Government (29)
Coalition
Liberal (21)
LNP (5)[a]
National (2)
CLP (1)[b]
Opposition (25)
Labor (25)
Crossbench (19)
Greens (9)
One Nation (3)
Xenophon (3)
Hinch (1)
Liberal Democrat (1)
Conservatives
Independent (1)
Vacant (4)
Vacant (4)[c]
This is a list of members of the Australian Senate following the 2016 double dissolution election on 2 July 2016. All 76 senators were elected due to the election being the result of a double dissolution, and not an ordinary half-senate election. The terms of half of the senators representing each of the six states of Australia were allocated six-year terms ending on 30 June 2022 with the remainder allocated three-year terms ending on 30 June 2019. The terms of senators from the States can only be truncated if another double dissolution election is called. The terms of senators from the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory end on the next dissolution of the House of Representatives.
In accordance with section 13 of the Constitution,[1] it was left to the Senate to decide which Senators were allocated the full six-year terms ending on 30 June 2022 and which Senators were allocated three-year terms ending on 30 June 2019. The senate resolved that the first elected six of twelve Senators in each state would serve six-year terms, while the last six elected in each state would serve three-year terms. This was the Senate practice on the seven previous occasions that have required allocation of long and short terms.[2] In 1983 the Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform had unanimously recommended an alternative "recount" method to reflect proportional representation,[3] and section 282 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act was inserted to provide for a recount on that basis.[4] This alternative method had been supported by both Labor and the Coalition in bipartisan senate resolutions passed in 1998[5] and 2010.[6] [7][2][8] Despite this, an agreement between Liberal's Mathias Cormann and Labor's Penny Wong led the Senate to choose the method that awarded longer, six year terms to Labor's Deborah O'Neill and Liberal's Scott Ryan at the expense of The Greens' Lee Rhiannon and the Justice Party's Derryn Hinch being allocated shorter, three year terms.[9][10][11]
There have been numerous changes to the composition of the Senate and party affiliations during the term.[d][e][f][g][h][i][j][k][l][m][n][o][p][q][r][s]
See also
Notes
- ^ 3 LNP Senators sit in the Liberal party room and 2 in the National party room
- ^ Sits in National party room
- ^ Stephen Parry, Jacqui Lambie and Skye Kakoschke-Moore all resigned due to discovering they held British citizenship, making them ineligible to be elected to parliament. The High Court found all three to be ineligible, and ordered that their seats be filled by countbacks to be held later, which will most likely result in the next candidate on their parties' tickets being elected unless that candidate is also found to be ineligible. Senator Sam Dastyari of New South Wales resigned on 25 January 2018.
- ^ a b c Victorian Labor Senator Stephen Conroy resigned on 30 September 2016. Kimberley Kitching was appointed as his replacement on 25 October 2016.
- ^ a b c South Australian Family First Senator Bob Day resigned on 1 November 2016. The High Court held on 5 April 2017 that Day was "incapable of being chosen" as a Senator as he had an indirect interest in an agreement with the Commonwealth.[16] The High Court had previously held that the presence of a person whose election was void did not invalidate the proceedings of the Senate.[14] Day's seat was filled by a recount, and Lucy Gichuhi was declared elected on 19 April 2017.[17]
- ^ a b Culleton resigned from the One Nation party on 18 December 2016.[15]
- ^ a b c Western Australian Rod Culleton was declared bankrupt by the Federal Court of Australia on 11 January 2017, and as such was disqualified from being a Senator. The High Court subsequently held he was "incapable of being chosen" as a Senator as he was awaiting sentence on a criminal conviction.[13] The High Court had previously held that the presence of a person whose election was void did not invalidate the proceedings of the Senate.[14] Culleton's seat was filled by a recount, and on 10 March 2017 the High Court declared Peter Georgiou to be elected to the vacancy.
- ^ a b On 7 February 2017, Senator for South Australia Cory Bernardi resigned from the Liberal Party and founded the Australian Conservatives.[12]
- ^ a b Scott Ludlam resigned on 14 July 2017 after realising he held New Zealand citizenship, due to legal advice that he was ineligible to be a senator under Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia.
- ^ a b Larissa Waters resigned on 18 July 2017 after realising she held Canadian citizenship, due to legal advice that she was ineligible to be a senator under Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia.
- ^ a b c Western Australian Liberal Senator Chris Back resigned on 31 July 2017. Slade Brockman was appointed as his replacement on 16 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i On 27 October 2017, the High Court of Australia ruled that Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts, Nationals Senator Fiona Nash and Greens Senator Larissa Waters were held to be "incapable of being chosen" as Senators because they held foreign citizenship.[20] The High Court had previously held that the presence of a person whose election was void did not invalidate the proceedings of the Senate.[14] Their seats have been filled by a recount, which elected Jordon Steele-John, Fraser Anning and Andrew Bartlett, replacing Ludlam, Roberts and Waters respectively. Nash's replacement, Hollie Hughes, was referred to the full bench of the High Court, and was deemed ineligible under Section 44(iv). Jim Molan was elected on recount. was[21]
- ^ a b c South Australian Senator and Nick Xenophon Team leader Nick Xenophon resigned from the Senate on 31 October 2017. Rex Patrick was appointed as his replacement on 14 November 2017.
- ^ a b Tasmanian Liberal Senator and President of the Senate Stephen Parry resigned on 2 November 2017 from both positions after discovering he was a citizen of the United Kingdom, due to the recent High Court ruling that foreign citizens could not serve in parliament.
- ^ a b Fraser Anning was declared elected at a recount to replace Malcolm Roberts as a Senator for One Nation, but left the party within an hour of being sworn in on 13 November 2017.
- ^ a b Tasmanian JLN Senator Jacqui Lambie resigned on 14 November 2017 after discovering she was a citizen of the United Kingdom, due to the recent High Court ruling that foreign citizens could not serve in parliament.
- ^ a b South Australian NXT Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore resigned on 22 November after discovering she was a citizen of the United Kingdom, due to the recent High Court ruling that foreign citizens could not serve in parliament.
- ^ a b Labor Senator Sam Dastyari resigned on 25 January 2018.
- ^ a b On 26 April 2017, Family First merged with the Australian Conservatives—with Gichuhi declining to join the new party, she became an independent.[18] On 2 February 2018 Gichuhi joined the Liberal Party.[19]
- ^ a b c These members of the Liberal National Party (Queensland) sit in the Liberal party room.
- ^ a b These members of the Liberal National Party (Queensland) sit in the National party room.
- ^ a b c d The terms of senators from the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory end on the next dissolution of the House of Representatives.
- ^ Nigel Scullion, Senator for the Northern Territory, sits as the sole representative of the Country Liberal Party, the local equivalent of both the National and Liberal parties. He sits in the National party room and serves as the National Party leader in the Senate.
References
- ^ Constitution (Cth) s 13 Rotation of senators.
- ^ a b "Division of the Senate following simultaneous general elections". Odgers' Australian Senate Practice (14th ed.). Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- ^ Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform (13 September 1983). "First report - electoral reform" (PDF). Parliament of Australia. pp. 66–7.
- ^ Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 282 Re-count of Senate votes to determine order of election in other circumstances.
- ^ "Election of Senators" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. 29 June 1998. pp. 4326–4327.
- ^ "Double Dissolution". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. 22 June 2010. p. 3912.
- ^ Green, A (25 April 2016). "How long and short terms are allocated after a double dissolution". ABC.net.au.
- ^ "Double dissolution election: implications for the Senate". Parliament of Australia. 29 January 2016.
- ^ "Senate terms: Derryn Hinch and Greens' Lee Rhiannon given three years". The Guardian. 12 August 2016.
- ^ "ALP-LNP deal to force senators back to poll in three years". The Australian. 13 August 2016.
- ^ "Coalition and Labor team up to clear out crossbench senators in 2019". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 August 2016.
- ^ "Senator Cory Bernardi". aph.gov.au. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- ^ McIlroy, Tom (11 January 2017). "Former One Nation senator Rodney Culleton officially removed from Parliament". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ a b c Vardon v O'Loghlin [1907] HCA 69, (1907) 5 CLR 201.
- ^ Knott, Matthew (18 December 2016). "'I'm glad to see the back of him': Rod Culleton resigns from Pauline Hanson's One Nation party". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ Re Day [No 2] [2017] HCA 14, "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court of Australia.
- ^ Doran, Matthew; Belot, Henry; Crothers, Joanna (19 April 2017). "Family First senator Lucy Gichuhi survives ALP challenge over citizenship concerns". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ Belot, Henry (26 April 2017). "Cory Bernardi unwilling to wait for Lucy Gichuhi to 'get her head around' things". ABC News. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ "Lucy Gichuhi, independent senator, joins Liberal Party". ABC News. 2 February 2018.
- ^ Re Canavan [2017] HCA 45. "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court. 27 October 2017.
- ^ "Five of the Citizenship Seven booted by High Court". ABC News. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.