a multiparty system has emerged with several parties represented in the Commons across the ideological spectrum.
The Prime Minister is, by convention, always a member of the House of Commons (although there is no law preventing them from being a senator) and it is to the Commons that the government is responsible - the government is always the party or group that controls a majority of the chamber or, in the case of minority governments, is able to survive confidence votes, usually through confidence-and-supply agreements with other parties. The term of the House of Commons was four years before 2007, and since 2011 the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act has reduced, but not removed, the government's capacity to dissolve the house early. The House can still be dissolved early via a successful motion of no-confidence in the government, which has occurred twice since fixed-terms were introduced - in 2017 and in 2023. The House can also be dissolved early if two-thirds of its number vote to do so, which happened once, in 2019, in order to prevent elections for the Commons and Senate becoming desynchronized. Under normal circumstances, elections for both chambers occur simultaneously.
The president has reserve powers which enable them to dissolve the parliament, usually but not always on the advice of the elected government. These same powers can be use to prorogue, or suspend, the parliament for a period of time. The president also convenes, or summons, parliament after a general election and at the beginning of every calendar year, usually in February or March. In the past, presidents attended an annual opening much like that of the State Opening of Parliament in the United Kingdom, or the State of the Union Address by the President of the United States. Since 1960, however, the president has rarely opened subsequent parliamentary sessions, attending only the first of a new parliament. During the opening the president customarily reads a speech written by the government outlining the legislative agenda.
The two houses each meet in their own chambers at the Houses of Parliament, Topstad. Rarely, the two chambers sit together in a joint sitting - this occurs for the opening of each new parliament and when the parliament is required to appoint a new president. In theory a joint sitting can be held to pass legislation under certain circumstances but this has never occurred.
History
Colonial origins
As more and more settlers arrived in Georgeland during the colonial period, agitation for self-government increased. As early as the 1820s, newspapers and land owners were arguing publicly for a more representative form of government, especially after the 1826 Rum Tax Act which imposed additional taxes on the importation of rum and spirits, which while a revenue raising opportunity for the British government was seen by locals as punitive considering the value of rum and its use as currency.
After the 1832 Reform Act passed the British parliament, demand for local democratic institutions increased. Georgeland's first legislature, an advisory council to the Governor, was established in 1836. This first Legislative Council was an entirely appointed body, but from 1840 a limited franchise elected seven of its members, one from each of the four outer islands and three from Mainland. This body, chaired by the Governor, had extremely weak authority and most of its decisions were purely ceremonial or advisory.
The 1844 Government of Georgeland Act, passed by Westminster, championed by Lord Stanley, the Colonial Secretary at the time, established a bicameral parliament for the Georgeland archipelago. The Legislative Council of 30 members was entirely appointed for a lifetime term, with appointments generally made by the Governor, often at the behest of London. The lower house, the Legislative Assembly, was a 60-member body (later increased to 80) elected by a male, landowning franchise. For most of its history, only wealthy pastoralists or landowners were elected to the Legislative Assembly - by 1875 the landowning restrictions on the vote had been relaxed, but they remained in some form until 1891.
The Government of Georgeland Act established the parliamentary body but devolution of powers remained light, and the Governor retained most authority despite the parliament's existence. For the first two decades of the colonial parliament there were few if any organised parties and, while there was an elected government led by a Chief Secretary, this government was still very much a subservient one, and the Chief Secretary was often appointed in spite of the parliamentary numbers. It was not until 1868 that, in response to the British North America Act that the issue of local autonomy and responsible government was considered pressing. After a mass demonstration in Weston in August, in which three men were killed by police, riots broke out in Emilypolis as Irish migrants formed nationalist leagues agitating for independence. The newly-elected Gladstone government appointed, in January 1869, Lord Westbury to be the new Governor, despatching him to Weston with a new revised Act which delegated multiple areas of responsibility to the colonial parliament. Westbury was succeeded in 1873 by Viscount Canterbury, who had previously been Governor of Victoria in Australia. Canterbury's experience with the successful colonial government in Melbourne did much to transition Georgeland from a directly-ruled colony to a self-governing one. In 1876, Sir Richard Worthing was officially acknowledged as Chief Minister rather than Chief Secretary, although the title 'premier' continued to occasionally be used.
After Robert Pearce, an advocate of greater autonomy, became Chief Minister in 1888, momentum grew for Georgeland's further autonomy, particularly over defence and relations with neighbours. Pearce, along with others including Samuel Horrocks and Edward Hollows, successfully lobbied London to grant a similar status to Georgeland as that of Canada. A new constitution was drawn up and approved; the constitution was radical, including an elected upper house and a universal male franchise. This radical constitution was largely due to the labour movement and Irish nationalists; initially, the Colonial Secretary, Lord Stanhoipe, opposed the more democratic aspects of the constitution, especially the elected upper house, but was persuaded that any hesitancy could lead to unrest in Scoita and potentially in Ireland as well. The new Government Act was signed by Queen Victoria in October 1890, and established a new national parliament with a Senate and a House of Commons.
Early Weston parliament
Georgeland's constitution came into effect on 1 July 1891, with elections for the first parliament held in September. The first parliamentary session was opened by Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyle, though the Speech from the Throne was read by the Governor-General, Lord Lucan. Parliament House in Weston, where the legislature had sat since 1884, continued to host the new parliament as plans were made to establish a new national capital, which the constitution had stipulated would not be in Mainland. Several sites were considered including Dannyburg, Emilypolis and Sergiocitta, as well as smaller towns such as Stratton, Bath and even Beale; ultimately, Topstad was chosen, near the centre of New Ireland (Capitalia from 1926). The Topstad/Sheffield decision was unpopular in the east of the country as it was only a relatively short journey by ferry and train from Weston, and the industrial east feared continued domination by the western regions. Nonetheless, Topstad was chosen formally as the new capital in 1905, the decision having been delayed by the Boer War and the late 1890s economic crisis. Other business of the early parliament included the establishment of a national defence force, supreme court and bank, adoption of a new Georgeland currency, and assisting with the establishment of the five state governments, all of which were organised on similar lines but with unicameral legislatures.
Move to Topstad
Even before Topstad had been chosen as the new national capital, preliminary designs for a new parliament were underway. In 1897, the Department of Home Affairs engaged Eugène-Étienne Taché, a French Canadian architect who had designed the Parliament building in Quebec City, to do preliminary drawings. Taché based his designs on the Quebec building, though later work significantly altered it. When the national government changed in 1903, Taché was dismissed and the main design work given to Briton Charles Whitney. Whitney retained some of Taché's features, but made major alterations to the exterior and completely altered the interior layout. Whitney's design had the Commons and Senate chambers mirroring one another, while the original Taché design had them on different floors.
The building was not completed by the time Parliament took up residence, though the debating chambers, the Great Hall, and the library had been finished. The opening ceremony on 15 April 1911 was performed by Princess Louise (now styled HRH the Princess Royal) once again, attended by the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, and the Governor-General, Lord Gifford. Gifford was very unwell and died only weeks later, possibly from pneumonia caught in the inclement weather. The prime minister, Sir Nicholas Turner, was likewise quite ill and nursing a heavy cold. Immediately following the ceremony, Gifford dissolved the parliament pending a new general election, which Turner lost. The new Labour government led by Eric Donaldson was slow to take up offices in the new capital, with Donaldson working, for the first eighteen months of his term, primarily from Weston (renamed Santa Christina the same year). The 1911 election expanded the number of Commons members from 120 to 164
The outbreak of the First World War led to more government departments moving permanently to Topstad, and Donaldson's cabinet began meeting there more frequently even when parliament was not in session. Gifford's successor as Governor-General, the Earl of Kintore, had taken up residence at Government House, Topstad and would regularly use the parliament building as an office and to communicate via telegram to England. Donaldson, and his successor Gregory Green, were now spending most of their time in Topstad, especially after the War Office moved there in 1916.
Republican era
After a referendum in 1928 made Georgeland a republic from 1 July 1929, some changes were made to the government and parliamentary process. Most of the powers formerly held by the Governor-General as a representative of the King were transferred to the new president, but many parliamentary traditions stemmed from a royal presence. Over several years, parliamentary decisions reinforced most of the existing traditions with a republican spirit - the Speech from the Throne was simply renamed the President's Speech, and the throne itself, in the Senate chamber, was removed. Openings of parliament continued to be held in the Senate, though the new president, Victor Martin, opted to wear a plain business suit rather than any formal dress as viceroys had. This in turn led to parliamentary officials abandoning the judicial wigs and robes used since the 19th century, which in Georgeland had become obsolete by the Second World War. Royal symbols including coats of arms remained for some time - the statue of King George V was removed from the Great Hall in 1935, but that of Queen Victoria in the forecourt remained, and remains there today. Despite several debates on the subject, the British coat of arms was also retained in both chambers, alongside the Georgeland coat of arms - both were eventually removed in 1985 but the British coat of arms still remains on some furnishings in the chambers and throughout the precinct.
The Second World War saw the earliest live radio broadcasts from parliament - the changing nature of media had a significant impact on parliamentary practice. From 1942, the size of the Commons increased to 211, which necessitated a renovation of the debating chamber. The largest single change to parliament came in 1958 after a referendum which abolished the Executive Council, replacing it with Cabinet, and formalising the role and office of prime minister in the constitution, something uncommon to Westminster democracies. From 1958, the president was also elected by a joint sitting of the parliament rather than by a direct election - choosing a president is the only circumstances under which both houses of parliament have met and voted together. This same year, Delmago Island was admitted as a state (despite its small size) and the number of senators increased to 58.
Modern era
A modernisation of parliamentary process began in the 1970s with the relaxing of certain codes of practice, such as the requirement for women MPs and senators to wear hats (though they were banned from wearing trousers until 1990), and the Clerk's presiding over the chamber (without speaking) during the election of a speaker (instead, the Father of the House took on this role).
In 1985, the parliament building underwent a $350 million renovation process. This included new disability and wheelchair access and a significant enlargement of both chambers to accommodate the larger parliamentary body - the size of the House increased to 223 in 1970 and 265 in 1991, and the Senate to 68 from 1984. During most of 1985 the building was closed to the public and the debating chambers were not used - the houses met in specially-converted committee rooms. Another key change in this period was the abolition of the Committee of the Whole House and the beginning of televised sittings, due to the chambers now incorporating television cameras.
During the 1990s and 2000s, further increases in the size of parliament prompted further changes, especially after 2000 when the state of Mainland divided into two. This prompted the construction of the Sir Robert Pearce Annex, completed in 2010, which now houses most parliamentary offices and meeting rooms, as well as specialised communication equipment. In 2009, Samantha Ross MP became the first parliamentarian to breastfeed a newborn in the chamber, after appeals had prompted a rule change.
From 1999, Labour ceased to be the predominant left-wing party with the formation of the Liberals, and later the Liberal Democrats. In 2019, the election of the Georgeland Alliance/Reform coalition marked the first time since 1911 that a third party had been elected to government - the new party Vox became the opposition, the first time both the new government and opposition were different parties from the election before.
The Covid-19 pandemic produced several changes in process including the ability for members and senators to attend and vote remotely, as social distancing arrangements in the chamber meant they were unable to be filled to capacity. A lasting change from this period was the amendment of standing orders no longer required an absolute majority and merely a majority of those present, provided both the government and opposition were in agreement.
Composition and election
The constitution, derived from British constitutional traditions, defines Parliament as consisting of the President, the Senate, and the House of Commons.
President
The President of Georgeland, as head of state, is the constitutional source of executive authority. The president only uses most of his or her powers on the advice of the Cabinet, although the reserve powers can be invoked without such advice. The President's primary responsibility to parliament is to open the beginning of every new session (this function is delegated to the presiding officers for all except the initial session after an election) and to sign legislation to provide official assent.
Senate
The Parliament of Georgeland's upper house is the Senate, which consists of 78 senators. The senate was partially modelled on that of the United States, in that each of Georgeland's states receives an equal number of senators irrespective of its population. Initially this was eight per state (from 1891), increased to ten in 1958 and twelve in 1984 - in 2023 legislation was passed to increase this to sixteen per state in future. The constitution specifies only that the original five states - Bradmarch, Capitalia (called New Ireland until 1926), Long Island, Mainland and Scoita, receive equal representation. When Delmago Island, which had a population of only twenty thousand, became a state in 1958 it was given four senators, with the other states increasing to ten each. In 2000, Mainland subdivided into East and West Mainland, with each new state receiving twelve senators. Since 1980, the Federal District has been entitled to two senators of its own.
The number of senators per state is at the discretion of parliament, provided each of the original states has an equal number and no fewer than eight. A particular quirk of the Georgeland upper house was that while it has always been elected (required to be so by the constitution), until 2005 each state was itself responsible for the means by which its senators were elected. Some states like Bradmarch and Long Island adopted a proportional voting system in the early 20th century, while many continued to use a first-past-the-post system of plural voting, or dividing the state into single-senator districts, for more than a hundred years. This led to occasional elections with lopsided results and outcomes not reflecting the numbers in the House of Commons. In 2005, a constitutional referendum (the third on this issue) resulted in the amendment of the constitution to ensure that the federal, not state, parliaments are responsible for senate elections, and that they must be standard across the country (with some exceptions such as in the Federal District, which having only two senators, elects one at a time using the Instant Runoff method).
All senators are chosen by the electors of each state at large for a term of six years, beginning on 1 January. Senators are elected by Single Transferable Vote (STV), a proportional electoral system in which electors number candidates, or tickets, by preference. This has resulted in smaller parties being more easily able to win seats in the Senate as opposed to the House, although this has changed in recent years. Due to this system the government has rarely controlled the Senate on its own, leading to negotiations with other parties and the opposition to pass legislation. The six-year term is staggered, and half of the senators from each state are elected every three years alongside the House of Commons. The exception to this is a full dissolution in which the entire senate is elected at once - the last full dissolution was in 2002.
House of Commons
The lower house, the House of Commons, consists of 301 members. Until 2022 these members were chosen from single-member constituencies; since the election of that year Commons members have been chosen by the d'Hondt method of proportional representation. Each state now has a number of members proportionate to its population, elected from five-member constituencies. The exception is Delmago Island, which retains a single member elected by Instant Runoff. The Instant Runoff method was used to choose all House members from 2005 until 2022; before this the first-past-the-post method was used.
The House of Commons is in most respects equal in power to the Senate, but is seen as the more powerful house because it is to the House that the government is responsible. To form a government a party or bloc must be able to survive a confidence motion, and hold a majority of seats in the Commons, either by itself or by agreement with other groups. The prime minister is always a member of the House of Commons - while he or she must, constitutionally, be a member of either the Commons or the Senate, the practical realities of government, and the House's higher media profile, means no senator has served as prime minister. Because only the Commons can initiate appropriation bills (such as the annual budget), the Treasurer is also, for practical reasons, always an MP.
Boundary changes in the House of Commons are managed by a nonpartisan civil service body, the National Electoral Office, which conducts a review into the number of seats in each state after every national census. This process is rigidly neutral - while political groups and politicians can submit to the review like anyone else, the office is not bound to follow their requests. The Commons must approve any changes - respect for the process has meant that they have never been rejected.
Both houses
The qualifications for election to either the Senate or the House of Commons are identical and governed by the Elections Act of 1893, which has been amended 27 times. In order to vote, and stand, for either chamber, a person must be:
- A citizen of Georgeland
- Registered to vote in their primary state of residence
- Aged 18 years or over
In 2019 a parliamentary review recommended allowing permanent residents who pay income tax to be permitted to vote, but this was not adopted. Women were first legally granted the vote, at the federal level, in 1917, although the vote was not extended to all women regardless of property until 1925. The voting age, originally 21, was lowered to 18 in 1977.
Members of the Senate are not permitted to stand for the House of Commons, or vice versa. While many people have served in both, it is constiutionally required to resign from one in order to run for the other - a 1964 court case ruled that this requirement applied regardless of whether or not a candidate was elected. Other than this, the only restriction on candidature is that a person cannot be serving in the military, or in a paid office of the federal government (excluding parliamentarians themselves). The restriction on federal officers being elected several times, with the 1992 case of UIG v Conroy clarifying that a person can be on leave without pay from a civil service and still eligible to be elected, while any military personnel with an active commission cannot be elected, whether they are on leave or otherwise.
Powers and jurisdiction
The powers of the federal parliament are laid out in Section 38 of the Constitution. Examples of powers specifically granted to the federal, as opposed to any state, parliament include national defence, treaties, federal taxation, marriage law and shipping. Other powers not explicitly granted by the constitution have come from Supreme Court rulings, and include abortion law, industrial relations and welfare. The constitution does not explicitly reserve other powers for the states, and often exactly which powers are state and which are federal have needed to be arbitrated.
The federal parliament also, under Section 40, has the power to grant or loan money to the states, under "such terms as may be negotiated", which over time has led to federal influence over healthcare, education and transport, among others.
A core constitutional principle is that the two houses possess equal power, and laws cannot be passed without consent to both. Unlike some upper houses, including that in the United Kingdom, the Senate very much can block legislation passed by the Commons. This includes appropriation bills and bills for public expenditure, such as the annual federal budget; more often than an outright veto, the Senate amends legislation by agreement with the government through a negotiation with various parties or senators. As is standard for the Westminster system. appropriation bills may not originate in the Senate - for this reason the Treasurer is always a member of the House of Commons (though there is no specific rule preventing a Senator from being Treasurer).
Conflict between houses
While rare, one house does have the capacity to prevent the passage of legislation. When this occurs, the constitution specifies a clear process for resolving the deadlock. If either house fails to pass a law to which the other assents, after a three month period the same legislation can be put to both chambers again - if either fails to pass it, the President can dissolve both houses and call a new election for which the entire Commons and entire Senate (as opposed to half of the Senate) are open seats. Once the new parliament is assembled, if either house once more fails to pass legislation a joint sitting of both chambers can be held in which the entire parliament debates and votes as one - if the legislation passes, it becomes law once assented by the president.
This provision, known as a full dissolution or double dissolution, is extremely rare, and has been used only three times - in 1915, 1987, and 2003. The 2003 case was a particularly unusual one, as it was in fact the Commons, not the Senate, that rejected legislation, in this case amendments to the Ethical Research Act (Human Embryos) Act which provided for stem cell research on human embryos. The Commons having failed to pass it twice, prime minister Charlton Robards sought legal sanction for his view that it constituted grounds for a full dissolution - the constitution was, according to some, clearly intended that the Senate be the house that blocked legislation. Robards received advice from the Solicitor-General and several former Supreme Court judges that the situation did permit a dissolution, and one was granted. On none of the three occasions on which a full dissolution was needed did a full sitting eventuate - in 1915 the triggering legislation was abandoned when the government lost the election, and in 1987 and 2003 it was passed by the new parliament.
The full dissolution provisions were adopted, with modifications, by the drafters of the Australian constitution who considered it an excellent example of a contingency unlikely ever to be used - ironically, the provisions for a full dissolution in Australia have been used far more often than in Georgeland.
Officers and officials
The parliament has many support staff and officers whose roles assist with parliamentary business. Each house chooses, by election, presiding officers to maintain order and manage debate, as well as managers of party business in the chambers. More than four thousand civil servants assist with the work of parliament, including library and research staff, administrators, security, hospitality and maintenance personnel.
Political
Speaker of the House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons, while legally equal in authority to the President of the Senate, has tended to be seen as the more powerful and prestigious position, due in part to televised proceedings and the speaker's prominent role during question period. The Speaker is chosen by members of the house, using a secret ballot system since 2010 - before this, the Speaker was nominated and seconded in a voice vote. The Speaker is often, but not always, a long-term backbencher from the governing party, though the manner in which the party chooses their nominee for speaker varies. Because the government usually controls the majority of votes in the Commons, a speaker has never been chosen without the government's explicit backing. The Speaker is expected to be impartial, refrains from debates, and does not attend party political meetings. The Speaker also does not receive a deliberative vote on House business or legislation, instead having a casting vote to use in the event of a tie. The tradition of Speaker Denison's Rule obliges the Speaker always to vote for the status quo if needed, but this can and has been ignored on occasion. The Speaker receives the title 'Honorable' as a minister does, and some, but not all, Speakers have been granted the title 'Right Honorable' after their service.
The present Speaker is the Hon. Albert Doody MP, who was elected in 2019. He is the first Speaker to be chosen as an independent MP rather than from a party's ranks.
President of the Senate
Elected by the senate from its members, the President of the Senate is the presiding officer of the chamber, with the authority to control debate, issue warnings and suspend members from attendance. The President of the Senate ranks equal with the Speaker in precedence. While the Speaker is not usually chosen against the government's wishes, the President of the Senate can and has been elected despite the government's choice of nominee, as it is rare for the government to control the senate. Unlike the Speaker, the President of the Senate has a deliberative vote on legislation and no casting vote, however, when numbers are close it has been the usual practice for the president to abstain. Like the Speaker, the president is a nominally non-partisan office and the incumbent, by convention, refrains from attending party meetings if they are part of a political party. The President of the Senate is, like the Speaker, known as 'the Honorable' for life.
The incumbent president of the senate is the Hon. Troy Ross, elected in 2022. He is the first Independent senator to become Speaker.
Deputy speakers and presidents
Each presiding officer is assisted by between one and three deputies at any given time. Deputy speakers and presidents, also elected by the chambers, tend to be drawn from across the political spectrum with the most senior, the First Deputy, usually a member of the opposition. While the presidency of the senate and the speakership are constitutionally-mandated, this is not true of deputy presidents. Deputies preside over the chambers in the speaker or president's absence, usually in less-busy sessions. It is also traditional for one of the deputies to preside when the chamber goes into the Committee of the Whole - however, this practice has not been used since the 1960s.
The present deputy presiding officers are:
- Ingrid Van Der Stam MP, First Deputy Speaker (Independent)
- Dr Linda Cairns MP, Second Deputy Speaker (Reform Alliance)
- Mary Stewart, Deputy President of the Senate (Independent)
Leader of the House
Since 1954, the government has appointed a senior minister to the position of Leader of the House of Commons to act as the manager of government business. This includes the order of bills and debates, speaking times, and management of the standing orders. The Leader of the House is sometimes assisted by a deputy and consults with a senior member from the opposition, referred to as the Opposition Manager to conduct affairs. Both the government and opposition also appoint Business Managers in the Senate. The present Leader of the House is the Hon Natalie Smith MP, who is also Treasurer. The Opposition Manager is Terry Truman, who is also Shadow Minister for Defence.
Leaders of the Government and Opposition in the Senate
Each party has its own internal mechanism for choosing its leadership in the Senate. For parties on the crossbench, leaders can generally be drawn from either chamber, but government and opposition leadership is almost always drawn from the Commons, with both sides having a senior senator to act as Leader of the Government or Opposition, reporting to their party's overall leader and acting as their party's main spokesperson in the upper house. The present Leader of the Government in the Senate is the Hon. Alice Hicks, with the Hon. Lisa Foster deputy leader - the Opposition leaders in the senate are Barbara Gauss-Walton and Grant Fox respectively.
Civil service
The parliamentary precinct is managed by the Parliamentary Services Office, an independent agency of the Georgeland Civil Service under the joint authority of the President of the Senate and the Speaker. The PSO is managed by a Director, who ranks as a permanent secretary and reports jointly to the presiding officers. The PSO was created in 2018 - prior to this, each parliamentary department was self-contained, which led to bureaucratic inefficiencies. The current Director of the PSO is Dr Oliver Haddad, appointed to the role in December 2022.
Clerks
Clerk of the Parliaments
The Clerk of the Parliaments is the senior administrator for the House of Commons and the Senate - before 2018, this role was limited to the House of Commons, with the Senate having its own senior clerk that reported to the President of the Senate. The Clerk of the Parliaments is responsible for the management of chamber business and acts as the advisor to the presiding officer on matters of procedure and protocol. Before 2018 the Clerk would regularly attend sessions of the Commons but the position is now mostly a bureaucratic one, with the clerks-assistant handling the day-to-day operations in the chambers. The present Clerk of the Parliaments is Geraldine Jagger, appointed in May 2019.
Clerks-Assistant
The Clerk of the Parliaments is assisted by several clerks-assistant, each of whom is capable for deputising for the senior clerk. The Clerk-Assistant (House of Commons) is the day-to-day manager of Commons business and adviser to the Speaker, assisted by two deputy clerks-assistant, and the Clerk-Assistant (Senate) performs the same functions in the Senate.
Serjeant-at-arms
The Serjeant-at-arms is an ancient position, with a combination of administrative and ceremonial duties. In the past the serjeant was responsible for the security arrangements for the precinct and ensuring the Speaker's personal safety - these jobs are now managed by the Parliamentary Security Agency. The serjeant's most visible duty is to carry the mace in and out of the Commons chamber and to accompany the speaker to his or her formal engagements.
Black Rod
A similar position to the serjeant, the Usher of the Black Rod (usually referred to only as Black Rod and known before 2012 as the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod was formerly in charge of security arrangements for the President of the Senate, as well as for the President of Georgeland when the latter attended the opening of parliament. The position is now largely ceremonial, with the usher's most visible duty to summon and accompany members of the House of Commons to the senate chamber for the opening of parliament at the beginning of every session.
Procedure
Question Period
Since 1928 there has been an assigned period for oral questions to be asked of the Prime Minister and his or her ministers. While questions were permitted in debates before this, it was not until the late 1920s that the practice became formalised. Referred to as Prime Minister's Questions or Oral Questions initially, the term Question Period became standard in 1963. A similar practice began in the Senate in 1940.
Question Period is held at 3pm on every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday when parliament is sitting. This is, as is common to other parliaments with a similar arrangement, usually the only time most Members of the Commons are present in the chamber all at one time, and the proceedings are generally considered to be lively and energetic, though in recent years reforms have prevented particularly aggressive responses or 'bad faith' questions. The Speaker normally presides during Question Period and by convention will call upon the Leader of the Opposition for the first question, which is usually to the Prime Minister, then alternating between government and opposition members. Since 2019, the crossbench members have been entitled to be included more regularly. Members of the government often ask questions of ministers asking them to speak on a matter of policy; typically this is used as an opportunity for a minister to attack the opposition or promote the government's record. This type of question, referred to as a handball, has been highly criticised and several governments have signalled they would end the practice; though none actually have, in 2019 Tom Elderton's government issued a restriction on handball questions to its own members - the number of handball questions was reduced and has slowly increased since then.
Questions can be asked by any member during QP and are not required to be vetted or approved in advance, although it is normal for backbenchers to get that approval for political reasons. There have been occasions where a member, even a government member, has asked a question without prior approval, but this is exceedingly rare.
Members of the executive, including ministers and parliamentary private secretaries, are not permitted to ask questions of other members without special dispensation from the Speaker. Usually, these questions are organised in advanced with the opposition and are often used as handballs to reveal new arrangements or, on one occasion in 2004, to congratulate a member for a particular event.
There is no specific requirement that only ministers can be asked questions, but as there would be little reason to do so, in practice backbenchers are never required to answer questions.
Committees
Other than legislative business, both chambers of parliament have a number of significant committees which perform oversight, investigatory and scrutiny on aspects of government policy, budgets and the parliament itself. Parliamentary committees have the power to summon and question witnesses, conduct inquiries, and write reports including recommendations to their respective chambers and the appropriate ministers. Matters can be referred to committees by the chamber or by the relevant minister, and some committees have the authority to begin an inquiry at their own instigation. Committees are considered to be akin to courts in their power to subpoena witnesses, and failure to adequately comply with a summons or committee business can be considered contempt of parliament, a criminal offence.
As with parliamentary sessions in the chambers, committees have the status of official proceedings. Hansard reporters record their work and members in committees are protected by parliamentary privilege as they would be in the chamber.
Committees including standing committees on various aspects of domestic or foreign policy or select committees on specific matters. Standing committees are permanent and ongoing committees and constitute the bulk of committee business, while select committees generally dissolve once their reports are complete. Select committees are also formed to examine specific legislation. Local committees are related to the parliament itself - they always involve one of the presiding officers and relate to the operation of parliament, including the powerful Privileges Committee which examines the privileges and conduct of members.
Both the House and Senate have their own committees on various issues, while there are also joint committees drawn from both chambers. Members of the executive are not permitted to serve on committees, and while shadow ministers are permitted to, it is not normal for them to do so due to the workload. Committee memberships are determined by party leaders and whips, but there are formulas that determine how many members of a committee must be drawn from the government, the opposition and the crossbench. Committees can remove their own members by majority vote, and members can be removed from any committee assignments by the presiding officer of the relevant chamber.
Relationship with executive
Under Westminster conventions the executive government is responsible to parliament, and relies on control of the Commons in order to govern. Constitutionally the prime minister must be a member of the parliament along with other ministers (with a three month grace period to account for dissolutions), and in practice the president, who appoints ministers, only appoints a prime minister who leads the governing party or coalition.
It is rare for ministers to be appointed from outside parliament - on the rare occasions this has occurred, they have become parliamentarians within the three months allowed by the constitution. The first time this method was used was in December 1941, when trade union leader Lou Fletcher was appointed Postmaster-General despite not serving in parliament (Fletcher had stood for Labour at the 1938 election but been defeated). Fletcher's appointment, made shortly after Georgeland entered World War II, was intended to provide him with a voice in Cabinet and act as a liaison to trade unions in order to mobilise a workforce for the war effort. Fletcher was appointed to the senate in January 1942 and continued to serve in cabinet until his death in 1946.
On several occasions, newly-elected senators yet to take their seats have been appointed as ministers, as was the case with Gary Prosser in 1983 and John Saunderson in 1995 (Saunderson had stood down from the senate but in 1995 ran for and won a new term, beginning in January 1996). In 2019, this provision was used to appoint Prof.Ted Baxter, a senior scholar in International Relations, as Minister for Foreign Affairs - Baxter, who had never been in elected office, was appointed foreign minister on 24 January and entered the senate in March when a casual vacancy took place following the resignation of Felicity Porthrop. The Baxter appointment was controversial partly because he represented Capitalia in the senate despite having no connection to the state, having spent his career in Doubledance. Clare Price, the prime minister who made the appointment, later said that she would never have arranged for Baxter to enter parliament if she hadn't needed to, and suggested a constitutional reform to allow ministers to be appointed from outside parliament to bolster the potential for talented people to make contributions to government. In 2023 Vox leader Mary-Jane Epstein also suggested this model, and committed Vox to a review on the subject with a possible referendum if the party won power.
The prime minister and his or her senior ministers constitute Cabinet, which functions as a decision-making body. Cabinet is a constitutionally-defined body, drawn from parliament, the decisions of which have legal force. Cabinet, which has existed since 1891, replaced the Executive Council (formerly the Privy Council) in 1958, and functions as the main executive body. The constitution defines the presidential powers as, largely, being exercised "on advice of ministers" or "in council", which ensures the president's authority is dependent on direction from the cabinet.
Ministers outside cabinet are able to attend cabinet meetings, but only those formally in cabinet can meet to give legal force to decisions. The president is entitled to attend, or even preside, over cabinet meetings but due to conventions and political realities does so only at the cabinet's invitation, usually once per year or at the beginning of a new government. In practice, the prime minister is the chair of cabinet. The constitution mandates the president must be informed of cabinet decisions, but not that he or she must agree to them. No president has ever acted against the advice of cabinet or contradicted its decisions as to do so would provoke a constitutional crisis.
Privileges and entitlements
Styles and titles
Members of the House of Commons receive the postnominal letters MP (Member of Parliament) while serving. Senators, while technically members of parliament, do not have postnominal letters and are simply referred to as 'Senator [Surname]'. These titles are used only for sitting members and senators. The prenominal of 'The Honourable' applies to any MP or Senator who serves in Cabinet; they retain the title for life, although it can be revoked by the federal President. While speaking in the chamber, Members of the Commons have traditionally not used names in debate, referring to one another by their constituency title 'The Honourable Member for [Constituency]' or as 'My learned/honorable friend'. Since the introduction of multi-member constituencies in 2022, this practice has been altered and the Speaker now calls on members by their surname and chosen honorific - usually 'Mr', 'Mrs' or 'Ms'. In 2019, nonbinary member MJ Cannon objected to being asked to use a prenominal at all - by agreement, the standing orders were changed to permit the option of a member being called by their first and last names in debate. Most members continue to refrain from using personal names when directly referring to one another.
In the chamber, Senators always refer to one another by their title 'Senator' and surname, including a first name only if there are multiple senators with the same surname.
Salary
Formerly, each chamber set its own salary levels. In 2009 a new system was introduced by which the Parliamentary and Civil Service Renumeration Tribunal (PCSRT) made official recommendations on the salaries of members and senators, as well as additional payments based on positions such as ministers or shadow ministers. The PCSRT members are appointed by each chamber for a three-year term and must be elected with a two-thirds majority, ensuring a degree of impartiality and bipartisanship, and are usually retired judges, parliamentarians and civil servants. The PCSRT reports annually with recommendations for salary levels, though the chambers must still agree to them by majority vote.
The current base salary level for backbench MPs and backbench senators is $174,528.32 per annum. Parliamentary secretaries, ministers, Cabinet members and senior Opposition members, as well as party leaders, whips, presiding officers and their deputies, also all receive additional salary based on their position. Notably, members who are forced to resign through criminal conduct are not entitled to their pension.
Travel and housing allowances
Members and senators receive separate allowances for their domestic and international travel, provided such travel is on official parliamentary business or their official role as a local representatives. Because all but seven parliamentarians represent a constituency or state outside Topstad, they also receive an allowance for accommodation in the capital, either when parliament is sitting or when they are required to be present for committee or other official business. In the past, MPs and senators were permitted to save up this allowance and spend it on purchasing housing; an enquiry in 2006 found this system was widely abused, with politicians regularly purchasing second or third homes and renting them at a profit. Current allowances, while generous, are monitored and beneficiaries must pay back excess or misspent funds. The size of the allowance also varies by distance to the capital and by size of constituency.
Pensions
All retired parliamentarians receive a pension based on their earnings when they retired, or when they were defeated for re-election. These rates are also set by the PCSRT and are currently set at 43% of their last salary level; for a backbencher this is approximately $75,000 per year. Until 2008, parliamentarians who served more than 10 years were entitled to free travel on Air Georgeland flights; this policy was abolished as a cost-saving measure, with existing holders of the famed 'gold pass' grandfathered for 5 years.
Recording and broadcasting of proceedings
Official transcription of parliamentary sittings is managed by the Hansard Office, who employ stenographers to record parliamentarians' speeches. Hansard reporters have been a constant presence in the chamber since 1891. Hansard reports were published daily and bound into volumes until 2016 - since that time they are only published upon request, with the official daily Hansard being provided digitally on the parliamentary website. Hansard remains the official record, and is edited after the fact to provide clarity or correct errors that may have occurred in speeches - the Hansard transcript and the recording can vary, sometimes significantly. In 1993 a Select Committee ruled that the Hansard transcript is to be considered the official record even if a recording exists, a situation that has remained despite criticism from journalists and parliamentarians.
Since 1936, the Georgeland Broadcasting Corporation has had the legal requirement to provide radio coverage of parliamentary proceedings at the parliament's discretion. Regular radio broadcasts began only in 1950, although some debates during the war were recorded - the first live broadcast was on 10 December 1941, when Prime Minister Fenton Thomas announced the declaration of war against Germany and Japan. From 1950 the GBC began daily broadcasts of parliamentary highlights, and Question Period has been broadcast live since 1965.
The first film cameras to record parliament did so in March 1933; the practicalities of accommodating bulky cinematography equipment meant this was a rare event. The Opening of Parliament was filmed for newsreels and later television reports from 1961, but other than that cameras were generally kept out of the chambers. A minor renovation in 1962 to expand the chamber's seating allowed cameras for these special occasions, but it wasn't until 1985, when both chambers underwent significant restoration work, that cameras became common, with the renovated chambers including places for television cameras as part of their structure. The GBC began live broadcasts of parliament on television in 1987. Since 2002, the GBC has recorded each chamber and broadcast segments when required, as well as providing that footage to news outlets, but a second channel, ParliamenTV, has provided live, unedited coverage of all sessions.
The first session of parliament to be livestreamed over the internet was Question Period on 24 April 2003. Since 2004 all sessions have been livestreamed - committees have also been streamed since 2009.
Current parliament
The last election for the House of Commons was held on 4 August 2023, following the House's decision to dissolve following a loss of confidence. At the 2023 election, the second held under the proportional representation system, the incumbent Georgeland Reform Alliance won 131 seats and formed a new minority government under Tom Elderton with a confidence and supply agreement with the Liberal Democrats, who won 30 seats. The previous government of the Georgeland Alliance and Reform (which merged in April 2023) held only 117 seats and governed with support of the Conservative Party. In 2019 the Alliance/Reform coalition won 133 out of the 265 seats, a majority of one.
The most recent Senate election, held in 2022, saw 39 senate seats up for election and 39 continuing from the 2019 election. The Reform Alliance government holds a total of 26 out of 78 seats, relying on support from either the Conservatives (14 seats) or the Liberal Democrats, and Green Parties (9 seats each)
Four parliamentarians have resigned since the 2023 election. Melissa Wright (Free Progressive) resigned from the House of Commons on 30 January 2024 after becoming the Free Progressive nominee in the 2024 presidential election.
Joshua Chan (Liberal Democrat) resigned from the Senate on 18 September 2023 and was replaced by
Andrew Taylor (Reform Alliance) and Edwina Crockett (Conservative) resigned from the Senate on 4th and 7th January 2024 respectively to seek their party's presidential nomination - Crockett was subsequently nominated but Taylor was defeated. Taylor was replaced by Annette Loader, who had previously been a member of the House of Commons from 2019 to 2022. Crockett was replaced by Chris Price, who previously served in the senate from 2014 to 2020.