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Western Australian Legislative Assembly facts for kids

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Legislative Assembly
42nd Parliament
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Lower house of the Parliament of Western Australia
History
Founded 30 December 1890; 134 years ago (30 December 1890)
Leadership
Speaker
Stephen Price, Labor
Since 8 April 2025
Deputy Speaker
Ali Kent, Labor
Since 8 April 2025
Leader of the House
David Michael, Labor
Since 8 April 2025
Manager of Opposition Business
Libby Mettam, Liberal
Since 8 April 2025
Government Whip
Terry Healy, Labor
Since 8 April 2025
Opposition Whip
Liam Staltari, Liberal
Since 8 April 2025
Structure
Seats 59
2025.04.07 Western Australian Legislative Assembly - Composition of Members.svg
Political groups
Government (46)
     Labor (46)
Opposition (13)
     Liberal (7)
     National (6)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Full preferential voting
Last election
8 March 2025
Next election
March 2029
Meeting place
Western Australian Legislative Assembly.jpg
Legislative Assembly Chamber
Parliament House, Perth
Western Australia, Australia
Website
WA Legislative Assembly

The Western Australian Legislative Assembly is one of the two main parts of the Parliament of Western Australia. It is often called the "lower house." This is where many important decisions are made for the state of Western Australia.

The Parliament meets in Parliament House in Perth, the capital city. The Legislative Assembly currently has 59 members. These members are chosen by voters for four-year terms. Each member represents a specific area, called an electoral district. People vote using a system called preferential voting. In Australia, voting is required for all citizens aged 18 and older.

How the Legislative Assembly Works

Most new laws in Western Australia start in the Legislative Assembly. The political party or group that wins the most seats in the Assembly gets to form the government. The Governor officially invites them to do this.

Forming the Government

The leader of the winning party or group becomes the Premier of Western Australia. The Premier is like the head of the state government. This leader then chooses other members to be ministers. These ministers are in charge of different areas, like education, health, or transport. They can be from either the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council.

Passing Laws

In Australia, political parties usually vote together on issues. This means that most laws suggested by the government usually pass through the Legislative Assembly.

History of the Assembly

The Legislative Assembly was the first elected group of lawmakers in Western Australia. It was created in 1890 when Western Australia became self-governing.

WA Legislative Assembly 1896
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1896

Early Days and Voting Rights

When it first started, the Assembly had 30 elected members. However, only men who owned land could vote. Before this, the Governor made most laws, with advice from the appointed Legislative Council.

In 1893, all adult men gained the right to vote. However, Indigenous Australians were specifically not allowed to vote at that time.

Legislative Assembly of Western Australian
Legislative Assembly – 4 November 2012

Women's Right to Vote

Women in Western Australia gained the right to vote in 1899. This made Western Australia the second Australian colony to allow women to vote, after South Australia. A big moment happened in 1921 when Edith Cowan became the first woman ever elected to any parliament in Australia. She won the West Perth seat in the Legislative Assembly.

Fairer Voting Areas

For many years, Western Australia used a special system for voting areas. This system meant that country areas had fewer voters per member than city areas. This was different from most other Australian states, where each voting area has about the same number of voters.

Changes to Electoral Districts

Until 2008, a member of parliament in Perth represented about 28,519 voters. But a country member represented only about 14,551 voters. This meant that a country vote had more "power" than a city vote. Many people, especially from the Labor Party, wanted a system where every vote counted equally. This idea is called "one vote, one value."

Over time, changes were made to make the system fairer. In 2005, a new law removed the difference between country and city voting areas for the Legislative Assembly. However, the changes did not fully take effect until the 2008 Western Australian state election on September 6, 2008.

Current Electoral Map

After these changes, the Western Australian Electoral Commission redrew the voting areas in 2007. Now, 42 seats are in Perth, and 17 are in country areas. The number of voters in each area is much more equal. For very large country areas (over 100,000 square kilometres), there can still be a slightly different number of voters, but the goal is still fair representation.

Current Members in the Assembly

Here is how the 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly are currently divided among the political parties:

Party Seats held
Labor 46 46
 
Liberal 7 7
 
National 6 6
 
Total 59

To pass a new law, at least 30 votes are needed to form a majority.

See also

  • 2025 Western Australian state election
  • Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
    • Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 2025–2029
  • Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
  • Electoral districts of Western Australia
  • Western Australian Legislative Council
  • Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
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