- Source: 47th Parliament of Australia
The 47th Parliament of Australia is the current meeting of the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Australia, composed of the Australian Senate and the Australian House of Representatives. The May 2022 federal election gave the Australian Labor Party control of the House. Labor won 77 seats at the election, and it gained an additional seat in April 2023 due to winning the Aston by-election, giving it a three-seat majority government. Labor leader Anthony Albanese became the 31st Prime Minister of Australia, and was sworn in by the Governor-General David Hurley on 23 May 2022. The 47th Parliament opened in Canberra on 26 July 2022.
Since July 2022, there have been 118 instances of MPs being ejected from the House of Representatives during Question Time, with 93% of these ejections involving male MPs. Notable frequent offenders include Coalition spokesperson Michael Sukkar and Liberal backbencher Tony Pasin. The Albanese government, despite its commitment to improving parliamentary conduct, has delayed the establishment of an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission (IPSC) to address such issues until at least October 2024, as stated by Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher.
Major events and legislation
The Climate Change Act 2022 passed the parliament on 8 September 2022, having been approved by the House by 86 votes to 50 and the Senate by 37 votes to 30. The legislation codifies a 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 (on 2005 levels), requires the Climate Change Authority to provide advice on Australia's progress against those targets, mandates that the Minister for Climate Change reports annually to Parliament on Australia's progress, and forces federal government agencies to adhere to the legislative requirements of the Act.
The Social Security Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 September 2022, having passed the House by 86 votes to 56 and the Senate by 33 votes to 26. The legislation repealed the mandatory Cashless Welfare Card, originally introduced as a trial in 2016 for 12,500 people across four trial sites, which quarantined around 80% of a person's income so it could not be spent on alcohol or gambling or withdrawn in cash. As a result of the legislative change, participants could opt out of the scheme, though around 4,300 people in the Northern Territory and Cape York remained on the card prior to the introduction of a compulsory income-management scheme in 2023.
The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 passed the parliament on 28 November 2022. The legislation implemented seven of the recommendations of the Kate Jenkins-authored Respect@Work report into sexual harassment. Among other reforms, the laws impose a positive onus on employers to take steps to demonstrate that they're proactively attempting to eliminate sex discrimination "as far as possible". In addition, victimising conduct can be the basis of a civil, not just criminal, complaint, and public sector agencies are newly required to report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency as occurs with private sector agencies.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 passed the parliament on 30 November 2022. The legislation established the National Anti-Corruption Commission, an independent federal agency equipped with the power to investigate Commonwealth ministers, public servants, statutory office holders, government agencies, parliamentarians and parliamentary staff for corrupt or improper behaviour.
The Fair Work Legislation Amendment Act 2022 passed the parliament on 2 December 2022. The legislation passed the House of Representatives by 80 votes to 56 and passed the Senate by 35 votes to 31. The workplace relations reforms introduce multi-employer bargaining, allow the Fair Work Commission to authorise workers with sufficient common interests to bargain together and abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and Registered Organisations Commission. The legislation passed with the support of the Greens and Senator David Pocock, who each won government support for an enforceable right to request unpaid parental leave and measures to prevent a loophole in the better-off-overall test in the legislation, as well as the creation of a statutory advisory committee of experts to provide independent advice concerning "economic inclusion" of lower-income people, welfare recipients and cost-of-living relief.
The Restoring Territory Rights Act 2022 passed the parliament on 1 December 2022. The legislation, which abolished the federal ban on the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory legislatures passing laws to permit euthanasia schemes (originally passed in 1997) was subject to a conscience vote for most parties. It was approved by 99 votes to 37 in the House of Representatives and by 41 votes to 25 in the Senate.
The Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Act 2023 passed the parliament on 30 March 2023. The legislation passed with the support of the Labor government, the Greens, Jacqui Lambie Network and independent crossbenchers in both chambers, following intense negotiations between the parties. In effect, 215 of the country's major polluting facilities are required to cut emissions intensity by 5% a year, through absolute cuts or by buying carbon offsets. While individual companies can buy an unlimited number of offsets, total absolute emissions under the scheme cannot increase and are required to come down over time. The legislation passed the Senate by 32 votes to 26 and the House by 89 votes to 50, with the Liberal/National Coalition, One Nation and United Australia parties opposed to the reforms.
The Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 proposed alteration to the Constitution of Australia passed the parliament on 19 June 2023. It passed by 121 votes to 25 in the House of Representatives and by 52 votes to 19 in the Senate. It enabled a referendum to occur in the latter months of 2023, to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, which would have an advisory power to consult with the parliament and Executive Government on matters and legislation affecting Indigenous Australians.
The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 passed the parliament on 14 September 2023. The legislation established the Housing Australia Future Fund, a $10 billion sovereign wealth fund-type scheme to enable the construction of 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years. A guaranteed $500 million is to be spent per year from the fund, while a minimum of 1,200 homes are to be built in each state and territory across the period. The legislation's passage was achieved after the government won the support of the Greens, who negotiated an extra $1 billion for public and community housing from the government, though failed to win support for a national freeze or caps on rents. Several months prior to the legislation's passage, the government made a $2 billion separate one-off announcement for social housing through a "social housing accelerator" scheme.
In January 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the government had approved changes to the Stage 3 income tax cuts, originally passed by the Morrison government during the 46th Parliament and set to come into effect on 1 July 2024. Under the new scheme, the flattening of the tax rate for all income between $45,000 and $200,000 to 30% will be overturned through the restoration of the 37% tax rate, income earners above $150,000 will have their tax cuts progressively reduced to as much as half of the original cut, whilst earners up to $150,000 will have a larger cut than proposed under the previous government. To this effect, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Cost of Living Tax Cuts) Bill 2024 was approved by the parliament on 27 February 2024.
On the final sitting day before the winter parliamentary break, the Albanese Government experienced its first legislative defeat in the 47th Parliament when a proposed Defence Amendment Bill was voted down in the Senate. The bill aimed to establish a parliamentary committee with broad investigative powers into Defence spending, but was rejected due to opposition from both government and coalition members, who resisted including cross-bench representation. Greens Senator David Shoebridge criticized the persistent issues with Defence procurement, citing significant failures and cost overruns in submarine, frigate, and offshore patrol vessel projects. The bill's defeat left Defence's extensive budget and procurement practices with minimal oversight, highlighting ongoing concerns about accountability and management within the department.
Leadership
= Senate
=Presiding officer
President of the Senate: Sue Lines
Government leadership
Leader of the Government: Penny Wong
Deputy Leader of the Government: Don Farrell
Chief Government Whip: Anne Urquhart
Deputy Government Whips: Raff Ciccone & Louise Pratt
Manager of Government Business: Katy Gallagher
Opposition leadership
Leader of the Opposition: Simon Birmingham
Deputy Leader of the Opposition: Michaelia Cash
Chief Opposition Whip: Wendy Askew
Deputy Opposition Whips: Paul Scarr & Matt O'Sullivan
Manager of Opposition Business: Anne Ruston
= House of Representatives
=Presiding officer
Speaker of the House: Milton Dick
Government leadership
Leader of the House: Tony Burke
Chief Government Whip: Joanne Ryan
Government Whips: Anne Stanley & David Smith
Opposition leadership
Manager of Opposition Business: Paul Fletcher
Chief Opposition Whip: Bert van Manen
Opposition Whips: Melissa Price & Rowan Ramsey
Party summary
= House of Representatives
== Senate
=Demographics
The 47th Parliament of Australia has a historically high representation of women; women make up 38% of the House of Representatives and 57% of the Senate, the highest on record for both chambers. In terms of representation, Indigenous members will account for 9.6 per cent of the 76 Senate seats, and 1.9 per cent of 151 House of Representatives seats.
Despite these advancements, Parliament does not fully mirror the Australian population. Women, who hold a slight majority in the general population, are still underrepresented in Parliament. The average age of MPs is higher than the national median of 38. Representation of culturally diverse backgrounds is also limited, with only 6.6% of MPs having non-European ancestry compared to 23% of the general population, and 4.4% of MPs having Asian heritage versus 18% of Australians. Indigenous representation has increased, with eight Indigenous senators and three Indigenous MPs, totaling 4.8% of the Parliament, which is higher than the Indigenous population percentage of 3.3%. Despite these advances, Australia's parliamentary representation continues to lag behind countries such as Canada and New Zealand in terms of gender and cultural diversity.
The Liberal Party's representation of women has declined, with only 9 seats compared to 13 in the previous parliament. In contrast, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's cabinet is the most diverse in Australian history, featuring 10 women out of 23 cabinet ministers, with several holding prominent positions such as Penny Wong in foreign affairs and Linda Burney as the first female Indigenous cabinet minister.
= Senate
=The Senate included 32 men and 44 women, the most women to date.
= House of Representatives
=There are 58 women in the House, the largest number in history, with 19 of these being first-term Members of Parliament (MPs). Three current members are LGBTQ+ — Stephen Bates, Angie Bell and Julian Hill. Four members; Mark Dreyfus, Josh Burns, Mike Freelander and Julian Leeser identified as Jewish. Labor members — Ed Husic and Anne Aly — became the first two Muslim federal ministers.
Membership
= Senate
=40 of the 76 seats in the upper house were contested in the election in May 2022. The class of senators elected in 2022 are denoted with an asterisk (*).
= House of Representatives
=All 151 seats in the lower house were contested in the election in May 2022.
Changes in membership
= Senate
=This table lists senators who have resigned, died, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 47th Parliament.
= House of Representatives
=This table lists members of the House who have resigned, died, been elected or appointed, or otherwise changed their party affiliation during the 47th Parliament.
See also
46th Parliament of Australia
Albanese Government
2020s in Australian political history
Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 2022–2025
Members of the Australian Senate, 2022–2025
Notes
References
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- 47th Parliament of Australia
- Next Australian federal election
- 2022 Australian federal election
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 2022–2025
- Parliament of Australia
- IPSC
- Australian House of Representatives
- 2022 Australian Senate election
- Australian Senate
- 46th Parliament of Australia
