Members of the Legislative Assembly

For details of individual current Members, including contacts, see Members of Parliament.

There are 93 Members of the NSW Legislative Assembly, each elected to represent the citizens of a particular electorate in NSW. This page takes a look at the roles and responsibilities of Legislative Assembly Members, and the process by which they are elected.

Becoming a Member

Any member of the community may seek to become a Member of Parliament by either independent nomination, or by becoming a member of a political party and then standing for pre-selection. This preselection process involves being selected from other candidates by a selection panel of a particular political party to represent that party in Parliament. People also choose to stand as independent candidates which means they are not affiliated with any particular party.

Most Members of Parliament belong to political parties and subscribe to the policies of those parties if elected. Some parties are: Australian Democrats, Australian Labor Party, Christian Democratic Party, the Greens, Liberal Party and National Party. Nominations to stand for election to Parliament must be lodged with the Electoral Office within a specified time before an election.

The NSW Parliament has two Houses, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.

There are 93 Members in the Legislative Assembly and each represent an electorate within the State. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MPs) are elected for a term of four years, after which a General Election must be held.

Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) are elected for two terms of the Legislative Assembly, thus having a maximum first term of eight years. There are 42 Members in the Legislative Council, 21 Members retire at elections held at the same time as elections for the Legislative Assembly. Council Members represent the whole State as one constituency.

Member's Role in their Electorate

Members of the Legislative Assembly work locally for the people in the area that they represent. The people who live and/or work in an electorate are often referred to as "constituents". As the constituents' representative in Parliament, an MP receives and deals with many requests for assistance. These might concern housing, transport, local councils, environmental issues, youth and community services, the police, and objections to land tax and water and sewerage rates. Some matters may be strictly outside the power of State Government and they will be referred to people who may be able to help.

An MP attends to the concerns and problems of local organisations and businesses. All Members have regular dealings with government departments. In some cases they can be more effective than a member of the public when dealing with departments as they have access to the Ministers responsible for those departments.

During the day, in the evenings and at weekends Members are expected to attend many meetings and functions of all kinds within their constituencies. These include meetings relating to the community, schools, business organisations, charities and social or sporting clubs. MPs may chair local meetings, participate in seminars and act as patron to many organisations.

Member's Role in Parliament

The Government is formed from the Members of the Party (or Parties in the case of a coalition) successful at a general election in winning the majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Opposition Party consists of the elected Members of the Party or Parties failing to win a majority of seats.

The NSW Parliament usually meets for two groups of sittings in each year. The Budget sittings normally take place from April to the end of June and the Spring sittings are usually held from August to late November or early December. These groups of sittings often make up what is called a Session of the Parliament, if the sitting is brought to an end by proclamation of the Governor. Sittings are flexible and in special circumstances the Parliament may be recalled at any time.

Members spend considerable time in considering Bills, which become Acts of Parliament if passed by both Houses, and in general reading and study to prepare themselves for discussions in the party room and debates in the House. The party room is where the Members of a political party meet regularly to discuss and vote on policies and plan strategy. Members have a responsibility and loyalty to their party. Most backbenchers serve on various committees within the party as well as on committees set up by the Parliament.

Time is also spent in talking with fellow Parliamentarians, journalists, the business sector and people with special interests who make appointments to see the Member. Members may make personal approaches (representations) to Ministers and Departments regarding matters raised by constituents, or other matters on which they require advice or seek attention.

A Member of Parliament can be either a Government Minister responsible for a portfolio eg. Police, a Parliamentary Secretary, a Shadow Minister, or a backbencher. A local Member who is not in either the Ministry of the Government or the shadow Ministry of the Opposition is called a "backbencher". A local Member who is called upon to become a Minister and take responsibility for a portfolio eg. Health, becomes a Member of the Cabinet. Cabinet usually meets once a week and discusses both general and specific matters of State, proposed legislation and financial affairs. They continue to represent constituents at the same time. Parliamentary Secretaries are appointed to assist Ministers and have the power to introduce bills into the House on behalf of Ministers. They are not members of the Cabinet.

Being a Member of Parliament is a full-time job and every Member of Parliament is bound to attend the sittings of the House unless leave is granted by the House. A Member of Parliament's seat becomes vacant if the Member remains absent for one whole session without leave being granted.

Members are provided with an office and secretarial assistance whilst they are at Parliament House during sitting periods. This enables Members to conduct their electorate and other business away from their electorate offices.

Members do not have to be in the Chamber during all the time the House is sitting. Members are able to follow proceedings through closed circuit radio and television. In the Legislative Assembly the live video feed from the Chamber is titled with the name of the speaker, the subject matter of the debate and the time the speaker has remaining in his or her contribution. Members are summoned to the Chamber for a vote through the ringing of electronic bells that ring throughout the building. Members also carry pagers which are activated by the party Whips.

Business conducted during a sitting of Parliament is varied. Some common matters dealt with by the Legislative Assembly are listed below:

Legislation- Changes to existing laws or new laws agreed upon by the Parliament are called Acts. Before they have passed through both Houses and been formally assented to by the Governor, they are called Bills. Bills are needed to establish legal codes of conduct, to define the legal rights and duties of citizens, to authorise the creation of Government and some private agencies and invest them with powers, and to sanction government spending and taxation.

Bills that are introduced into the House are either Government bills (introduced by a Minister or by a Parliamentary Secretary acting on the Minister's behalf) or bills introduced by Members in their private capacity (called "Private Members Public Bills). All Bills are debated in detail by both Houses of the Parliament following a set procedure, which is explained in more detail in the section "House Procedures and Rules".

The legislative process ensures that there is sufficient time for Members to consider the detail and consequences of a Bill, and also for community consultation to occur.

Motions - Members may give a notice of motion (notification of intention) to move a motion in the House. The motion could relate to government business or general business. Only Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries can give notice of motions for Government Business. Most Members will be giving notice of motions for General Business (non Government business). General Business is dealt with on the morning of the last sitting day of the week and can be on any matter a Member wishes to raise from congratulating or condemning the Government to noting a particular problem or calling on the Federal Government for assistance.

Private Members' Statements - Time is set aside for Members to raise matters of general concern in their electorate.

Petitions - Petitions are lodged by the local Member from citizens requesting action to be taken by the Parliament or a Minister.

Questions with and without Notice - Questions cover every aspect of State affairs, many related to the work of a local MP. This gives the Members the opportunity to make inquiries on behalf of their constituents and local organisations, and to ask questions of the Ministers concerning matters within their administration.

Committees - Members serve on parliamentary committees which may examine any issue referred to it by the House. Some committees are also able to receive references from the Government or are able to generate their own references. The committee process of visits and inspections, receiving submissions and taking evidence allows Members to gain invaluable experience and knowledge of community and other issues. Committees make reports to the House which contain recommendations to Government for action.

Contacting Your Local Member

All citizens should feel free to contact their local Member of Parliament with any problem or request, as they are the voice of the people in the democratic Parliamentary process in NSW.

To contact your local Member:

See the Directory of Members of Parliament, or
If you do not know the name of your local member, telephone the State Electoral Office on 1300 135 736, or the Legislative Assembly Procedure Office on 9230 2355.

Members' Entitlements and Responsibilities

Last modified 13/01/2009 09:10:20 : Update this page