47th Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia
46th ←
→ 48th
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
26 July 2022 – present
Members76 senators
151 representatives
Senate LeaderPenny Wong, Labor
(from 23 May 2022)
Senate PresidentSue Lines, Labor
(from 26 July 2022)
House LeaderTony Burke, Labor
(from 1 June 2022)
House SpeakerMilton Dick, Labor
(from 26 July 2022)
Sessions
1st: 26 July 2022 – present
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The 47th Parliament of Australia is the current meeting of the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Australia, composed of the Australian Senate and the Australian House of Representatives. The May 2022 federal election gave the Australian Labor Party control of the House; Labor won 77 seats, and gained an additional seat in April 2023 due to its victory in the Aston by-election, giving it a three-seat majority government.[1] Labor leader Anthony Albanese became the 31st Prime Minister of Australia, and was sworn in by the Governor-General David Hurley on 23 May 2022.[2] The 47th Parliament opened in Canberra on 26 July 2022.[3]

Major events and legislation

  • The Climate Change Act 2022 passed the parliament on 8 September 2022, having been approved by the House by 86 votes to 50 and the Senate by 37 votes to 30. The legislation codifies a 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 (on 2005 levels), requires the Climate Change Authority to provide advice on Australia's progress against those targets, mandates that the Minister for Climate Change reports annually to Parliament on Australia's progress, and forces federal government agencies to adhere to the legislative requirements of the Act.[4][5][6]
  • The Social Security Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 September 2022, having passed the House by 86 votes to 56 and the Senate by 33 votes to 26.[7][8] The legislation repealed the mandatory Cashless Welfare Card, originally introduced as a trial in 2016 for 12,500 people across four trial sites, which quarantined around 80% of a person's income so it could not be spent on alcohol or gambling or withdrawn in cash. As a result of the legislative change, participants could opt out of the scheme, though around 4,300 people in the Northern Territory and Cape York remained on the card prior to the introduction of a compulsory income-management scheme in 2023.[9]
  • The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 November 2022. The legislation implemented seven of the recommendations of the Kate Jenkins-authored Respect@Work report into sexual harassment. Among other reforms, the laws impose a positive onus on employers to take steps to demonstrate that they're proactively attempting to eliminate sex discrimination "as far as possible". In addition, victimising conduct can be the basis of a civil, not just criminal, complaint, and public sector agencies are newly required to report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency as occurs with private sector agencies.[10]
  • The National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 passed the parliament on 30 November 2022. The legislation established the National Anti-Corruption Commission, an independent federal agency equipped with the power to investigate Commonwealth ministers, public servants, statutory office holders, government agencies, parliamentarians and parliamentary staff for corrupt or improper behaviour.[11][12]
  • The Fair Work Legislation Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 2 December 2022.[13] The legislation passed the House of Representatives by 80 votes to 56[14] and passed the Senate by 35 votes to 31.[15] The workplace relations reforms introduce multi-employer bargaining, allow the Fair Work Commission to authorise workers with sufficient common interests to bargain together and abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and Registered Organisations Commission.[16][17] The legislation passed with the support of the Greens and Senator David Pocock, who each won government support for an enforceable right to request unpaid parental leave and measures to prevent a loophole in the better-off-overall test in the legislation, as well as the creation of a statutory advisory committee of experts to provide independent advice concerning "economic inclusion" of lower-income people, welfare recipients and cost-of-living relief.[18]
  • The Restoring Territory Rights Act 2022 passed the parliament on 1 December 2022. The legislation, which abolished the federal ban on the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory legislatures passing laws to permit euthanasia schemes (originally passed in 1997) was subject to a conscience vote for most parties. It was approved by 99 votes to 37 in the House of Representatives and by 41 votes to 25 in the Senate.[19][20][21]
  • The Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Act 2023 passed the parliament on 30 March 2023. The legislation passed with the support of the Labor government, the Greens, Jacqui Lambie Network and independent crossbenchers in both chambers, following intense negotiations between the parties. In effect, 215 of the country's major polluting facilities are required to cut emissions intensity by 5% a year, through absolute cuts or by buying carbon offsets. While individual companies can buy an unlimited number of offsets, total absolute emissions under the scheme cannot increase and are required to come down over time.[22] The legislation passed the Senate by 32 votes to 26 and the House by 89 votes to 50, with the Liberal/National Coalition, One Nation and United Australia parties opposed to the reforms.[23][24]
  • The Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 proposed alteration to the Constitution of Australia passed the parliament on 19 June 2023. It passed by 121 votes to 25 in the House of Representatives and by 52 votes to 19 in the Senate. It enabled a referendum to occur in the latter months of 2023, to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, which would have an advisory power to consult with the parliament and Executive Government on matters and legislation affecting Indigenous Australians.[25][26]
  • The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 passed the parliament on 14 September 2023. The legislation established the Housing Australia Future Fund, a $10 billion sovereign wealth fund-type scheme to enable the construction of 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years. A guaranteed $500 million is to be spent per year from the fund, while a minimum of 1,200 homes are to be built in each state and territory across the period.[27] The legislation's passage was achieved after the government won the support of the Greens, who negotiated an extra $1 billion for public and community housing from the government, though failed to win support for a national freeze or caps on rents.[28] Several months prior to the legislation's passage, the government made a $2 billion separate one-off announcement for social housing through a "social housing accelerator" scheme.[29]

Leadership

Senate

Senate President
Sue Lines
Sue Lines (ALP)
Senate President election[30]
Candidate State Votes %
Sue Lines Western Australia 54 81.82
Dorinda Cox Western Australia 12 18.18
66 100

Presiding officer

Government leadership

Opposition leadership

House of Representatives

House Speaker
Milton Dick (ALP)
House of Representatives Speaker election[31]
Candidate Seat Votes %
Milton Dick Oxley (Qld.) 92 62.16
Andrew Wallace Fisher (Qld.) 56 37.84
148 100

Presiding officer

Government leadership

Opposition leadership

Party summary

House of Representatives

House membership (as of 14 November 2023)
     4 Australian Greens
     Katter's Australian Party 1      

     78 Australian Labor Party
     National Party of Australia 9      

     Liberal National Party 21      

     Liberal Party of Australia 25      
     12 Independent
     1 Centre Alliance

Affiliation Party
(shading shows control)
 Total Vacant
GRN ALP IND CA LPA NPA KAP UAP
End of previous Parliament 1 68 4 1 60 15 1 1 151 0
Begin (26 July 2022) 4 77 10 1 42 16 1 — 151 0
23 December 2022[lower-alpha 1] 11 15
17 February 2023[lower-alpha 2] 41 150 1
1 April 2023[lower-alpha 2] 78 151 0
18 May 2023[lower-alpha 3] 40 150 1
15 July 2023[lower-alpha 3] 41 151 0
14 November 2023[lower-alpha 4] 12 40 151 0
4 December 2023[lower-alpha 5] 77 150 1
Latest voting share % 2.65 50.99 7.95 0.66 36.42 0.66 —

Senate

Senate membership (as of 17 June 2023)
     11 Australian Greens
     Pauline Hanson's One Nation 2      

     26 Australian Labor Party
     United Australia Party 1      

     Country Liberal Party 1      


     Liberal/National joint ticket 10      

     Liberal Party of Australia 15      
     3 Independent

Affiliation Party
(shading shows control)
 Total Vacant
GRN ALP IND CA REX JLN LPA NPA LDP ON UAP
End of previous Parliament 9 26 — 1 1 1 31 4 1 2 — 76 0
Begin (26 July 2022) 12 26 1 — 2 26 6 — 2 1 76 0
16 January 2023[lower-alpha 6] 25 75 1
6 February 2023[lower-alpha 7] 11 2
31 May 2023[lower-alpha 6] 26 76 0
17 June 2023[lower-alpha 8] 3 25
30 September 2023[lower-alpha 9] 24 75 1
26 November 2023[lower-alpha 9] 25 76 0
Latest voting share % 14.67 34.67 4.00 — 2.67 40.00 — 2.67 1.33

Demographics

The 47th Parliament of Australia has a historically high representation of women; women make up 38% of the House of Representatives and 57% of the Senate, the highest on record for both chambers.[32] In terms of representation, Indigenous members will account for 9.6 per cent of the 76 Senate seats, and 1.9 per cent of 151 House of Representatives seats.[33]

Senate

The Senate included 32 men and 44 women, the most women to date.

House of Representatives

There are 58 women in the House, the largest number in history.[34] Three current members are LGBTQ+ — Stephen Bates,[35] Angie Bell[36] and Julian Hill.[37] Four members; Mark Dreyfus, Josh Burns,[38] Mike Freelander and Julian Leeser identified as Jewish. Labor members — Ed Husic and Anne Aly — became the first two Muslim federal ministers.[39]

Membership

Senate

40 of the 76 seats in the upper house were contested in the election in May 2022. The class of senators elected in 2022 are denoted with an asterisk (*).

House of Representatives

All 151 seats in the lower house were contested in the election in May 2022.

Changes in membership

Senate

This table lists senators who have resigned, died, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 47th Parliament.

Seat Before Change After
Member Party Type Date Date Member Party
New South Wales Jim Molan Liberal Death 16 January 2023 31 May 2023 Maria Kovacic Liberal
Victoria Lidia Thorpe Greens Resignation from party 6 February 2023 Lidia Thorpe Independent
Victoria David Van Liberal Expulsion from party room 15 June 2023 David Van Independent Liberal
Victoria David Van Independent Liberal Resignation from party 17 June 2023 David Van Independent
New South Wales Marise Payne Liberal Retired from politics 30 September 2023 30 November 2023 Dave Sharma Liberal
Western Australia Pat Dodson Labor Retired from politics 26 January 2024 TBC Varun Ghosh Labor

House of Representatives

This table lists members of the House who have resigned, died, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 47th Parliament.

Seat Before Change After
Member Party Type Date Date Member Party
Calare Andrew Gee National Resignation from party 23 December 2022 Andrew Gee Independent
Aston Alan Tudge Liberal Resignation 17 February 2023 1 April 2023 Mary Doyle Labor
Fadden Stuart Robert Liberal National Resignation 18 May 2023 15 July 2023 Cameron Caldwell Liberal National
Monash Russell Broadbent Liberal Resignation from party 14 November 2023 Russell Broadbent Independent
Dunkley Peta Murphy Labor Death 4 December 2023 TBC TBC TBC

See also

Notes

    1. ↑ Andrew Gee, MP for Calare, resigned from the National Party on 23 December 2022 and began sitting as an independent.
    2. 1 2 Alan Tudge, Liberal MP for Aston, resigned on 17 February 2023. The resulting by-election was won by Labor candidate Mary Doyle on 1 April 2023.
    3. 1 2 Stuart Robert, Liberal National MP for Fadden, resigned on 18 May 2023. The resulting by-election was won by Liberal National candidate Cameron Caldwell on 15 July 2023.
    4. ↑ Russell Broadbent, Liberal MP for Monash, resigned from the Liberal Party on 14 November 2023 and moved to the crossbench to sit as an independent.
    5. ↑ Peta Murphy, Labor MP for Dunkley, died in office on 4 December 2023. A by-election will be held in early 2024 to elect her replacement.
    6. 1 2 Jim Molan, Liberal senator for Victoria, died in office on 16 January 2023. His successor, Maria Kovacic, was appointed as his replacement on 31 May 2023.
    7. ↑ Lidia Thorpe, senator for Victoria, resigned from the Greens on 6 February 2023 and began sitting as an independent.
    8. ↑ David Van, Senator for Victoria, resigned from the Liberal Party and sat on the crossbench as an independent.
    9. 1 2 Marise Payne, Liberal senator for New South Wales, announced her resignation on 30 September 2023. Her successor, Dave Sharma, was appointed as her replacement on 30 November 2023.

    References

    1. ↑ Jake Evans (31 May 2022). "ABC projects Labor will score a 77th seat and evade deals with independents to find a speaker". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
    2. ↑ Brett Worthington (23 May 2022). "Anthony Albanese and four senior frontbenchers sworn in ahead of Quad trip". ABC News.
    3. ↑ Andrew Brown (26 July 2022). "MPs sworn in as 47th parliament opened". The Canberra Times.
    4. ↑ Asha Barbaschow (9 September 2022). "Your 4-Minute Briefing on the Australian Government's Climate Change Bill". Gizmodo AU.
    5. ↑ Adam Morton (8 September 2022). "Australian parliament passes first climate change legislation in a decade". Guardian Australia.
    6. ↑ Emily Bennett & Daniel Jeffrey (8 September 2022). "Federal government's historic climate change bill passes parliament to legislate emissions reduction target". 9 News.
    7. ↑ "Hansard - Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Repeal of Cashless Debit Card and Other Measures) Bill 2022 - Third Reading - Division". aph.gov.au. 3 August 2022.
    8. ↑ "SENATE - Hansard". Record of Proceedings (Hansard). Australia: Australian Senate. 27 September 2022. p. 124-125.
    9. ↑ Tom Lowrey (28 September 2022). "Cashless debit card to be abolished, but a new income-management system will take its place for some". ABC News.
    10. ↑ Georgia Hitch (28 November 2022). "Laws to implement Respect@Work recommendations have passed parliament. What are they?". ABC News.
    11. ↑ "PARLIAMENT PASSES NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION BILLS". pm.gov.au. 30 November 2022.
    12. ↑ "National Anti-Corruption Commission clears final hurdle, passes House of Representatives". ABC News. 30 November 2022.
    13. ↑ Paul Karp & Amy Remeikis. "Labor's industrial relations bill passes despite late Coalition filibuster". The Guardian.
    14. ↑ "Hansard BILLS - Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 - Third Reading". aph.gov.au. 10 November 2022.
    15. ↑ "Hansard BILLS - Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 - Third Reading". aph.gov.au. 1 December 2022.
    16. ↑ "Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022". aph.gov.au.
    17. ↑ Paul Karp (23 November 2022). "What is the sticking point in Labor's industrial relations bill and how would it work?". The Guardian.
    18. ↑ Paul Karp (27 November 2022). "David Pocock to give crucial support to IR bill after deal on jobseeker and welfare". The Guardian.
    19. ↑ "Restoring Territory Rights Bill 2022 – Third Reading". Parliament of Australia. Australia: House of Representatives. 3 August 2022.
    20. ↑ "Restoring Territory Rights Bill 2022 – Second Reading". Parliament of Australia. Australia: Senate. 24 November 2022.
    21. ↑ Markus Mannheim (1 December 2022). "Federal parliament overturns 25-year-old ban on euthanasia laws in ACT and Northern Territory". ABC News.
    22. ↑ Adam Morton (30 March 2023). "Australia passes most significant climate law in a decade amid concern over fossil fuel exports". The Guardian.
    23. ↑ "Senate Division No 309 (Safeguard Mechanism Amendment Bill 2023)". aph.gov.au. 30 March 2023.
    24. ↑ "House Division No 133 (Safeguard Mechanism Amendment Bill 2023)". aph.gov.au. 30 March 2023.
    25. ↑ "Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023". aph.gov.au.
    26. ↑ Brett Worthington & Kamin Gock (19 June 2023). "Senate passes referendum plan, cementing Voice to Parliament vote before end of the year". ABC News.
    27. ↑ Stephanie Borys. "Government's $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund passes parliament". ABC News.
    28. ↑ Paul Karp (11 September 2023). "Greens agree to support Labor's $10bn housing fund, breaking months-long impasse". The Guardian.
    29. ↑ Tom Lowrey (17 June 2023). "Federal government to spend $2 billion on social housing around Australia". ABC News.
    30. ↑ "Senate – Official Hansard – Tuesday, 26 July 2022: Forty-Seventh Parliament First Session—First Period". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Australian Senate. 26 July 2022.
    31. ↑ "2022 – The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia – House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings – No. 1 Tuesday, 26 July 2022". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Australian House of Representatives. 26 July 2022.
    32. ↑ "A diverse cabinet that better reflects our nation". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
    33. ↑ Zaunmayr, Tom (22 May 2022). "FULL LIST: Record number of Indigenous MPs voted in to serve the Australian people". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
    34. ↑ "After a 'watershed year', Australia is on track for its highest number of women in parliament". SBS News. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
    35. ↑ Bowman, Jan (19 May 2022). "Could the LGBTQI vote make a difference in Brisbane?". Retrieved 12 June 2022.
    36. ↑ "LNP candidate hoping to make Queensland history in 2019 federal election". ABC News. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
    37. ↑ Reynolds, Andrew (2019). The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-046095-2.
    38. ↑ Kohn, Peter. "Macnamara's first MP". www.australianjewishnews.com. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
    39. ↑ "Australia's first two Muslim federal ministers say symbolism matters, but their responsibility is to deliver". SBS News. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
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