Congress of the Concadian Capital Territory

The Congress of the Concadian Capital Territory is a bicameral legislature in the Concadian Capital Territory (CCT), consisting of the CCT House of Assembly (lower house) and the CCT Federal Council (upper house). Each house is directly elected by the people of the Concadian Capital Territory at elections held every three years. The Congress derives its authority from the Concadian Capital Territory Act 1743 and the Federal Government, represented through the Territorial Governor, the Secretary of State for Federal Affairs, who chairs the Territorial Cabinet. The Congress has devolved law-making powers from the Federal Parliament.

It is located at Assembly Hall in the City of Artovia.

History
The Congress of the Concadian Capital Territory was founded in 1743 following the passage of the Concadian Capital Territory Act 1743, however, it was initially known as the Territorial Assembly as the original legislature was unicameral. Due to its creation through an Act of Parliament, the powers of the Assembly were only devolved, not constitutionally protected. Because of this there were many clashes between the Federal and Territorial Parliaments and Governments in the early years of devolution as both parties felt the other was overstepping its authority. At the beginning of the 19th century tensions eased and an understanding was reached between the Federal and Territorial Parliaments. Since then there have been very few disagreements with regards to the scope of the Congress' powers.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th there was a large migration of people from the states to Artovia and the surrounding towns. This huge boom in population led to the passage of the Concadian Capital Territory (Bicameralism) Act 1904 passing the Federal Parliament which led to the creation of the Federal Council. The Territorial legislature was now looking much more similar to the state legislatures with the creation of an upper chamber. The new Act also increased the number of AMs in the House and officially established the Congress of the Concadian Capital Territory. The voting system for the territory was changed to mixed-member proportional, acting as a trial run before the system was implemented on a national level for Federal elections.

Since the 1904 Act the Congress has remained almost exactly the same, with the only difference being an increase in the number of members of each house.

Assembly Hall
Since its establishment as the Territorial Assembly in 1743, the Congress has sat in Assembly Hall in Artovia. Originally built with only one chamber in mind, the chamber for the Federal Council was created by converting the grand entrance hall into the second chamber. A new entrance was constructed in between the chambers following the conversion. Since then the Hall has remained in use by the Congress with the only major changes being the addition of seats to accompany the new members.

Composition and Powers
The legislative authority has three parts: The Federal Government, represented by the Territorial Governor, the House of Assembly, and the Federal Council. No individual may simultaneously be a member of both houses.

All 400 members of the House of Assembly are elected at each territorial election from a mixture of single-member districts and party lists to terms of up to three years. The 175 Federal Councillors are elected for up to two terms (maximum of 6 years), with half elected at each territorial election. Elections for the Federal Council are conducted through the system of single-transferable vote with the territory being divided up into 35 super districts with 5 members per district.

In the running of Congress, the two presiding officers have roles similar to that of Ministers and their departments. The Speaker of the House of Assembly and the President of the Federal Council are responsible for employing staff. In consultation with Congressional Clerks, the presiding officers determine the policy for the operation of their respective chambers.

Federal Assent is required for all bills to become law. The Territorial Governor also has powers which do not depend on Congress, through prerogative powers, which include among others the ability to dissolve Congress, make treaties, appoint officers and civil servants, and appoint and dismiss the Chief Minister. In practice many of these powers are exercised by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister and Cabinet. The Chief Minister and Government are directly accountable to Congress through its control of public finances and the need for its confidence, and to the public through Assembly Members and Federal Councillors.

The Chief Minister is elected by the members of the House of Assembly and appointed by the Territorial Governor following those results. The Chief Minister then forms a government from both houses of Congress.

The current Chief Minister of the Concadian Capital Territory is the Rt Hon Olivia Baker AM of the Socialist Labour Party.

Government Ministers, including the Chief Minister, must regularly answer questions in both chambers and there are a number of select committees that scrutinise particular issues and the government itself. There are also methods by which AMs and Federal Councillors can bring the government's attention to the needs of constituents.

For a bill to become law, it must be passed by both the House of Assembly and the Federal Council and be assented by the Governor.