Office Holders of the Legislative Council

The President
The President’s role includes procedural, ceremonial and management duties.

The President’s role in the House is to maintain order, put questions after debate and conduct divisions. In maintaining order the President interprets and applies the standing orders and practice of the House by making rulings and decisions. When votes are equal in the House, the President has a casting vote only. The President has the right to participate in debate but rarely does so. The President is also charged with upholding the rights and privileges of the House and its members.

The President is the spokesperson of the House. For example, the President conveys messages from the House to the Governor, to the Assembly and to persons outside of the Parliament. In addition the President performs various ceremonial duties relating to the opening of Parliament and visits from foreign Heads of State, receives foreign delegations, leads some parliamentary delegations overseas and represents the Council at various national and international conferences.

The President has sole responsibility for the operation of the Department of the Legislative Council, including the appointment and dismissal of staff. The President shares joint responsibility with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for the parliamentary precinct and for the operations of the joint departments of the Parliament.

The President is elected each four years following a periodic election for the Council or whenever a vacancy occurs. The Clerk of the Parliaments acts as a chair for the election of a new President, with all members of the House voting on who is to be the President.

The current President of the Legislative Council is the Hon Peter Primrose MLC. He was elected to office by members of the House on 8 May 2007.

The Deputy President and Chair of Committees
The Deputy President acts in the place of the President whenever he or she is absent from the House.

The Deputy President is also the Chair of Committees. The Chair of Committees presides over all committees of the whole House - the stage during the passage of a bill when amendments may be made. When not occupying the chair, the Chair of Committees may participate in debates or other proceedings of the House.

As with the President in the House, in committee of the whole the Chair exercises a casting vote only, and any reasons stated by the Chair when giving a casting vote may be entered in the proceedings of the committee.

The Deputy President and Chair of Committees is elected at the commencement of sittings following each periodic Council election and whenever a vacancy occurs. The election is conducted by ballot with the President conducting the election, and where there is an equality of votes, exercising a casting vote.

The current Deputy President and Chair of Committees is the Hon Amanda Fazio MLC.

The Assistant President
On 28 June 2007, the Legislative Council established a new position of Assistant President. The Assistant President is elected in the same manner as the Deputy President and for the same period of time. The Assistant President performs the duties of the President when both the President and Deputy President are absent from the House.

The first Assistant President is Revd the Hon Fred Nile MLC.

Temporary Chairs of Committees
The President can nominate members to be Temporary Chairs of Committees. The Temporary Chairs relieve the President, the Chair of Committees and the Assistant President on a temporary basis whenever required. When presiding over the House or committee of the whole, a Temporary Chair is referred to as Deputy President or Deputy Chair respectively, and exercises the full authority of the President or the Chair of Committees.

The current Temporary Chairs of Committees are the Hon Jenny Gardiner MLC, the Hon Kayee Griffin MLC, Ms Sylvia Hale MLC, the Hon Robyn Parker MLC, the Hon Christine Robertson MLC and the Hon Helen Westwood MLC.

Party Whips
The Whips are responsible for liaising with Ministers regarding the business of the House, for securing the attendance of members in the chamber, for arranging speakers for debates, for arranging ‘pairs’ and generally for acting as intermediaries between the party leaders in the House and backbench members.

The present whips are the Hon Greg Donnelly MLC (Government Whip) and the Hon Don Harwin MLC (Opposition Whip). The Deputy Whips are the Hon Mick Veitch MLC (Deputy Government Whip) and the Hon Rick Colless MLC (Deputy Opposition Whip).

Parliamentary Secretaries
Parliamentary Secretaries are appointed by the Premier to undertake the sorts of tasks which may be delegated without affecting the essential responsibility and authority of a Minister. These include such things as dealing with delegations, assisting with written replies to questions, and helping with the passage of legislation through the Parliament. A Parliamentary Secretary may act as a Minister in the House in all respects, except in relation to answering questions with and without notice.

The current Parliamentary Secretaries are the Hon Henry Tsang MLC and the Hon Penny Sharpe MLC.

Officers of the Legislative Council
The officers of the Legislative Council are responsible for providing procedural advice and support to the members of the Legislative Council. They are also responsible for the management of the Department. The four senior office holders are the Clerk of the Parliaments, the Deputy Clerk, the Clerk Assistant-Procedure Support and Usher of the Black Rod, and the Clerk Assistant-Corporate Support.

Last modified 21/02/2008 18:12:04 : Update this page