South Australian House of Assembly

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. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. The House of Assembly was created in 1857, when South Australia attained self-government. The development of an elected legislature - although only men could vote - marked a significant change from the prior system, where power had been concentrate... more

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. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. The House of Assembly was created in 1857, when South Australia attained self-government. The development of an elected legislature - although only men could vote - marked a significant change from the prior system, where power had been concentrated in the hands of the Governor and the Legislative Council, which was appointed by the Governor. In 1894, 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 them to stand for election. The House of Assembly has 47 members, each coming from a single-member constituency. These are commonly known as seats, and are intended to represent approximately the same population in each electorate. Voting is by the preferential system, as with the equivalent... less