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The New Senate: The Defeated, The Retired, The New And The Returning

Aug 21, 2016

There will be 14 new faces in the new Senate when it meets for the first time on August 30.

This represents 18.42% of the Senate’s 76 members. Each state has 12 senators, whilst the territories have 2 each, who serve terms concurrent with the House of Representatives. The double dissolution meant that all 76 positions were up for election on July 2.

The fourteen new senators include two (Louise Pratt and Don Farrell) who were Labor senators defeated in 2013.

Ten of the fourteen departed senators were defeated in the election, whilst four retired. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, A.C.T., A.L.P., Election Statistics, Greens, Liberal National Party, Liberal Party, N.S.W., N.T., One Nation, Palmer United Party, Qld, S.A., Senate, TAS, The Nationals, Turnbull, VIC, W.A. Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Western Australian Senate Results Finalised; One Nation Wins Second Seat

Aug 01, 2016

The Western Australian Senate election results have been finalised and announced by the Australian Electoral Commission.

The Liberals have won 5 seats, a loss of one. The former Defence Minister, David Johnston, who was dumped by Prime Minister Tony Abbott in December, 2014, has lost his seat.

The ALP has won 4 seats, re-electing its 3 sitting senators and returning Louise Pratt, who lost her seat in 2013.

Both Greens senators, Scott Ludlam and Rachel Siewert, have been re-elected. With the return of two Greens senators in Tasmania, the party may now be able to hold 9 of its 10 seats, with the second seat in Victoria remaining in doubt.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has secured one seat. Rodney Culleton joins Pauline Hanson in winning the party’s second seat. A third seat is possible in NSW. Culleton is facing theft charges in the Perth Magistrates’ Court later this month. If convicted, he could be disqualified from taking up his seat. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P., AEC, Greens, Liberal Party, One Nation, Senate, Turnbull, W.A. Tagged With: , , , ,

Shorten Announces ALP Shadow Ministry Portfolio Allocations

Jul 23, 2016

The Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, has announced his allocation of portfolios for the ALP’s Shadow Ministry.

The 48-member executive includes 22 members in the Shadow Cabinet, 10 in the Shadow Outer Ministry and 16 Shadow Assistant Ministers (Parliamentary Secretaries). The total Caucus numbers are not yet final but are likely to be around 95 members. About half of the Caucus will be members of the shadow executive.

A number of positions in the Shadow Cabinet have changed hands, although Chris Bowen remains Shadow Treasurer. The biggest winner of the reshuffle is the second-term MP Jim Chalmers, who has been made Shadow Minister for Finance and moves into the Shadow Cabinet.

In other changes, deputy leader Tanya Plibersek has been moved into the high-profile domestic portfolio of Education. The party’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, takes Foreign Affairs.

Senator Kim Carr, for whom the shadow ministry has been expanded from 30 to 32, retains the portfolio of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

Another significant change sees Michelle Rowland take over Communications, whilst Defence goes to Richard Marles and Senator Stephen Conroy takes on Special Minister of State and Sport. The relatively unknown Queenslander, Shayne Neumann, becomes Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. [Read more…]

Filed Under: A.L.P., Shadow Ministries Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Indigenous Leader Pat Dodson To Become ALP Senator; Replaces Joe Bullock In Western Australia

Mar 02, 2016

The Indigenous leader Patrick Dodson is to become a Labor senator in Western Australia, replacing Joe Bullock.

Dodson

The announcement was made this morning by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, just 12 hours after Bullock announced his resignation in the Senate.

Dodson, aged 67 or 68, a Yaruwu man, is often described as the “father of reconciliation”. [Read more…]

Filed Under: A.L.P., Indigenous Tagged With: , , , ,
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