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you are here: > United Australia
> Article 54
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6. State Objects
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| Article 54- State Congress | ||
| 54.1 | State Congress | |
| All state legislative Powers shall be vested in a State Parliament (State Congress), which shall consist of one house – a Congress. The Congress shall be comprised of five (5) elected representatives from each Local Assembly of the appropriate region. | ||
| Congress men and women shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years corresponding to the fixed terms of the State Executive. | ||
| 54.2 | Power of the Congress | |
| Vested by the Charter, a State Congress shall have the power to review all bills proposed by the State Executive and proposed as law, all budgets, expenditure and official planning of the state executive. | ||
| The State Congress shall not have the power to block money Bills required for the general operation and function of a State Government. | ||
| A State Congress shall also have the power to commission State Commissions of Investigation with the power to call any man, woman or person within the state and any information located within the borders of the state to review. | ||
| Vested by the Charter, a State Congress shall have the power to create new bills and amend existing laws into bills for review. | ||
| The State Congress shall also have the power to create new budgets for expenditure and financial management of the State as well as to review the appointments of any person by the state executive to a permanent position prescribed by this Charter. | ||
| A State Congress also has vested by this Charter the power to commission a State Impeachment for the forced removal of any elected official from the Governor to any position within any branch of government in the state. | ||
| 54.3 | Congress Sessions | |
| Excepting a state election year, every year there shall be four sessions of fixed days corresponding to equal divisions of the year whereby members of Congress are summonsed to attend. | ||
| Each of these sessions shall be named for the season to which they correspond, namely Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring Session. A day within a session when members are summonsed to sit in Parliament shall be called a State Sitting Session Day. | ||
| A day within a session when members of both houses of Parliament are not summonsed to sit in Parliament shall be called a Non-Sitting Session Day. | ||
| During a year in which a state election is to be called, the State Parliament shall not sit for the Spring session. Instead the last session of State Parliament before it is dissolved shall be the Winter session. | ||
| 54.4 | Operation of State Congress | |
| (a). Life of Parliament | ||
| Parliament shall exist for a fixed period of four (4) years before being dissolved ahead of State Elections for a new Parliament. | ||
| (b). Office of Speaker of State Congress (State Speaker) | ||
| Responsibility for good conduct and control of the State Congress and the scheduling of business within the chamber shall be vested in the Office of Speaker of State Congress (State Speaker). | ||
| The Speaker of a State Congress shall be an independent role, free from political party preferences. The candidate shall be elected by the new assembly themselves on the first day of sitting of the new parliament after a State Election. | ||
| (c). Dissolution of Parliament | ||
| Parliament shall be dissolved every four years following that last day of the Winter Session for both houses of Parliament. | ||
| The instrument of dissolution shall be three writs issued by the Governor: | ||
| (1) To the State Speaker of the State Congress ordering the chamber to be sealed until a new Parliament is elected; and | ||
| (2) To the Directors of the State Board of Directors ordering the government to institute caretaker provisions which forbids the appointment of any new positions, the announcement of any new projects or the commissioning of any new expenditure; and | ||
| (3) To the national director of the National Election Commission requiring the commencement of State Election provisions for the conduct of a State Election to elect a new State Executive Government and State Parliament (Congress). | ||
| (d). Date of State Election | ||
| The date of a national election shall always occur within the Spring months, allowing 40 days prior to the date of the election for the official campaign period. | ||
| (e). Formation of new Parliament | ||
| The formation of a new Parliament shall occur within 14 days after the State Election day following the count and verification of all votes. | ||
| The instrument of formation of a new State Parliament shall be three declarations from the State Director of the National Election Commission: | ||
| (1) To each successful candidate for election to Congress confirming their validity as the rightful representative of their Local Assembly; and | ||
| (2) To the successful candidate for election as Governor confirming their validity as the rightful executive to form government; and | ||
| (3) To the caretaker Governor that the election result has been verified and that writs to summons successful candidates to be sworn into State Parliament and form the new State Executive must now be issued. | ||
| Upon receipt of the declaration, the caretaker Governor shall be required to issue writs within seven (7) days for the summonsing to Parliament of successful candidates to form the new Parliament and Executive. | ||
| (f). Quorum | ||
| The minimum number of members (quorum) required to be present within the chamber of Congress to permit the full exercise of its powers shall be one third the total number of members of that house. | ||
| Congress shall not be permitted to undertake procedures that require a quorum if the total number of members in that House is not equal or greater to the quorum. | ||
| (g). Voting | ||
| Excluding the election of officials, voting in Congress shall be by open vote expressed as either Yes or No to the proposition before the chamber. | ||
| Voting shall always require a quorum and shall follow the standard procedures listed in this Charter. | ||
| Total votes shall be tallied as either Yes, or No to the proposition expressed by the Bill. A higher total number of Yes votes to No votes shall deem the Bill or proposition has been passed. A higher total number of No votes to Yes votes shall deem the Bill or proposition has been defeated. | ||
| The record, attendance and vote of all members of Congress shall be recorded on the public record. | ||
| (h). Congress session length | ||
| The total length of a Congress session shall be determined by the State Speaker and shall not be permitted to exceed 14 Sitting Session Days in total within a seven (7) day period. | ||
| (i). Congress attendance | ||
| The State Speaker shall be responsible for the issuing of summons to individual State Congressional representatives for their attendance to Parliament. | ||
| Excepting special leave granted by the State Speaker due to matters of national security, health or extended personal matters, all Congressional representatives shall be required to attend the Sitting Session Days as listed in the summons. | ||
| Failure of a State Congress representative to attend five (5) or more Session Sitting Days within one Session shall be deemed a failure to discharge the duties of their office and the State Speaker shall be responsible for immediately initiating a Congressional Expulsion Motion or a Director Expulsion Motion should the Congressional representative be a State Director. | ||
| 54.5 | Formation of a Temporary Congress | |
| A temporary State Congress is formed when approval is given to an application to form an State Congress by two (2) or more certified temporary or permanent community leaders and a minimum of sixteen (16) Living Members: | ||
| (a) That each member on the application is a current and valid certified member of the United Australia Free Society; and | ||
| (b) That each member on the application currently resides in the geographic area belonging to the proposed State Congress; and | ||
| (c) That no State Congress currently exists for this region; and | ||
| (d) That none of the applicants have previously applied for the formation of a State Congress. | ||
| Approval of such an application shall be the responsibility of the National Senate. If no National Senate exists, it shall be the responsibility of the temporary administrator. | ||
| A temporary State Congress shall have the right to participate in national elections. | ||
| Upon approval of granting the creation of a temporary State Congress, the temporary Council must within ninety (90) days: | ||
| (a) Elect a temporary Governor from amongst the community leaders as prime representative; and | ||
| (b) Elect and appoint a temporary regional board to support the Governor; and | ||
| (c) Register with the appropriate regional government agencies for status as a non-profit charity including a copy of this Covenant, appropriate fees and Member lists, board members and all other required documentation; and | ||
| (d) Open a bank account with at least two signatories and provide this bank account to the national executive. If no national executive exists, it shall be forwarded to the temporary administrator; and | ||
| (e) Provide a copy of the registration papers of non-profit charity status. | ||
| If any of these items are failed to be actioned within ninety (90) days, by this Covenant the National Senate, or temporary administrator has the right to revoke the approval of the temporary regional council | ||
| 54.6 | Formation of a permanent Congress | |
| Within two hundred and seventy (270) Days since the formation of a temporary State Congress, permanency shall be granted to a temporary State Congress providing the following conditions are met: | ||
| (a) That the number of Assemblies for the region now constitutes at least two (2) and that total membership of the Region is at least seventy-two (72) living members; and | ||
| (b) That the State Congress has held elections and elected a Board; and | ||
| (c) That no action contravening this Covenant has occurred with the original applicants that would warrant an Internal investigation or their expulsion. | ||
| 54.7 | Disbandment of a temporary Congress | |
| If by two hundred and seventy (270) Days since the formation of a temporary State Congress one or more of the conditions for permanency are not met, the appropriate permanent National Senate shall have the right to disband the temporary State Congress and revoke its status. | ||
| If no permanent National Senate yet exists, it shall be the responsibility of the temporary administrator. | ||
| Upon disbandment, the persons originally making the application for a temporary State Congress are not permitted to directly re-apply for a new State Congress, nor hold office for a period of not less than one (1) year. | ||
| 54.8 | Wind-up of a permanent Congress | |
| The wind-up of a permanent State Congress is when an order is granted by the National Senate for a permanent State Congress to be wound up, its assets seized, its membership re-allocated or suspended and the State Congress itself deregistered. | ||
| Such an order is an order of last resort and must be subject to a formal vote of the Senate based only on one or more of the criteria being in existence: | ||
| (a) That the total active membership of the Assemblies within the region of the State Congress has been less than 72 for twelve months or more; or | ||
| (b) That the entire Executive has been expelled from United Australia Free Society and that the majority of remaining members represent members of their former network; or | ||
| (c) That the State Congress is bankrupt and unable to continue to pay its financial obligations with no prospect of independent financial income in the future to meet its ongoing obligations. | ||
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