Parliament of Australia House of Representatives House is not
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Current section pages You are here: All members of Parliament
are elected. Each one of the 150 members of the House of
Representatives (MPs) is elected by about 85,000 voters in each
electorate. Senators represent states. Each state is represented
by 12 senators while each territory has two senators. A new
Commonwealth (national) law can only be made, or an existing law
changed or removed, by or under the authority of the federal
Parliament, that is, by or in accordance with an Act of
Parliament. Parliamentary committees investigate specific
matters of policy or government administration or performance.
The government consists of members of the political party that
wins an election and has the majority of members in the House of
Representatives. This party and/or its leader (the Prime
Minister) select fellow parliamentarians to be the ministers who
run departments. Some ministers are sen