1.
South Australian House of Assembly
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The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council and it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. The fourth-term South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party has been in government since the 2002 election, the 47-seat house consists of 24 Labor,21 Liberal and 2 independents, Geoff Brock and Martin Hamilton-Smith. Following the 2014 election, the house consisted of 23 Labor,22 Liberal and 2 independents, Geoff Brock. Hamilton-Smith became an independent shortly after the election, reducing the Liberals to 21 seats, both Hamilton-Smith and fellow independent Geoff Brock are in cabinet and provide confidence and supply while retaining the right to vote on conscience. Labor went from minority to majority government when Nat Cook won the 2014 Fisher by-election which was triggered by the death of Bob Such, despite this, the Jay Weatherill Labor government kept crossbench MPs Brock and Hamilton-Smith in cabinet, giving the government a 26 to 21 parliamentary majority. As with the rest of the crossbench, Bedford will continue to provide confidence, the House of Assembly was created in 1857, when South Australia attained self-government. In 1895, the House of Assembly granted women the right to vote – the second place in the world to do so after New Zealand in 1893 – and the first to allow women to stand for election. The House of Assembly has had 47 members since the 1970 election, each coming from a single-member constituency and these are commonly known as seats, and are intended to represent approximately the same population in each electorate. Voting is by preferential voting with complete preference allocation, as with the equivalent federal chamber, all members face re-election approximately every four years. The most recent election was held on 15 March 2014, most legislation is initiated in the House of Assembly. The party or coalition with a majority of seats in the house is invited by the Governor to form government. The leader of that party becomes Premier of South Australia, as Australian MPs almost always vote along party lines, almost all legislation introduced by the governing party will pass through the House of Assembly. As with the parliament and Australian other states and territories. Voting in the House of Assembly had originally been voluntary, while South Australias total population is 1.7 million, Adelaides population is 1. At the 2014 election for example, although the state-wide two-party vote was 47. 0% Labor v 53. 0% Liberal,24 votes as a majority are required to pass legislation
2.
George Strickland Kingston
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Sir George Strickland Kingston arrived in South Australia on the Cygnet in 1836. He was the Deputy Surveyor to William Light, engaged to survey the new colony of South Australia, Kingston was also the first Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly. Kingston was born in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland, one of five children of George Kingston, stricklands father owned a lumberyard, a tenement, and was credited with being involved in the three canal plans for Bandon. Strickland emigrated to England and was employed in Birmingham in 1832 and he subsequently took an active part in promoting the South Australian Act in 1834 and helped to lobby successfully for its passage through the House of Commons. Kingston was appointed deputy surveyor general to the new colony and sailed with most of the party in the Cygnet in March 1836. However it was Kingston with John Morphett and Lieutenant W. G. Field who discovered the River Torrens, the balance of credit due to Kingston and to Light in surveying the city of Adelaide has often been discussed. Kingstons ability as a surveyor was frequently questioned and it was he who was spared to return to England in August 1837 to ask for reinforcements for the Survey Department, the colonisation commissioners sent him back next June with orders unpalatable to Light, who resigned with all his staff. Kingston proceeded with the country surveys almost single-handed but, soon after Governor George Gawlers arrival in October 1838, Kingston established himself as a civil engineer, architect and surveyor, and in 1840 the Adelaide Municipal Council briefly engaged him as town surveyor. He was later engaged as inspector of works and, buildings. Among his works still standing are the corner of Government House. He also designed the first monument to Colonel Light in Light Square and he designed Whites Rooms, Adelaides first public entertainment venue. On 10 July 1851, Kingston was sworn in as a member of South Australias first elected parliament, on 9 March 1857, Kingston was elected to the newly established House of Assembly and became the first Speaker on 22 April 1857. Kingston held this position until 22 March 1860 and again from 31 March 1865 until his death on 26 November 1880, Kingston represented The Burra and Clare from 9 March 1857 to 22 March 1860 and Stanley from 6 May 1861 until his death. Kingston was prominent in forming the South Australian Mining Association to keep the wealth of the colony from overseas speculators. With Edward Stephens, he investigated copper finds at Burra in 1845, an original shareholder, he was appointed surveyor and architect of the mining association and with William Jacob carried out the Burra special survey of 20,000 acres. In April 1848 he was elected a director, deputy-chairman in October 1856, in its first five years the monster mine paid fifteen dividends each of 200 per cent. In 1858 Kingston was part of the team who surveyed the town of Kingston. Kingston was interested in the Volunteer movement and was captain of the East Adelaide Rifles
3.
Parliament of South Australia
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The Parliament of South Australia at Parliament House, Adelaide is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly and the 22-seat Legislative Council, all of the lower house and half of the upper house is filled at each election. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government, the fourth-term South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party has been in government since the 2002 election. The Queen is represented in the State by the Governor of South Australia, however, the same role and powers are granted to them. The 47-seat lower house consists of 24 Labor,21 Liberal and 2 independents, Geoff Brock, following the 2014 election, the lower house consisted of 23 Labor,22 Liberal and 2 independents, Geoff Brock and Bob Such. Hamilton-Smith became an independent shortly after the election, reducing the Liberals to 21 seats, both Hamilton-Smith and fellow independent Geoff Brock are in cabinet and provide confidence and supply while retaining the right to vote on conscience. Labor went from minority to majority government when Nat Cook won the 2014 Fisher by-election which was triggered by the death of Bob Such, despite this, the Jay Weatherill Labor government kept crossbench MPs Brock and Hamilton-Smith in cabinet, giving the government a 26 to 21 parliamentary majority. As with the rest of the crossbench, Bedford will continue to provide confidence, the 22-seat upper house consists of eight Labor, eight Liberal, two Greens, two Family First, one Dignity for Disability and one Nick Xenophon Team MLCs. The Parliament of South Australia began in 1857, when the colony was granted self-government, women gained the right to vote and stand for election in 1895, taking effect at the 1896 election. South Australia became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 following a vote to Federate with the other British colonies of Australia, while smaller than the Eastern states, South Australia has often been at the vanguard of political and social change in Australia. The House of Assembly is made up of 47 members who are elected by the full-preference instant-runoff voting system in single-member electorates. The leader of the government becomes the Premier, while South Australias total population is 1.7 million, Adelaides population is 1. At the 2014 election for example, although the state-wide two-party vote was 47. 0% Labor v 53. 0% Liberal, the metropolitan area recorded a 2PP of 51. 5% Labor v 48. 5% Liberal. The Legislative Council is made up of 22 councillors who are elected for the state by the single transferable voting system to serve for a term of 8 years. Elections for the Legislative Council are staggered so that 11 seats are up for re-election every 4 years, the primary function of the Legislative Council is to review legislation which has been passed by the House of Assembly. The seat of the Parliament of South Australia is Parliament House in the capital of Adelaide. Parliament House sits on the North-Western corner of the intersection of King William Street, list of elections in South Australia Parliaments of the Australian states and territories Official openings by the monarch in Australia Parliament of South Australia Homepage
4.
Speaker (politics)
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The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer. The title was first used in 1399 in England, the speakers official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to members who break the procedures of the chamber or house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial, the title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England. By convention, speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as Mister Speaker, if a man, or Madam Speaker, in other cultures other styles are used, mainly being equivalents of English chairman or president. Many bodies also have a pro tempore, designated to fill in when the speaker is not available. The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives is the officer of the Australian House of Representatives. The President of the Australian Senate is the officer of the Australian Senate. Now constitutional community highlights changes also in this role, in Canada, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the individual elected to preside over the House of Commons, the elected lower house. The speaker is a Member of Parliament and is elected at the beginning of new parliament by fellow MPs. The Speakers role in presiding over Canadas House of Commons is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in countries that use the Westminster system. The Speaker does not vote except in the case of a tie, by convention, if required to vote, the Speaker will vote in favour of continuing debate on a matter, but will not ultimately vote for a measure to be approved. The Speaker of the Senate of Canada is the officer of the Senate of Canada. The Speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of procedure and parliamentary privilege. The Speaker of the Senate is appointed by the Governor General of Canada from amongst sitting senators upon the advice of the Prime Minister, the Speaker has a vote on all matters. In the event of a tie, the matter fails, at the provincial level, the presiding officer of the provincial legislatures is called the Speaker in all provinces except Quebec, where the term President is used. The presiding officer fulfills the role as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the elected to preside over the elected House of Commons
5.
George Charles Hawker
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George Charles Hawker was an Australian settler and South Australian politician. Hawker was born in London, the son of Admiral Edward Hawker and his first wife, Joanna Naomi. He was educated partly on the continent, and he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, together with his brother Charles, Hawker went to South Australia in 1840 travelling aboard the Lysander. He had two brothers with him at first and all three soon adapted themselves to conditions, some of the early station buildings in fact were put up with their own hands. In 1841 they were members of a party of 10 that went out to reclaim a large number of sheep that had fallen into the hands of the aborigines. The aborigines heavily outnumbered them and they were fortunate in escaping with the loss of one horse with one member of their party wounded, Hawker eventually bought out his brothers and extended his land until he had some 80,000 acres. Much attention was paid to the breeding of his sheep, in 1851 Hawker was a candidate for Stanley in the South Australian Legislative Council, but was defeated. He was successful in this position carrying out its duties with tact and dignity and he retired from parliament in 1865, went to England with his family, and did not return until 1874. He again entered parliament and, except for a few months, was a member until his death and he was twice asked to form a ministry and declined on each occasion, but several times held office. He was Treasurer of South Australia in the third Arthur Blyth ministry for a few days in 1875 and he was commissioner of public works in the third Boucaut ministry from October 1877 to September 1878, and held the same position in the William Morgan ministry until June 1881. In 1889 he visited India to inquire into the irrigation question and he died on 21 May 1895 in Medindie, if he had lived a few days longer he would have been created K. C. M. G. His widows appeal for an award was approved by the Queen in September 1895. Hawker held a position as a citizen of South Australia. He was much respected in parliament through his career of 26 years. In his earlier days Hawker was an excellent speaker who rose to eloquence, as an old man he contented himself with short speeches. He showed distinct administrative ability during his term as commissioner of public works, on 16 December 1845, George married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Seymour, pastoralist at Naracoorte. Known as Bessie, her younger sister Jane married in 1856 to pastoralist, having survived her husband, Bessie was granted the rank of the widow of a knight. Lady Hawker died in June 1901 and they had six sons and six daughters
