President of the Western Australian Legislative Council

The President of the Western Australian Legislative Council, also known as the Presiding Officer of the Council, is the presiding officer of the Western Australian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia. The position is analogous to that of the President of the Australian Senate.

President of the
Western Australian Legislative Council
Incumbent
Kate Doust
since 23 May 2017
StyleThe Honourable
Mr / Madam President
(in the Council)
AppointerThe Monarch's representative at the behest of the Legislative Council
Term lengthElected at start of each Parliament
Inaugural holderSir Thomas Cockburn-Campbell
Formation29 December 1890
DeputySimon O'Brien
Websitewww.parliament.wa.gov.au

The role of the President

The President is always a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, and is the ceremonial head of that Council. The President therefore performs ceremonial duties, and represents the Council to other organisations. In conjunction with the Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the President is responsible for the administration of the Western Australian Parliament. When the Council is sitting, the President enforces procedures, maintains order, puts questions after debate and ensures each member of the chamber gets a fair opportunity to speak to matters under debate. The President also makes decisions and formal rulings with regards to the chamber's standing orders.

Election of the President

The President of the Legislative Council is elected by the other members of the Council in accordance with Section 49 of the Constitution Act 1889. They must be elected after each general election or upon the death, resignation or removal of a previous President, and can be brought down by a vote of the chamber's members (although this has never happened in Western Australia), so must maintain the confidence of the chamber.

List of Presidents of the Legislative Council
Note: where no political party is listed, this means that either the party is unknown, or that the President in question was not affiliated with any particular party. Multiple parties are listed in cases where the President represented more than one party over his career as a Member of the Legislative Council.
OrderPresidentParty
(if applicable)		Term beginTerm endTerm in officeNotes
1Sir Thomas Cockburn-CampbellN/A29 December 189027 September 18921 year, 273 days
2Sir George ShentonN/A11 October 189221 May 190613 years, 222 days
3Sir Henry BriggsIndependent21 June 19068 June 191912 years, 352 days
4Sir Walter KingsmillIndependent31 July 191921 May 19222 years, 294 days
5Sir Edward WittenoomNationalist27 July 19229 August 19264 years, 43 days
6Sir John KirwanIndependent10 August 192621 May 194619 years, 284 days
7James CornellLiberal25 July 194625 November 1946123 days
8Sir Harold SeddonLiberal26 November 194621 May 19547 years, 176 days
9Anthony LotonCountry14 June 19546 August 19584 years, 53 days
10Sir Charles LathamCountry7 August 195821 May 19601 year, 288 days
11Sir Leslie DiverCountry28 July 196021 May 197413 years, 297 days
12Sir Arthur GriffithLiberal22 May 197421 May 19772 years, 364 days
13Clive Edward GriffithsLiberal24 May 197721 May 199719 years, 362 days
14George CashLiberal27 May 199721 May 20013 years, 359 days
15John CowdellLabor22 May 200121 May 20053 years, 364 days
16Nick GriffithsLabor24 May 200521 May 20093 years, 362 days
17Barry HouseLiberal22 May 200921 May 20177 years, 364 days
18Kate DoustLabor23 May 2017present3 years, 248 days

See also

References
  • "President of the Legislative Council" (PDF). Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
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