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49-675: On 5 November 1992, a petition was tabled in the Western Australian Legislative Council by John Halden MLC containing an allegation that the state Opposition Leader , Richard Court , had improperly provided confidential information to a party in a divorce case. The petitioner was Brian Mahon Easton, a former Western Australian public servant. The alleged recipient of the information was his former wife, Penny Easton. Ms Easton had been corresponding with Liberal Members of Parliament in an attempt to obtain assistance in proving that her husband had concealed from

98-492: A further reorganisation occurred in 1950 (following the passage of the Electoral Districts Act 1947 establishing an independent electoral commission). The Constitution Acts Amendment Act (No.2) 1963 , effective from the 1965 state election , abolished the ten existing three-member provinces, replacing them with 15 two-member provinces. One new province was added at the 1977 state election . Some of

147-844: A place on the Council. The initial appointees were the Governor , James Stirling , the Senior Military Officer next in command to the Governor, Frederick Irwin , the Colonial Secretary , Peter Broun , the Surveyor-General , John Septimus Roe , and the Advocate-General , William Mackie . The Legislative Council first met on 7 February 1832. Three years later, an attempt was made to expand

196-748: A political stunt and accused the Commissioner of bias. Brian Easton was charged with contempt of the Parliament by motion of the Legislative Council in 1995 and, upon conviction, was ordered to present himself in the chamber to apologise. He refused and was sentenced by the council to 7 days imprisonment. John Halden was charged with perjury before the Royal Commission and acquitted after a trial in December 1998. Following

245-581: A state of Australia . It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly , the lower house. The two Houses of Parliament sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth . Effective on 20 May 2005, for the election of members of the Legislative Council, the state was divided into six electoral regions by community of interest – three metropolitan and three rural – each electing six members to

294-468: Is able to dominate the floor at a given point in time. The party's administrative committee is ultimately responsible for the party's management and administration. The committee has 15 members, if the State President (who must preside) is included. At least 50% of committee is reserved for women. Meetings of the committee are presided over by the State President. The position of State President

343-670: Is dominated by the Labor Left . Members of the WA Labor Party usually belong to a single branch, chosen by that member. There are two types of branches; (1) Local branches, which are organised around a local geographic area, and (2) Direct branches, which are organised around a political issue or broader community group. Branch members regularly meet to discuss political issues, socialise, meet ALP politicians, fundraise, and organise campaign activities. They also frequently pass resolutions, which act as public statements regarding

392-451: Is elected every two years through a mail-ballot of the party membership. This distinguishes them from other members that are decided instead at State Conference. At meetings of the administrative committee, the president is only allowed a casting vote . The State Treasurer must attend all meetings but does not vote. Therefore, meetings of the administrative committee are attended by As of 2023, committee meetings are attended by people in

441-545: Is not always so. Decisions of the State Executive are often determined by whichever ALP factional combination is able to dominate the floor at a given point in time. The party meets annually at its State Conference. It is the ultimate governing body of the State Party. The conference comprises delegates from Branches, affiliated unions, and ALP Parliamentary representatives. As the ultimate governing body, it has

490-552: The 2008 state election . After the 2021 state election , in which the Labor Party won a majority in both houses of parliament, the state government formed a commission to explore reform to the Legislative Council electoral system. The committee recommended the abolition of the six electoral regions in favour of a single state-wide electorate and the abolition of group voting tickets , among other changes. The Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Equality) Bill 2021

539-464: The 2013 state election , both houses of Parliament have had fixed four-year terms, with elections being held every four years on the second Saturday in March, though the term of the Legislative Council not expiring until May after the election. In the current Legislative Council, elected at the 2021 election , Labor has majority control of the chamber—the first time any party gained the majority in

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588-638: The Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as WA Labor , is the Western Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party . It is the current governing party of Western Australia since winning the 2017 election under Mark McGowan . The Western Australian state division of the Australian Labor Party was formed at a Trade Union Congress in Coolgardie in 1899. Shortly afterwards

637-681: The Burke Labor government, with the conditional support of the National Party, introduced the present system of multi-member electorates and a method of proportional representation which is, however, 'weighted' to give extra representation to rural constituents. The legislation was made possible because the Australian Democrats in 1986 negotiated an election preference flow to Labor in return for an explicit undertaking on Legislative Council electoral reform, which resulted in

686-569: The following election on 6 September 2008. Even with the reforms, rural areas are still significantly overrepresented. According to ABC election analyst Antony Green , the rural weighting is still significant enough that it is all but impossible for a Liberal premier in Western Australia to govern without National support, even if the Liberals win enough Legislative Assembly seats to theoretically allow them to govern alone. In 2021,

735-655: The 1993 state election which swept away the Lawrence Government and shortly afterwards had resigned from the ALP. This meant that Wilson had no loyalties to the ALP, let alone to Lawrence, when he made the revelation of the Easton matter. On 19 April 1995, another former Minister in the Cabinet, Pam Beggs , made a statement supportive of Wilson. In May 1995, Richard Court, who had succeeded Lawrence as Premier following

784-446: The ALP are allowed to participate in their personal capacity at branch meetings and FECC meetings; which is another, albeit indirect, means of influence at State Executive and Conference. Of the five governance layers, the State Executive is notable for having the primary responsible for candidate preselection. Mostly for this reason, its control is the primary objective of party factions attempting to exert their influence. As of 2023, it

833-590: The Family Court some of his earnings as a public servant. The amount in question was A$ 200,000 which he was alleged to have received as a retirement benefit from Exim Corporation, a body created by the State Government during the WA Inc era and of which Easton had been General Manager. The petition alleged that details of Easton's severance arrangements had been unlawfully disclosed. Significant parts of

882-531: The Legislative Council has traditionally been controlled by a coalition of the Liberal and National parties, and minor parties and independents have been more easily elected. The current composition of the Legislative Council is as follows: Western Australia's first representative parliament was the Legislative Council, first created in 1832 as an appointive body. Initially it consisted only of official members; that is, public officials whose office guaranteed them

931-408: The Legislative Council. The 2005 changes continued to maintain the previous malapportionment in favour of rural regions. Legislation was passed in 2021 to abolish these regions and increase the size of the council to 37 seats, all of which will be elected by the state-at-large. The changes will take effect in the 2025 state election . Since 2008, the Legislative Council has had 36 members. Since

980-524: The Legislative council was changed to consist of 12 elected members and 6 members nominated by the governor. Suffrage was limited to landowners and those with a prescribed level of income. When Western Australia gained responsible government in 1890, a bicameral system was adopted and the Legislative Council became a house of review for legislation passed by the popularly elected Legislative Assembly. This council consisted of 15 members, all nominated by

1029-536: The State Executive and State Conference. Members of the Administrative committee are at regular intervals during the annual state conferences. Affiliated trade unions are allocated voting delegates to participate at the State Conference and State Executive layers. Due to these legal rules, the ALP is strongly influenced by its affiliated trade unions. Additionally, union members who are a member of

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1078-495: The affair as the lowest point in her political career. Western Australian Legislative Council   Labor (21) Opposition (9)   Liberal (7)   National (2) Crossbench (6)   Greens ( 1 )   One Nation ( 1 )   Legalise Cannabis ( 1 ) The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia ,

1127-416: The condition that the colonies take responsibility for the costs of their own government. Because of this provision, Western Australia was slow to adopt the system. In 1867, the governor responded to public demand for representative government by holding unofficial elections and subsequently nominating each elected person to the council. Three years later, representative government was officially adopted and

1176-694: The council by including four unofficial members to be nominated by the governor. However, the public demand for elected rather than nominated members was so great that implementation of the change was delayed until 1838. In 1850, the British Parliament passed an act, the Australian Constitutions Act 1850 ( 13 & 14 Vict. c. 59), that permitted the Australian colonies to establish legislative councils that were one-third nominated and two-thirds elected, but only under

1225-502: The council was held following the dissolution of parliament in June 1894. This system was retained until 1962 when, over the next two years, the council was reformed, creating a series of two-member electorates. Members were elected for six years with provision for re-election of one every three years. Universal suffrage was also granted in order to bring the council into line with the assembly. This arrangement remained until 10 June 1987 when

1274-520: The defeat of a number of Liberal councillors who were committed to opposing such reform. Until 2005 the state used a zonally weighted electoral system for both houses of parliament. In effect, this meant that the vote of a Perth voter counted for less than that of a rural voter. The difference was less marked in the Assembly than in the Legislative Council, whose metropolitan regions are numerically weighted so that up to two rural members are elected by

1323-698: The defeat of the Keating government in the election held on 2 March 1996, Carmen Lawrence had been appointed to the Opposition frontbench as Shadow Environment Minister. On 21 February 1997, she was charged with three counts of perjury resulting from the findings of the Marks Royal Commission. A trial by jury followed during which she stood down from the shadow ministry. She was acquitted of the charges on 23 July 1999. When Lawrence announced her retirement from politics in March 2007, she described

1372-423: The dividing line on the ballot paper, or at least 20 candidates below the dividing line. Senate House of Rep. Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Council Assembly Assembly Assembly Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) The Western Australian Labor Party , officially known as

1421-473: The election of 1993, requested the creation of a Royal Commission to determine the circumstances of the tabling of the Easton petition. The Commissioner was Kenneth Marks QC . The establishment of the Commission attracted severe attacks from Lawrence's colleagues in the federal parliamentary Labor party. The federal Member for Perth, Stephen Smith , was particularly hostile and made public comments, before

1470-493: The face of National Party opposition. Effective on 20 May 2005, for the election of members of the Legislative Council, the state was divided into six electoral regions by community of interest, three metropolitan and three rural, each electing six members to the Legislative Council. The regions were defined geographically and functionally, and also included partial requirements for equal numbers of Legislative Assembly districts. However, all previously elected members remained until

1519-586: The federal Labor Party was formalised in time for Australian federation in 1901. The WA Labor Party achieved representation in the Western Australian Parliament in 1900 with six members, and four years later the party entered into minority government with Henry Daglish becoming the first Labor Premier of Western Australia . There are five layers of governance in the WA Labor party. These governance layers are filled with people from

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1568-534: The following day, in response to an Opposition question, Premier Carmen Lawrence denied prior knowledge of the petition. In April 1995, Keith Wilson , a Minister and Cabinet member in November 1992, told Paul McGeough , a journalist then employed by the Sydney Morning Herald , that the Easton matter was raised at a Cabinet meeting prior to the tabling of the petition. Wilson had lost his seat at

1617-470: The government passed a substantial reform of the council electoral system. Starting with the 2025 general election, all seats will be elected in a statewide electorate. While Perth accounts for 70% of the state's population, only 30% of the state's population is located in towns and small settlements across an area of over 2.6 million square kilometres outside the Perth metropolitan area. However, until 2005,

1666-514: The governor. However, it was provided that once the population of the colony reached 60,000, the Legislative Council would become elective. The colony was expected to take many years to reach a population of 60,000 but the discovery of the eastern goldfields and the consequent gold rush caused that figure to be reached by 1893. The constitution was then amended to make the Legislative Council an elective house of 21 seats, with three members to be elected from each of seven provinces. The first election to

1715-492: The identity of the commissioner was announced, warning that any judge who agreed to head the inquiry should be prepared for political attack. On 14 November 1995, the Marks Royal Commission released a report which found that Lawrence had misled the Western Australian Parliament concerning her knowledge of and role in the tabling of the petition. Prime Minister Paul Keating denounced the commission as

1764-509: The new provinces bore the same names as the previous provinces. The Acts Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 1987 , which took effect at the 1989 state election , created six electoral regions to replace the previous electoral provinces. Initially, the South West and North Metropolitan regions each returned seven members, while the other regions each returned five. This arrangement was changed to have each region return six members for

1813-406: The opinion of the branch on an issue. Annually, each branch will elect a delegate to attend their relevant 'Federal Electorate Campaign Committee' this person will then vote on their behalf at FECC meetings. It is through this delegate that branch members have an indirect influence on ALP preselections. Australia's federal electorates often contain multiple ALP branches within them. Each branch of

1862-468: The party elects a representative at their Annual General Meeting, and that delegate will attend the FECC covering their federal electorate. FECCs meet regularly to discuss party issues. Each one elects delegates to represent it at the State Executive. The state executive of the party is a singular body made up of various delegates. It meets multiple times per year. It is the chief administrative authority of

1911-421: The party's general membership, as well as delegates from affiliated unions to the party. The five governance layers are: Of these governance layers, the only level at which ALP members directly participate in their membership capacity is at the branch level. However, branch members are able to be elected as delegates to participate at FECC meetings; and FECC participants in turn may be elected to participate at

1960-583: The party, and is vested with the party's power in-between the annual state conferences. It is made up of 175 persons. Its most noteworthy power is over preselections of ALP candidates for elections. The State executive comprises The current composition of the WA Labor State Executive is not publicly available information. In recent history the WA State Executive has been dominated by the labor left faction, however, this

2009-425: The petition were subsequently discovered to be false, particularly concerning the role of Richard Court in the matter. The tabling of the petition attracted intense media interest. Penny Easton, who had refused to respond to enquiries by journalists, committed suicide on 9 November 1992. Her vehicle was discovered in bushland with her body inside; she had died by deliberate inhalation of exhaust fumes. In Parliament on

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2058-527: The power to overrule decisions of the State Executive, although this rarely occurs in practice. The State Conference floor comprises The composition of the State Conference floor for 2023 is not publicly available information. In recent history the WA State Conference floor has been dominated by the labor left faction, however, this is not always so. Decisions of the State Conference are often determined by whichever ALP factional combination

2107-633: The same number of votes needed to elect a single member from Perth. This style of weighting has not been adopted by any other Australian state. While the Liberal Party and Labor Party were both advantaged and disadvantaged by this system, it strongly benefited the National Party . During the 1990s, Liberal Premier Richard Court considered changing the system along the lines of that in place in South Australia , but backed down in

2156-515: The state used a zonally weighted electoral system for both houses of parliament. In Legislative Council elections, this meant a vote in Perth was worth around 47% of a rural vote. The WA Legislative Council is the last remaining State or Territory chamber in Australia to have a significant rural overweighting. For example, the Mining and Pastoral Region has 16% of the average number of electors in

2205-492: The table below. Because of various factional affiliations, the administrative committee is currently dominated by the Labor Left faction. The party's policy committees are responsible for the party's development of the party platform between state conferences and elections. The committees are composed of elected convenors who are tasked with facilitating policy development at the party member level and secretaries who work at

2254-414: The territory of existing districts. In 1890, following the creation of the Legislative Assembly , the Legislative Council returned to being a completely appointed body, with 15 members. The Constitution Act Amendment Act 1893 was subsequently passed, taking effect in 1894, to provide for seven electoral provinces, each electing three members. Additional provinces were created in 1897 and 1900, and

2303-544: The three metropolitan regions, which on paper gives Mining and Pastoral voters six times the voting power of those in the city of Perth. However, according to Green, the actual bias is greater due to historically lower turnout in the Mining and Pastoral region. The Legislative Council Act 1870 , which took effect the same year, created ten electoral districts for the Legislative Council, electing twelve members in total. Three later acts of parliament (in 1874, 1883, and 1887) established four more electoral districts, created from

2352-402: The upper house since 1983 . Six members of the Legislative Council are elected from each of the six regions under a proportional and preferential voting system using the single transferable vote method. Each council region overlaps with a varying number of Assembly seats. Because of the proportional representation system in place as well as the malapportionment in favour of rural regions,

2401-410: Was passed in November 2021 and established a "one vote, one value" system in the Legislative Council for the first time. The electoral regions were abolished and replaced by a single state-wide electorate of 37 members, while GVTs were replaced by optional preferential voting. The changes will take effect in the 2025 state election . Voters will be required to vote for one or more preferred parties above

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