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●What is Parliament House?
It is where the members of Parliament meet
et together and
discuss a bill. The Parliament House building was designed by
Mitchell/Giurgola and Thorp Architects. This was the winning
entry from 329 entries in an international competition to design
a new Parliament House. The selected site covers 32 hectares
(79.07372 acres) on Capital Hill.
●Where is Parliament House?
Parliament House in Canberra on Capital Hill
Some facts about Parliament House
●Some
Parliament House is said to last another 200 years. Also some
facts about the flag that is on the top of parliament house. The
flag pole is 81 metres tall and weighs 220 tonnes. The flag is
12.8 metres by 6.4 metres which is about the same size as the
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side of a double-decker bus. It is possibly the largest Australian
flag flying in Australia. The total cost of the parliament house
building was $1.1 billion. There are 4,500 rooms with a total
area of 250,000 square metres. The House of Representatives
chamber also known as the lower house is green which is the
colour of the Australian eucalypt and acacia trees. The Senate
chamber is red, the colour of the soils and red gums. The House
of Representatives has 536 seats in the public galleries and the
Senate can seat 596 people in the galleries. The Parliamentary
Education Office website states that to become an MP you have
to:
- be over 18 years of age
- be an Australian citizen
- pay a campaign fee and
- win a seat by receiving a 50%+1 majority in a general or byelection.
●Who is the Prime Minister?
The current Prime Minister is Julia Gillard. She has been prime
minister since late last year. The last ten prime minister
are Harold Holt, John McEwen, John Gorton, William McMahon,
Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John
Howard, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.
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The Senate chamber which is also known as the upper house is
red which is the colour of the soils and red gums are. The
senate can seat 596 people in the galleries. At the centre table
also sit the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. Government ministers
and opposition shadow ministers sit behind their desk in the
front row on their respective sides. The backbenchers, who sit
behind, like the ministers and shadow ministers, have their own
seat and desk. The seating plan for senators and parliamentary
officials is similar to the House of Representatives. The
President presides from a large chair at the western end of the
chamber. Government senators sit to the President’s right and
the members of the opposition sit to the President’s left.
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The House of Representatives chamber also known as the lower
house is green which is the colour of the Australian eucalypt and
acacia trees. The House of Representatives has 536 seats in the
public galleries. The 150 members are elected for three years,
each representing an electorate of about 125,000 people, of
whom approximately 94,000 are eligible to vote. The leader of
the government (Prime Minister) and the opposition (Leader of
the Opposition) also sit at the centre table. Government
ministers and opposition shadow ministers sit on a long bench
seat in the front row on their respective sides. The
backbenchers who sit behind each have their own seat and desk.
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www.peo.gov.au
www.google.com
http://en.wikipedia.org
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