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The development of the Legislative Council 1850-1995
Establishing parliament Early reforms Modern reforms References Establishing parliament When the Australian colonies were first granted responsible government in the 1850's, a system of bicameral or two chamber Parliaments was established on the Westminster model in each of the States - a lower house elected by popular adult franchise and an upper house to protect against the excesses of popular democracy in the lower house. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Legislative Council was appointed by the Governor (on the advice of the Premier) and members served for life. There was no limit to the number of members and these generally grew as successive governments appointed more members.
Legislative Assembly, c. 1850s Courtesy of NSW Parliament Archives	The bicameral model was established in NSW in May 1856 and it replaced the unicameral or single chamber Legislative Council which had existed from 1824. Under the model in NSW, the Legislative Assembly or lower house was first elected on a property franchise, with virtually full adult male franchise introduced in 1858, a right not granted in Britain until 1918. The Legislative Council or upper house was designed as a safe, revising, deliberative and conservative element between the lower house and the Governor. Members were appointed by the Governor (on the advice of the Premier), membership was for life and there was no upper limit on the number of members. Thirty-two members took their seats at the first sitting in 1856 and the Council reached a peak of 125 members in 1932.
The absence of an upper limit on the number of members of the Council in New South Wales provided a device for the government to "swamp" the Council in an attempt to resolve deadlocks between the two Houses. In NSW the practice of "swamping" the Council with additional members who, in theory, could be relied upon to support the government was used on a number of occasions, but the newly appointed members did not always vote as expected.
Early reforms During the 1920’s the Labor Premier Jack Lang advocated the abolition of the Legislative Council so that there would be less resistance to his legislative program. Bang's attempts at abolition encouraged the non-Labor parties to embark on a policy of reform of the Council. In 1929 the Bavin Government amended the Constitution Act to require a referendum before the composition or powers of the Council could be altered. Bavin also secured the passage of a Bill through both Houses in 1929 to provide for a Council of 60 members elected by the members of both House, but the Bill was never submitted to a referendum at the time because of the economic crisis.
Legislative Assembly, 1919 Courtesy of NSW Parliament Archives
The requirement to hold a referendum for abolition of the Council was tested by the new Lang Government in 1930 when a Bill to abolish the Council was passed by both Houses. However, presentation of the Bill for assent by the Governor was restrained by a Court injunction requiring approval of any change at a referendum before assent by the Governor. The Stevens Government, elected following Bang's dismissal in 1932 secured the appointment of 21 members to the Council to offset Bang's 25 appointees and revived Bavin's 1929 reform of the Council which was based on the findings of the 1918 Bryce Committee into the powers of the House of Lords. Reform was need, Bavin believed, in order to remove the threat of stacking. The main features of the Stevens reforms, approved at a referendum in 1933, were:
There would be 60 members composed of 15 elected every 3 years for fixed terms of twelve years by the combined members of both houses by proportional representation. With all other Bills, where a deadlock occurred between the two Houses, then following a series of procedures over 9 months, a Bill could be submitted to a referendum of the electors for approval.	Legislative Assembly, c.1930s Courtesy of NSW Parliament Archives
Modern reforms The Wran Government had reform of the Legislative Council as one of its priorities on election in 1976. As the only Legislative Council in the country not popularly elected, and with no reform proposal of their own, it was hard for the Liberal and National Parties to oppose reform. However, they used their Council majority to reject Labor's proposed "list" system of proportional representation, and following negotiations between the two houses, a compromise was reached. The main features of the agreed reforms were:
The Council was to be composed of 45 members elected for three terms of the Legislative Assembly, a maximum of nine years. One third of the Council was to retire at each Assembly election. A system of proportional representation similar to the Commonwealth Senate was adopted. Optional preferential voting was to be used, with voters required to indicate at least 10 preferences. Under transitional arrangements, 32 members retired and 28, broken into two groups of 14, retained their seats. These two groups were to be replaced by 15 members elected at the 1981 and 1984 elections. The Council was therefore composed of 43 members from 1978-81, and 44 members from 1981-84.
The first popular election for the Legislative Council was conducted in conjunction with the 1978 state election. Before the 1988 election, the ballot paper was modified to adopt the system of 'ticket' or 'above the line' voting introduced to the Senate in 1984. This system allows voters to cast a vote for a party by filling in only one box, and the determination of preferences is then made from a registered distribution lodged with the Electoral Commissioner. In 1991, the ballot paper was further modified by the addition of party names.
Legislative Assembly, c. 1995 Courtesy of NSW Parliament Archives	The introduction of four year terms for the Legislative Assembly from 1984 meant that Councillors' maximum terms could be 12 years. The Greiner government acted to correct this, and following a referendum passed at the 1991 election, the Council was restructured to consist of 42 members serving two terms of the Assembly, an eight year maximum, with half of the members (21) retiring at each election. The number of preferences that must be indicated on a ballot paper was increased to 15. The first election for 21 members took place in March 1995.
References Australian Political Facts Second Edition Ian McAllister, Malcolm Mackerras and Carolyn Brown Boldiston Melbourne: Macmillan. 1997. GREEN, Antony: "Electing the New South Wales Legislative Council 1978 to 1995: Past Results and Future Prospects" Background Paper No 1995/2 For full information on the Legislative Council, see "The Role of the NSW Legislative Council", Parliament of NSW Legislative Council Information Sheet No. 25, August 1990. See also Ken Turner, House of Review, The NSW Legislative Council, 1934-68, Sydney University Press, 1969; R.S. Parker, The Government of NSW, University of Queensland Press, 1978, pp197-218, Ken Turner, "New Rules of the Game" in Ernie Chaples, Helen Nelson and Ken Turner, The Wran Model, Oxford University Press 1985, pp79-81; and Barbara Page, The Legislative Council of NSW: Past Present and Future, Background Paper 1990/1, NSW Parliamentary Library. For interstate comparison, see Joan Rydon, "Upper Houses - The Australian Experience", in G.S. Reid (ed), The Role of Upper Houses Todav, Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Workshop of the Australian Study of Parliament Group, 1983, pp22-42.