Would Creating Extra Senators for the Territories change the House of Representatives
A report from ABC Darwin overnight again raises the question of whether the Albanese government will increase the number of territory Senators.
Special Minister of State, Senator Don Farrell, referred to a looming report of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. The story was last reported around a month ago.
Both the ACT and NT currently elect two Senators. They are elected for maximum three year terms, with their terms tied to the electoral cycle of the House of Representatives.
This differs from state Senators who are elected for fixed six-year terms with each state having a constitutionally protected equal number of Senators.
Currently each state elects 12 Senators with half (six) elected every three years. (All 12 are elected at double dissolution elections.) The number of Senators per state was set at six in 1901, increased to 10 in 1949 and the current 12 in 1984. Two Senators for each territory were added in 1975.
The question I’m usually asked about an increase in territory Senators is whether this would cause an increase in the size of the House of Representatives.
The short answer is no, as I’ll explain in this post.Read More »Would Creating Extra Senators for the Territories change the House of Representatives