Law-making isn’t always a straight-forward process. That’s why we’ve pulled together this FAQ covering some of the questions we regularly get asked, including how Parliament works, how laws are passed and why your vote is so important.
The South Australian Parliament makes laws that govern South Australia. While some exclusive powers are held by the Commonwealth, and powers over some areas of law are shared by the states and the Commonwealth, laws governing law and order, commerce and industry, primary production, education, housing, health, transport and development are the domain of the states.
In order for a law to be made, a Bill must successfully pass both houses of Parliament by majority vote in identical form. This involves three stages of readings. Typically this can take some months. Should amendments be made, these amendments would also need to pass both houses in the same way to form part of the new law or Act.
A Bill is a proposal for a draft law or legislation. Head here to find out more about the stages of a bill and the law making process.
A motion is a proposal that represents the will of the House. There are two types of motions. Substantive motions are self-contained proposals that represent the opinion of the House, while subsidiary motions relate to Parliamentary procedure.
The Legislative Council (or Upper House as it is commonly referred to) plays an important role, ensuring that the interests of all members of the community are heard and proportionally represented.
The Legislative Council is designed to act as a house of review for legislation. The Greens have two representatives in the state Upper House – myself and Robert Simms - who collectively share the balance of power with other cross-bench MLCs.
The Greens’ platform centres on four pillars: ecological sustainability, participatory democracy, social justice, and peace and non-violence. At our core, we believe in putting people and the environment ahead of short-term vested interests. In all we do, we are working to create a fairer future for all Australians. To find out more about our work, view a full list of our policies here and follow me on social media at the links below.
As small or insignificant as one vote might seem, elections have been won and lost on a knife-edge. Many elections in recent times have been very close, so never doubt that your vote counts. Voting helped the Greens to make history in Melbourne when we won our first lower house seat, and more have followed. By voting, you’re sending a signal to the Parliament and the community about the issues you care about. Go in informed, and make your vote count!
To find out more about how voting works, head to the Australian Electoral Commission website, where there are plenty of useful videos and other information about the voting process.
The simplest way to vote for the Greens is to collect a Greens’ how to vote card on polling day and put Greens first on both of your ballot papers. By doing so, you’re sending a strong message to the major parties about the issues you care about. Remember, your vote is powerful - Greens members of Parliament can’t get elected without your support!
There’s never been a more important moment in history to vote Greens. With a Government bent on downplaying the impacts of climate change, and so many other environmental challenges, a vote for the Greens is a vote for a greener, fairer future for all of us.
A motion is a proposal that represents the will of the House. There are two types of motions. Substantive motions are self-contained proposals that represent the opinion of the House, while subsidiary motions relate to Parliamentary procedure.
Head to my contact page to see the various ways you can get in touch. My team look forward to hearing from you!