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halloranelderThe first other thing of note is vacancies.
So, the election is over, the politicians are in Canberra, and something happens to one of them. How is that handled?
Well it depends on what happens.
No matter how the parties like to spin it, elections in Australia put people into those seats, not the Party. As a result, if a politician has a falling out with the party and leaves the party, they are still the member. They are now an Independent, or the member of whatever party they choose to join.
However, if something more permanent happens, like a politician retiring, being forced to stand down due to illness or other activities, or passing away while in office, then what happens next depends on which house they are in.
If they are in the House of Representatives, then a by-election is called. This is treated exactly the same as a normal House of Representatives election except only for the affected electorate. If a regular election is due soon, the by-election may be skipped.
If they are a Senator, then a Casual Vacancy is filled. The State Parliament of the affected Senate seat holds a joint sitting of both houses and an appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the term. Usually this is a person from the same political party as was vacating, but not always. Queensland only has a single house, so a joint sitting is not required. For the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, the decision is made by their Legislative Assembly.
The second other thing of note is a very special rule in Australian government called a double dissolution.
As I mentioned in the introduction, the House of Reps is the only house that can introduce or change appropriation bills (that is bills that propose an expenditure or levy a tax). The Senate cannot introduce them, nor can it change them, its only options are to pass or reject them.
It is possible for a hostile senate to block appropriations, rejecting them and not allowing them to pass.
If this happens three times with the same appropriations bill (with no changes) then the Prime Minister has the *option* of calling a double dissolution election. This causes an election to be held for all seats and senate positions. From the House of Reps side, this is treated the same as any other. However, since all senate positions are vacated and up for election, this adds a great deal of additional complexity to the senate vote with the major states having 12 seats up for grabs, and a quota being one thirteenth (12 + 1) instead of one seventh (6 + 1).
Once the election is complete, new terms have to be determined for the senators for the major states. The first six elected get the longer term of 5 years and then to the following June 30, while the second six get the shorter term of 2 years and then to the following June 30.
Afterwards, if the same government is returned, they can try and pass the appropriation bill again, and if it's rejected this time, they may choose to have a joint sitting of both houses, and pass it with a simple majority of the combined houses.
There have been six or seven double dissolutions in Australia (depending on whether you count 1974 and 1975 as the same incident, or two separate incidents) and the 1974 double dissolution was the only time the joint sitting was used.
So, the election is over, the politicians are in Canberra, and something happens to one of them. How is that handled?
Well it depends on what happens.
No matter how the parties like to spin it, elections in Australia put people into those seats, not the Party. As a result, if a politician has a falling out with the party and leaves the party, they are still the member. They are now an Independent, or the member of whatever party they choose to join.
However, if something more permanent happens, like a politician retiring, being forced to stand down due to illness or other activities, or passing away while in office, then what happens next depends on which house they are in.
If they are in the House of Representatives, then a by-election is called. This is treated exactly the same as a normal House of Representatives election except only for the affected electorate. If a regular election is due soon, the by-election may be skipped.
If they are a Senator, then a Casual Vacancy is filled. The State Parliament of the affected Senate seat holds a joint sitting of both houses and an appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the term. Usually this is a person from the same political party as was vacating, but not always. Queensland only has a single house, so a joint sitting is not required. For the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, the decision is made by their Legislative Assembly.
The second other thing of note is a very special rule in Australian government called a double dissolution.
As I mentioned in the introduction, the House of Reps is the only house that can introduce or change appropriation bills (that is bills that propose an expenditure or levy a tax). The Senate cannot introduce them, nor can it change them, its only options are to pass or reject them.
It is possible for a hostile senate to block appropriations, rejecting them and not allowing them to pass.
If this happens three times with the same appropriations bill (with no changes) then the Prime Minister has the *option* of calling a double dissolution election. This causes an election to be held for all seats and senate positions. From the House of Reps side, this is treated the same as any other. However, since all senate positions are vacated and up for election, this adds a great deal of additional complexity to the senate vote with the major states having 12 seats up for grabs, and a quota being one thirteenth (12 + 1) instead of one seventh (6 + 1).
Once the election is complete, new terms have to be determined for the senators for the major states. The first six elected get the longer term of 5 years and then to the following June 30, while the second six get the shorter term of 2 years and then to the following June 30.
Afterwards, if the same government is returned, they can try and pass the appropriation bill again, and if it's rejected this time, they may choose to have a joint sitting of both houses, and pass it with a simple majority of the combined houses.
There have been six or seven double dissolutions in Australia (depending on whether you count 1974 and 1975 as the same incident, or two separate incidents) and the 1974 double dissolution was the only time the joint sitting was used.
