Members of the Australian Senate, 2016–2019

Composition (July 2016)
Composition of the Senate
Composition of the Senate

Government (30)
Coalition
  Liberal (21)
  Liberal National (5)[i]
  National (3)
  Country Liberal (1)[ii]

Opposition (26)
  Labor (26)

Crossbench (20)
  Greens (9)
  One Nation (4)
  Centre Alliance (3)
  Family First (1)
  DHJP (1)
  Jacqui Lambie (1)
  Liberal Democratic (1)
 

  1. ^ Three Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) senators sit in the Liberal party room, while two sit in the National party room.
  2. ^ Senator Nigel Scullion (Country Liberal) sits in the Nationals party room.

 

Composition (May 2019)
Composition of the Senate
Composition of the Senate

Government (31)
Coalition
  Liberal (22)
  Liberal National (5)[i]
  National (3)
  Country Liberal (1)[ii]

Opposition (26)
  Labor (26)

Crossbench (19)
  Greens (9)
  Centre Alliance (2)
  One Nation (2)
  DHJP (1)
  Conservatives (1)
  Liberal Democrat (1)
  Palmer United (1)
  Conservative National (1)
  Independent (1)[iii]
 

  1. ^ Three Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) senators sit in the Liberal party room, while two sit in the National party room.
  2. ^ Senator Nigel Scullion (Country Liberal) sits in the Nationals party room.
  3. ^ The independent senator is Tim Storer (South Australia) who was expelled from the Nick Xenophon Team before he was declared elected by the High Court in place of Skye Kakoschke-Moore.

 

This is a list of members of the Australian Senate following the 2016 Australian federal election held on 2 July 2016. The election was held as a consequence of a double dissolution in which both houses of parliament were dissolved. Ordinarily, only half of the senators terms end at each election. In this case, all 76 senators were elected. At the first sitting following the election, half of the senators representing each of the six states of Australia were allocated six-year terms to end on 30 June 2022, with the remainder allocated three-year terms to end on 30 June 2019.[1] The terms of senators from the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory end on the day of the next federal election.[2]

In accordance with section 13 of the Constitution,[3] it was left to the Senate to decide which senators were allocated six- and three-year terms. The senate resolved that the first elected six of twelve senators in each state would serve six-year terms, while the other six elected in each state would serve three-year terms. This had been the Senate practice on all seven previous occasions that required allocation of long and short terms.[4] In 1983 the Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform had unanimously recommended an alternative "recount" method to reflect proportional representation,[5] and section 282 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act was added in 1984 to provide for a recount on that basis.[6] This alternative method had been supported by both major parties in senate resolutions passed in 1998[7] and 2010.[4][8][9][10] Despite the previous resolutions, an agreement between Liberal's Mathias Cormann and Labor's Penny Wong led the Senate to choose the order-elected method again. As a result, in New South Wales, Labor's Deborah O'Neill got a six-year term at the expense of The Greens' Lee Rhiannon getting a three-year term, while in Victoria Liberal's Scott Ryan got a six-year term at the expense of the Justice Party's Derryn Hinch getting a three-year term. Both methods of allocation had the same outcome for all other senators.[11][12][13][14]

Senator Party State Term ending Years in office
Eric Abetz   Liberal Tasmania 2022 1994–2022
Fraser Anning [l]   One Nation/Katter's Australian Party/
Independent/Conservative National [o]		 Queensland 2019 2017–2019
Wendy Askew [z]   Liberal Tasmania 2022 [a] 2019–present
Chris Back [k]   Liberal Western Australia 2019 2009–2017
Andrew Bartlett [l][y]   Greens Queensland 2019 1997–2008, 2017–2018
Cory Bernardi   Liberal/Conservatives/Independent [g] South Australia 2022 2006–2020
Catryna Bilyk   Labor Tasmania 2019 2008–present
Simon Birmingham   Liberal South Australia 2022 2007–present
George Brandis [t]   Liberal National [ae] Queensland 2022 2000–2018
Slade Brockman [k]   Liberal Western Australia 2019 2017–present
Carol Brown   Labor Tasmania 2019 2005–present
Brian Burston   One Nation/United Australia Party [w] New South Wales 2019 2016–2019
David Bushby [z]   Liberal Tasmania 2022 [a] 2007–2019
Doug Cameron   Labor New South Wales 2019 2008–2019
Matt Canavan   Liberal National [af] Queensland 2022 2014–present
Kim Carr   Labor Victoria 2022 1993–2022
Michaelia Cash   Liberal Western Australia 2022 2008–present
Anthony Chisholm   Labor Queensland 2022 2016–present
Raff Ciccone [aa]   Labor Victoria 2019 2019–present
Richard Colbeck [n]   Liberal Tasmania 2019 2002–2016, 2018–present
Jacinta Collins [aa]   Labor Victoria 2019 1995–2005, 2008–2019
Stephen Conroy [c]   Labor Victoria 2022 1996–2016
Mathias Cormann   Liberal Western Australia 2022 2007–2020
Rod Culleton [f]   One Nation/Independent [e] Western Australia 2019 2016–2017
Sam Dastyari [r]   Labor New South Wales 2022 2013–2018
Bob Day [d]   Family First South Australia 2019 2014–2016
Richard Di Natale   Greens Victoria 2022 2011–2020
Pat Dodson   Labor Western Australia 2019 2016–2024
Jonathon Duniam   Liberal Tasmania 2022 [a] 2016–present
Don Farrell   Labor South Australia 2022 2008–2014, 2016–present
Mehreen Faruqi [x]   Greens New South Wales 2019 2018–present
David Fawcett   Liberal South Australia 2019 2011–present
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells   Liberal New South Wales 2022 [a] 2005–2022
Mitch Fifield   Liberal Victoria 2022 2004–2019
Alex Gallacher   Labor South Australia 2019 2011–2021
Katy Gallagher [u]   Labor Australian Capital Territory 2019 [b] 2015–2018, 2019–present
Peter Georgiou [f]   One Nation Western Australia 2019 2017–2019
Lucy Gichuhi [d]   Family First/Independent/Liberal [h][s] South Australia 2019 2017–2019
Stirling Griff   Xenophon/Centre Alliance South Australia 2022 2016–2022
Pauline Hanson   One Nation Queensland 2022 2016–present
Sarah Hanson-Young   Greens South Australia 2019 2008–present
Derryn Hinch   Justice Victoria 2019 2016–2019
Jane Hume   Liberal Victoria 2019 2016–present
Skye Kakoschke-Moore [q]   Xenophon South Australia 2019 2016–2017
Kristina Keneally [r]   Labor New South Wales 2022 2018–2022
Chris Ketter   Labor Queensland 2019 2014–2019
Kimberley Kitching [c]   Labor Victoria 2022 2016–2022
Jacqui Lambie[p]   Lambie Tasmania 2022 2014–2017, 2019–present
David Leyonhjelm [ab]   Liberal Democrats New South Wales 2019 2014–2019
Sue Lines   Labor Western Australia 2022 2013–present
Scott Ludlam [i][l]   Greens Western Australia 2022 2008–2017
Ian Macdonald   Liberal National [ae] Queensland 2019 1990–2019
Gavin Marshall   Labor Victoria 2019 2002–2019
Steve Martin ,[p][v]   Independent / National Tasmania 2019 2018–2019
Jenny McAllister   Labor New South Wales 2022 2015–present
Malarndirri McCarthy   Labor Northern Territory 2019 [b] 2016–present
James McGrath   Liberal National [ae] Queensland 2022 2014–present
Bridget McKenzie   National Victoria 2022 2011–present
Nick McKim   Greens Tasmania 2019 2015–present
Jim Molan [l]   Liberal New South Wales 2019 2017–2019, 2019-2023
Claire Moore   Labor Queensland 2019 2002–2019
Fiona Nash [l]   National New South Wales 2022 2005–2017
Deborah O'Neill   Labor New South Wales 2022 2013–present
Barry O'Sullivan   Liberal National [af] Queensland 2019 2014–2019
Stephen Parry [n]   Liberal Tasmania 2022 2005–2017
James Paterson   Liberal Victoria 2019 2016–present
Rex Patrick [m]   Xenophon/Centre Alliance South Australia 2022 2017–2022
Marise Payne   Liberal New South Wales 2022 1997–2023
Helen Polley   Labor Tasmania 2022 2005–present
Louise Pratt   Labor Western Australia 2019 2008–2014, 2016–present
Linda Reynolds   Liberal Western Australia 2019 2014–present
Lee Rhiannon [x]   Greens New South Wales 2019 2011–2018
Janet Rice   Greens Victoria 2019 2014–present
Malcolm Roberts [l]   One Nation Queensland 2019 2016–2017, 2019–present
Anne Ruston   Liberal South Australia 2019 2012–present
Scott Ryan   Liberal Victoria 2022 2008–2021
Nigel Scullion   Country Liberal [af] Northern Territory 2019 [b] 2001–2019
Zed Seselja   Liberal Australian Capital Territory 2019 [b] 2013–2022
Rachel Siewert   Greens Western Australia 2022 [a] 2005–2021
Lisa Singh   Labor Tasmania 2019 2011–2019
Arthur Sinodinos   Liberal New South Wales 2022 2011–2019
David Smith [u] [ac]   Labor Australian Capital Territory 2019 [b] 2018–2019
Dean Smith   Liberal Western Australia 2022 2012–present
Duncan Spender [ab]   Liberal Democrats New South Wales 2019 2019
Jordon Steele-John [l]   Greens Western Australia 2019 2017–present
Glenn Sterle   Labor Western Australia 2022 2005–present
Amanda Stoker [t]   Liberal National [ae] Queensland 2022 2018–2022
Tim Storer [q]   Independent South Australia 2019 2018–2019
Anne Urquhart   Labor Tasmania 2022 2011–present
Larissa Waters [j][l][y]   Greens Queensland 2019 2011–2017, 2018–present
Murray Watt   Labor Queensland 2022 2016–present
Peter Whish-Wilson   Greens Tasmania 2022 2012–present
John Williams   National New South Wales 2019 2008–2019
Penny Wong   Labor South Australia 2022 2002–present
Nick Xenophon [m]   Xenophon South Australia 2022 2008–2017

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f The term of some senators originally ended in 2019, but was extended to 2022 after resignations and recounts.[1]
  2. ^ a b c d e f The terms of senators from the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory end on the next dissolution of the House of Representatives.
  3. ^ a b c Victorian Labor Senator Stephen Conroy resigned on 30 September 2016. Kimberley Kitching was appointed as his replacement on 25 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c South Australian Family First Senator Bob Day resigned on 1 November 2016. The High Court held on 5 April 2017 that Day was "incapable of being chosen" as a Senator as he had an indirect interest in an agreement with the Commonwealth.[20] The High Court had previously held that the presence of a person whose election was void did not invalidate the proceedings of the Senate.[18] Day's seat was filled by a recount, and Lucy Gichuhi was declared elected on 19 April 2017.[21]
  5. ^ a b Culleton resigned from the One Nation party on 18 December 2016.[19]
  6. ^ a b c Western Australian Rod Culleton was declared bankrupt by the Federal Court of Australia on 11 January 2017, and as such was disqualified from being a Senator. The High Court subsequently held he was "incapable of being chosen" as a Senator as he was awaiting sentence on a criminal conviction.[17] The High Court had previously held that the presence of a person whose election was void did not invalidate the proceedings of the Senate.[18] Culleton's seat was filled by a recount, and on 10 March 2017 the High Court declared Peter Georgiou to be elected to the vacancy.
  7. ^ a b On 7 February 2017, Senator for South Australia Cory Bernardi resigned from the Liberal Party and founded the Australian Conservatives.[15] At the time of the 2019 Australian federal election, he was still the leader of said party. The party disbanded prior to the start of the following parliamentary term and Bernardi became an Independent member.
  8. ^ a b On 26 April 2017, Family First merged with the Australian Conservatives—with Lucy Gichuhi declining to join the new party, she became an independent.[22]
  9. ^ a b Scott Ludlam resigned on 14 July 2017 after realising he held New Zealand citizenship, due to legal advice that he was ineligible to be a senator under Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia.
  10. ^ a b Larissa Waters resigned on 18 July 2017 after realising she held Canadian citizenship, due to legal advice that she was ineligible to be a senator under Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia.
  11. ^ a b c Western Australian Liberal Senator Chris Back resigned on 31 July 2017. Slade Brockman was appointed as his replacement on 16 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i On 27 October 2017, the High Court of Australia ruled that Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts, Nationals Senator Fiona Nash and Greens Senator Larissa Waters were held to be "incapable of being chosen" as senators because they held foreign citizenship.[24] The High Court had previously held that the presence of a person whose election was void did not invalidate the proceedings of the Senate.[18] Their seats have been filled by a recount, which elected Jordon Steele-John, Fraser Anning and Andrew Bartlett, replacing Ludlam, Roberts and Waters respectively. Nash's replacement, Hollie Hughes, was referred to the full bench of the High Court, and was deemed ineligible under Section 44(iv). Jim Molan was elected on recount.[25]
  13. ^ a b c South Australian Senator and Nick Xenophon Team leader Nick Xenophon resigned from the Senate on 31 October 2017. Rex Patrick was appointed as his replacement on 14 November 2017.
  14. ^ a b c Tasmanian Liberal Senator and President of the Senate Stephen Parry resigned on 2 November 2017 from both positions after discovering he was a citizen of the United Kingdom, due to the recent High Court ruling that foreign citizens could not serve in parliament. Former Senator Richard Colbeck was declared duly elected by the High Court on 9 February 2018.
  15. ^ a b Fraser Anning was declared elected at a recount to replace Malcolm Roberts as a Senator for One Nation, but left the party within an hour of being sworn in on 13 November 2017.
  16. ^ a b c Tasmanian JLN Senator Jacqui Lambie resigned on 14 November 2017 after discovering she was a citizen of the United Kingdom, due to the recent High Court ruling that foreign citizens could not serve in parliament. Steve Martin, a JLN candidate in 2016, was declared duly elected by the High Court on 9 February 2018, following a special count. Lambie had expelled Martin from the party on 7 February, so he initially sat as an independent.
  17. ^ a b c South Australian NXT Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore resigned on 22 November 2017 after discovering she was a citizen of the United Kingdom, due to the recent High Court ruling that foreign citizens could not serve in parliament. Tim Storer, an NXT candidate in 2016, was declared duly elected by the High Court on 9 February 2018. Storer was expelled from the party in November 2017, and sits as an independent.
  18. ^ a b c Labor Senator Sam Dastyari resigned on 25 January 2018. Kristina Keneally was appointed as his replacement on 14 February 2018.
  19. ^ a b On 2 February 2018 Lucy Gichuhi joined the Liberal Party.[23]
  20. ^ a b c Queensland LNP Senator George Brandis resigned on 8 February 2018. Amanda Stoker was appointed as his replacement on 21 March 2018.
  21. ^ a b c On 9 May 2018, ACT Labor Senator Katy Gallagher was found by the High Court to be ineligible to be a senator. David Smith was elected in a special count as her replacement on 23 May 2018.
  22. ^ a b Steve Martin, formerly an independent Senator for Tasmania, joined the Nationals on 28 May 2018.[26]
  23. ^ a b On 18 June 2018, Brian Burston joined Clive Palmer's United Australia Party.[16]
  24. ^ a b c Lee Rhiannon resigned from the Senate on 15 August 2018. Her seat was filled by former New South Wales Legislative Council member Mehreen Faruqi.
  25. ^ a b c On 27 August 2018, Queensland Greens Senator Andrew Bartlett resigned from the Senate to contest the lower house Division of Brisbane. Larissa Waters was appointed as his replacement on 6 September 2018.
  26. ^ a b c On 21 January 2019, Tasmanian Liberal Senator David Bushby resigned from the Senate to take up the role of Australia's consul-general in Chicago. His sister Wendy Askew was appointed as his replacement on 6 March 2019.
  27. ^ a b c On 15 February 2019, Victorian Labor Senator Jacinta Collins resigned from the Senate. Raff Ciccone was appointed as her replacement on 6 March 2019.
  28. ^ a b c On 1 March 2019, New South Wales Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm resigned from the Senate to contest the New South Wales state election. Duncan Spender was appointed as his replacement on 20 March 2019.
  29. ^ a b David Smith resigned on 11 April 2019 to contest the lower house Division of Bean.
  30. ^ The changes to the composition of the Senate, in chronological order, were Conroy resigned,[c] Day resigned,[d] Culleton resigned from One Nation,[e] Culleton was declared bankrupt,[f] Bernardi resigned from the Liberal Party,[g] Gichuhi became an independent,[h] Ludlam resigned,[i] Waters resigned,[j] Back resigned,[k] the High Court ruled on the Citizenship 7,[l] Xenophon resigned,[m] Parry resigned,[n] Anning resigned from One Nation,[o] Lambie resigned,[p] Kakoschke-Moore resigned,[q] Dastyari resigned,[r] Gichuhi joined the Liberal Party,[s] Brandis resigned,[t] Gallagher resigned,[u] Martin joined the Nationals,[v] Burston joined the UAP,[w] Rhiannon resigned,[x] Bartlett resigned,[y] Bushby resigned,[z] Collins resigned,[aa] Leyonhjelm resigned,[ab] and Smith resigned.[ac]
  31. ^ a b c d Three Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) senators sit in the Liberal party room.
  32. ^ a b c Two Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) senators and one Country Liberal Party (CLP) senator sit in the Nationals party room. Nigel Scullion (CLP) is leader of the Nationals in the Senate.

References

  1. ^ a b "Senators by service expiry date". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2019.[a]
  2. ^ Odgers' Australian Senate Practice. Parliament of Australia.[b][ad]
  3. ^ Constitution (Cth) s 13 Rotation of senators.
  4. ^ a b "Division of the Senate following simultaneous general elections". Odgers' Australian Senate Practice (14th ed.). Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  5. ^ Joint Select Committee on Electoral Reform (13 September 1983). "First report - electoral reform" (PDF). Parliament of Australia. pp. 66–7.
  6. ^ Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) s 282 Re-count of Senate votes to determine order of election in other circumstances.
  7. ^ "Election of Senators" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. 29 June 1998. pp. 4326–4327.
  8. ^ "Double Dissolution". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Commonwealth of Australia: Senate. 22 June 2010. p. 3912.
  9. ^ Green, A (25 April 2016). "How long and short terms are allocated after a double dissolution". ABC.net.au.
  10. ^ "Double dissolution election: implications for the Senate". Parliament of Australia. 29 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Election 2016: Pauline Hanson secures six-year Senate term, Derryn Hinch has three years until re-election". ABC News. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Senate terms: Derryn Hinch and Greens' Lee Rhiannon given three years". The Guardian. 12 August 2016.
  13. ^ "ALP-LNP deal to force senators back to poll in three years". The Australian. 13 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Coalition and Labor team up to clear out crossbench senators in 2019". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 August 2016.
  15. ^ "Senator Cory Bernardi". aph.gov.au. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  16. ^ Gribbin, Caitlyn (18 June 2018). "Brian Burston joins Clive Palmer's United Australia Party as Senate leader". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  17. ^ McIlroy, Tom (11 January 2017). "Former One Nation senator Rodney Culleton officially removed from Parliament". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  18. ^ a b c Vardon v O'Loghlin [1907] HCA 69, (1907) 5 CLR 201.
  19. ^ Knott, Matthew (18 December 2016). "'I'm glad to see the back of him': Rod Culleton resigns from Pauline Hanson's One Nation party". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  20. ^ Re Day [No 2] [2017] HCA 14, "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court of Australia.
  21. ^ Doran, Matthew; Belot, Henry; Crothers, Joanna (19 April 2017). "Family First senator Lucy Gichuhi survives ALP challenge over citizenship concerns". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  22. ^ Belot, Henry (26 April 2017). "Cory Bernardi unwilling to wait for Lucy Gichuhi to 'get her head around' things". ABC News. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  23. ^ "Lucy Gichuhi, independent senator, joins Liberal Party". ABC News. 2 February 2018.
  24. ^ Re Canavan [2017] HCA 45. "Judgment summary" (PDF). High Court. 27 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Five of the Citizenship Seven booted by High Court". ABC News. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  26. ^ "Tasmanian Steve Martin joins the Nationals, boosting Coalition Senate numbers". afr.com. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.