Politics of Victoria

Victoria has a bicameral parliament. The Legislative Assembly (lower house) is composed of 88 members of parliament, each of whom represent a single electorate. The voting system is preferential. Until recently, Members of the Assembly serve for between three and four years; after being voted in in an early election, the Bracks Government has made terms a fixed length of four years. The Legislative Council (upper house) is organised into 22 electoral provinces, each with two members. Council members serve for two terms of the Assembly, with half submitting themselves to the electorate at each election. Hence, the Council never formally dissolves. The Queen of Victoria, who is the same person as the Queen of Australia and the Queen of the United Kingdom has a representative called the governor who formally appoints the elected premier. In practice the governor has no real power.

The two main parties are the Labor and Liberal (the more conservative) party. Smaller parties include the Nationals (conservative), the Greens, and the Democrats.

Notable Victorian political figures

Catholic Archbishop Daniel Mannix (opponent of conscription in World War I)

John Wren - notorious bookmaker, underworld figure and politician. The famous novel "Power without Glory" by Frank Hardy as based on his exploits. Unsuccessful attempts were made to suppress the novel on the grounds of libel.

Robert Menzies: Australians longest serving Prime Minister held office during the 1950s and 1960s. Remembered for anti-communism, extreme devotion to the Queen and Empire, and for a period of particular prosperity and a sense of well-being and stability in Australia.

Henry Bolte: Conservative populist premier responsible for the last judicial execution (the hanging of Ronald Ryan in 1967)

Jeff Kennett: Conservative populist premier. He was one of the most aggressive proponents of privatisation in the world, who was inspired by, but went beyond Margaret Thatcher. Roads, prisons, power, hospitals, trams and railways were privatised. He massively reduced Victoria public debt, and reduced public assets by an even greater proportion. His aggressive reforms led to a surprise electoral loss in 1999 to the current Premier (2002) Steve Bracks.