Background to the Legislative Council (Upper House)

In NSW there are three main elements of government: legislative, executive and judiciary.

The Legislature
The Legislature consists of the Parliament of New South Wales, made up of two Houses the Upper House or Legislative Council, and the Lower House or Legislative Assembly together with the Governor of New South Wales. The Legislature is responsible for making the laws that govern the state.

The Legislative Council, 2000
[Courtesy of NSW Parliament]

The Legislative Council is often also called the House of Review. In 1824, five legislative advisors to the Governor were appointed. Today there are 42 members democratically elected by the people to the Upper House.

The New South Wales Legislative Council operates under what is known as the quota system. This system operates on preferential voting.

There are 42 Members of the Legislative Council elected by the people of New South Wales with the whole State treated as one electorate. The House has a very diverse membership.

The Legislative Council is often also called the House of Review. The Council is equivalent to the Senate in the Federal Parliament. It's role as the House of Review is to act as brake on the excesses of government.

As the results show, some of those elected received less than one percent of the preferential vote. This included Peter Breen "Reform the Legal System" Party amongst others. The actual results can be found at the NSW State Electoral Commission website.

A number of changes to the role of the Legislative Council occurred since the 1999 election.