Western Australia politics takes place in context of a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliamentary system, and like other Australian states, Western Australia is part of the federation known as the Commonwealth of Australia.
The main parties are the governing Labor Party and the two Opposition parties (the National Party and the Liberal Party). Other minor political parties include the Greens, Western Australia Party, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Legalise Cannabis WA Party, Pauline Hanson's One Nation and Australian Christians.[1]
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive branch of the Government of Western Australia and is accountable to the Parliament of Western Australia. The premier is appointed by the governor of Western Australia. By convention, the governor appoints as premier whoever has the support of the majority of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. In practice, this means that the premier is the leader of the political party or group of parties with a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly (lower house). Since Western Australia achieved self-governance in 1890, there have been 31 premiers. Roger Cook[2] is the current premier, having been appointed to the position on 8 June 2023.
See main article: Government of Western Australia. The nominal head of the Government of Western Australia is the King of Australia, represented in the state by the Governor of Western Australia. Legislative power rests with the Crown and the two houses of the Parliament of Western Australia. The powers and responsibilities of the parliament are defined in the Constitution Act 1889.[3]
See main article: Parliament of Western Australia. The Parliament of Western Australia is bicameral, consisting of a lower and an upper house.
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly (lower house) is composed of 59 members of parliament, each of whom represent a single electoral district and are elected using a preferential voting system. The Legislative Assembly sits for fixed four-year terms. The leader of the party with a majority in the Legislative Assembly (or with the confidence of the Assembly) is appointed by the Governor as the premier of Western Australia.
The Western Australian Legislative Council (upper house) has 36 members (or MLCs), representing six electoral regions. Six members are elected for each province using a proportional voting system.
General elections are held every four years, electing the entire Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. The next state election is scheduled for March 2025.
Western Australian seats in the Australian Parliament | |||
---|---|---|---|
Political party | House of Representatives | Senate | |
ALP | 9 | 5 | |
Liberal | 5 | 5 | |
WA Nationals | 0 | 0 | |
Greens | 0 | 2 | |
Independent | 1 | 0 | |
Source: Australian Electoral Commission |
Historically, most federal elections have already been "decided" by the time the polls close in Western Australia. The only times since the mid-20th century when the state has decided an election were:
Year | No. | Name | National voters | States | WA | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1906 | 1 | |||||
1910 | 2 | |||||
3 | ||||||
1911 | 4 | |||||
5 | ||||||
1913 | 6 | |||||
7 | ||||||
8 | ||||||
9 | ||||||
10 | ||||||
11 | ||||||
1919 | 12 | |||||
13 | ||||||
1926 | 14 | |||||
15 | ||||||
1928 | 16 | |||||
1937 | 17 | |||||
18 | ||||||
1944 | 19 | |||||
1946 | 20 | |||||
21 | ||||||
22 | ||||||
1948 | 23 | |||||
1951 | 24 | |||||
1967 | 25 | |||||
26 | ||||||
1973 | 27 | |||||
28 | ||||||
1974 | 29 | |||||
30 | ||||||
31 | ||||||
32 | ||||||
1977 | 33 | |||||
34 | ||||||
35 | ||||||
36 | ||||||
1984 | 37 | |||||
38 | ||||||
1988 | 39 | |||||
40 | ||||||
41 | ||||||
42 | ||||||
1999 | 43 | |||||
44 | ||||||
2023 | 45 |
Primary vote | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ALP | L+NP | Oth. | ||
2001 Western Australian state election | 37.24% | 34.42% | 28.34% | |
2005 Western Australian state election | 41.88% | 39.33% | 18.78% | |
2008 Western Australian state election | 35.84% | 43.26% | 20.91% | |
2013 Western Australian state election | 33.13% | 53.15% | 13.7% | |
2017 Western Australian state election | 42.20% | 36.63% | 21.18% | |
2021 Western Australian state election | 59.92% | 25.3% | 14.78% |