Can You Help?

This website is in imminent danger of being shut down. It has been online since 1995, but the personal circumstances of the owner, Malcolm Farnsworth, are such that economies have to be made. Server costs and suchlike have become prohibitive. At the urging of people online, I have agreed to see if Patreon provides a solution. More information is available at the Patreon website. If you are able to contribute even $1.00/month to keep the site running, please click the Patreon button below.


Become a Patron!


Scott Ludlam Resigns From The Senate; Victim Of Section 44 Dual Citizenship Rule

Jul 14, 2017

Scott Ludlam, an Australian Greens senator from Western Australia, resigned today, after announcing he had dual citizenship with New Zealand and was therefore in breach of Section 44(i) of the Constitution.

Ludlam

Section 44(i) of the Constitution says that a person is “incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator” if they are “under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject of a citizen or entitled to the rights and privileges of a subject or citizen of a foreign power”.

In a statement, Ludlam said he was born in New Zealand. His family left when he was three years old and settled in Australia when he was nine. “I was naturalised when I was in my mid-teens and assumed that was the end of the New Zealand citizenship.”

Media reports today say that the citizenship question has been previously raised with Ludlam.

Ludlam, 47, was first elected to the Senate in 2007. He took up his seat on July 1, 2008. He was re-elected in 2013 and in the 2014 re-run election. He was re-elected to a six-year term in the 2016 double dissolution election. The Greens polled 10.53% in WA.

Ludlam has been Joint Deputy Leader of the Greens, with Larissa Waters, since May 2015.

It now appears that the Senate will refer the matter to the High Court. Twice this year, the court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, has ordered countbacks following rulings that Rodney Culleton and Bob Day were not entitled to nominate at the election. Assuming this takes place again, the seat will go to the number three candidate on the Greens WA Senate ticket, 22-year-old disability advocate Jordon Steele-John.

Media reports today quote Steele-John as not committing himself to taking the seat. Were he to resign, a casual vacancy would be created and the Greens would nominate a replacement. It would be possible for Ludlam to be appointed in these circumstances, provided he rectifies the citizenship issue. However, Ludlam’s statement and press conference suggested he has chosen to move on to other things.

The practical political implication of today’s resignation by Ludlam is that the Greens will be without one of their number for some months in the Senate. This will not make a significant difference but until the vacancy is filled the Turnbull government will only need eight of the eleven crossbench votes to secure passage of legislation opposed by the ALP and Greens. It currently needs nine extra votes. A pairing arrangement to cover the absence could also be put in place.

Ludlam is the third senator to fall victim to Section 44 since the 2016 election, an unprecedented situation.

  • Watch Ludlam’s media conference in Perth (15m)
  • Listen to the media conference (15m)

Statement from Senator Scott Ludlam. Click to enlarge

Ludlam

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, Audio, Electoral System, Greens, Nominations, Senate, Video, W.A. Tagged With: , , ,

Women In The 45th Australian Parliament

May 10, 2017

Women make up one-third of the 45th Parliament of Australia.

There are now 75 women in both houses, representing 33.18% of the combined total of 226 members. It was 30.97% at the end of the 44th Parliament.

There are 43 women (28.66%) in the 150-member House of Representatives, and 32 (42.10%) in the 76-member Senate.

With 43 members in both chambers, the ALP has the largest number of women (45.26%) in the parliament. The Liberal Party and Nationals combined have 21 members (20%).

The Greens (10 members in both houses) and the Nick Xenophon Team (4 members in both houses) each have 50-50 male-female representation.

At the 2016 double dissolution election, 30 women were elected to the Senate. Following the resignation of the ALP’s Stephen Conroy, the Victorian casual vacancy was filled by Kimberley Kitching. Following the resignation of Family First’s Bob Day, the South Australian casual vacancy was filled by Lucy Gichuhi, who sits as an independent. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P., Greens, House of Reps, Liberal National Party, Liberal Party, Members, NXT, One Nation, Senate, The Nationals, Women Tagged With: , , , , ,

Who’s Left – The Surviving Members Of Every House Of Representatives Since 1949

Apr 01, 2017

*** CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST UPDATED VERSION OF THIS PAGE ***

Detailed information on the surviving members of the House of Representatives since 1949 is now available on this site. They include the members’ seats, parties, terms, dates of birth, ages and deaths.

All members of parliament who served in the first 18 parliaments from 1901 until the end of 1949 are now deceased.

There are two surviving members of the 19th Parliament that was elected on December 10, 1949. Both “forty-niners” are in their late 90s. One, Henry Pearce, will turn 100 in September this year.

Just four members of the House during the 1950s are still living.

For the entire Menzies era (1949-1972), there are 29 surviving members. All but four of them served together in the 27th Parliament between 1969 and 1972.

The table below provides a summary of how many members have served in the 19th to 45th parliaments. It shows how many are still living and what parties they belong to. There are links to more detailed information on each parliament since 1972.

Note: The data is structured around the parliaments since 1949. The numbers cannot be aggregated. Most surviving members served in more than one parliament.

Disclaimer: I am confident that the data shown here is correct. However, I rely on media reports and announcements in parliament for information on deaths of former members. I sincerely hope I haven’t killed or resurrected anyone. I am happy to receive corrections from readers.

House of Representatives – Members Still Living Since 1949
(Listed by Parliament No. and Years)
No. Years Size Members
Still
Living		 % Oldest Surviving
Member		 ALP Lib CP/
Nat		 Oth
19th
1949-1951
121
2
1.65
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
2
–
–
20th
1951-1954
131
2
1.52
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
2
–
–
21st
1954-1955
122
1
0.81
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
1
–
–
22nd
1955-1958
127
3
2.36
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
2
1
–
23rd
1958-1961
128
3
2.34
 Henry Pearce (99)
–
2
1
–
24th
1961-1963
125
5
4.00
 Jim Forbes (93)
2
1
2
–
25th
1963-1966
129
9
6.97
 Wylie Gibbs (94)
2
4
3
–
26th
1966-1969
130
17
13.07
 Mervyn Lee (96)
5
9
3
–
27th
1969-1972
128
24
18.75
 Doug Everingham (93)
11
9
4
–
28th
1972-1974
126
33
26.19
 Doug Everingham (93)
17
10
6
–
29th
1974-1975
128
44
34.37
 Doug Everingham (93)
18
17
9
–
30th
1975-1977
128
57
44.53
 Clarrie Millar (91)
10
36
11
–
31st
1977-1980
126
66
52.38
 Doug Everingham (93)
18
38
11
–
32nd
1980-1983
131
81
61.83
 Doug Everingham (93)
33
35
13
–
33rd
1983-1984
131
90
68.70
 Doug Everingham (93)
57
21
12
–
34th
1984-1987
149
111
74.49
 Clarrie Millar (91)
64
31
16
–
35th
1987-1990
153
122
79.73
 Clarrie Millar (91)
74
33
15
–
36th
1990-1993
150
131
87.33
 Steele Hall (88)
72
44
13
–
37th
1993-1996
155
137
88.38
 Steele Hall (88)
75
44
16
–
38th
1996-1998
150
139
92.66
 Ian Sinclair (87)
49
69
18
–
39th
1998-2001
152
145
95.39
 Garry Nehl (83)
68
61
16
–
40th
2001-2004
151
146
96.68
 Frank Mossfield (81)
65
65
13
3
41st
2004-2007
151
147
97.35
 Wilson Tuckey (81)
61
72
12
2
42nd
2007-2010
155
153
98.70
 Wilson Tuckey (81)
83
56
11
3
43rd
2010-2013
150
148
98.66
 Bronywyn Bishop (74)
72
59
12
5
44th
2013-2016
153
152
99.34
 Bronwyn Bishop (74)
56
76
15
5
45th
2016-
150
150
100
 Warren Snowdon (67)
69
60
16
5

 

Filed Under: 1949 Federal Election, 1951 Federal Election, 1963 Federal Election, 1966 Federal Election, 1972 Federal Election, 1974 Federal Election, 1975 Federal Election, 1977 Federal Election, 1980 Federal Election, 1983 Federal Election, 1984 Federal Election, 1987 Federal Election, 1990 Federal Election, 1993 Federal Election, 1996 Federal Election, 1998 Federal Election, 2001 Federal Election, 2004 Federal Election, 2007 Federal Election, 2010 Federal Election, 2013 Federal Election, 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P., Abbott, Backbenchers, By-Elections, D.L.P., Fraser, Gillard, Greens, Hawke, House of Reps, Howard, Keating, Liberal National Party, Liberal Party, Members, NXT, One Nation, Palmer United Party, Rudd, The Nationals, Turnbull, Whitlam Tagged With:

Culleton Ineligible To Nominate For Senate, High Court Rules; Recount Likely To Elect Peter Georgiou

Feb 03, 2017

The High Court has ruled that Rodney Culleton was ineligible to be nominated for last year’s Senate election.

Culleton’s position as a senator is now vacant and the High Court has ruled that a recount of votes should take place. This is most likely to result in the election of Peter Georgiou, Culleton’s brother-in-law and the number two candidate on the Western Australian One Nation ticket last year.

The decision by Justices Kiefel, Bell, Gageler, Keane and Nettle was unanimous. Justice Nettle offered reasons which varied in some respects with his colleagues (see decision below).

Sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, the court held that at the time of the election Culleton was convicted and subject to be sentenced for an offence punishable by imprisonment for one year or longer. Under Section 44(ii) of the Constitution, this renders Culleton ineligible to be chosen as a senator.

The court rejected arguments that the subsequent annulment of the conviction made him eligible to stand. The decision says: “It is evident from the terms of s 44(ii) that the framers of the Constitution were concerned to ensure that not only should a person who has already been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year or longer be disqualified from being chosen or from sitting as a Senator; so too should a person who is able to be so sentenced. The circumstance sought to be guarded against was that such a person might not be able to sit and should for that reason not be able to be chosen.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, High Court, Nominations, One Nation, Senate Tagged With: , , ,
Next Page »