The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, elected from five electorates ―
Brindabella,
Ginninderra,
Kurrajong,
Murrumbidgee and
Yerrabi ― each having five members. Members are elected for four-year terms by the
Hare-Clark system, a variation of the
Single Transferable Vote form of
proportional representation. Members of the Legislative Assembly vote to elect a
Chief Minister. In practice, Chief Minister is the leader of whichever party is able to form
government. The Chief Minister, in turn, selects
ministers to form a
cabinet. The leader of the second-largest party in the Assembly usually becomes the
Leader of the Opposition. Election dates for the Assembly are fixed in legislation, with elections held on the third Saturday in October every four years (until 1997, elections were held in February). The term of the Assembly was increased in 2004 from three to four years. The
last election was held on Saturday the 19th of October, 2024, with the next election expected to be held on 21 October 2028.
Current electorates Brindabella Electing five members to the Assembly,
Brindabella contains the town centre and all of the suburbs of
Tuggeranong. It also includes all of the ACT which is south of the
Murrumbidgee River, thus making it the largest electorate by area. It used to exclude the whole of the suburb of
Kambah.
Ginninderra Electing five members to the Assembly,
Ginninderra contains the town centre and all of the suburbs of
Belconnen excluding
Giralang and
Kaleen. Its southern boundary was the
Molonglo River prior to the 2016 election. It used to exclude the suburbs of
Evatt,
Lawson and
McKellar.
Kurrajong Electing five members to the Assembly,
Kurrajong contains all the suburbs of
Inner North Canberra,
Inner South Canberra and
Oaks Estate. It used to include the suburbs of
Deakin,
Yarralumla,
Forrest and
Red Hill.
Murrumbidgee Electing five members to the Assembly,
Murrumbidgee contains all the suburbs of the
Molonglo Valley,
Weston Creek,
Woden Valley and also includes the suburbs of
Deakin,
Yarralumla,
Forrest and
Red Hill. It used to also include the whole of the suburb of
Kambah.
Yerrabi Electing five members to the Assembly,
Yerrabi contains all the suburbs of
Gungahlin as well as the
Belconnen suburbs of
Giralang and
Kaleen and the village of
Hall. It used to also include the suburbs of
Evatt,
Lawson and
McKellar.
Former electorates Molonglo Molonglo was an electorate of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly that was contested from the 1995 election to the 2012 election, it covered
Inner North Canberra,
Inner South Canberra,
Weston Creek and most of the suburbs of
Woden and
Gungahlin. It was a 7-seat electorate.
Current government The current Chief Minister is Andrew Barr, who is also the Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism and Trade. The position of Chief Minister is analogous to the Premier in the Australian states. Barr is the longest serving Chief Minister in ACT history, as well as the longest serving current Premier or Chief Minister in Australia, having taken the post in December 2014. The
ACT Labor Party has been in power since 2001, although with the exception of 2004-2008, have served in minority or coalition governments with the support of the ACT Greens. At the
2020 Australian Capital Territory election, 10 Labor members, 9 Liberal members and 6 Greens members were elected. Following the expulsion of
Elizabeth Kikkert from the
Canberra Liberals party room on 10 September 2024, the Liberals were left with 8 members, with Kikkert becoming an independent. At the
2024 Australian Capital Territory election, 10 Labor members, 9 Liberal members, 4 Green members, 1 Independent for Canberra member, and 1 Fiona Carrick Independent member were elected, with Labor to hold power in a minority government.
Salary , Members of the Legislative Assembly are paid a base salary of $188,798, while additional remuneration is provided depending on the additional office or role the member holds. ==History==