Opposition (7) Crossbench (6) The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia.

Under this arrangement, there was also a governing Council comprising the Governor, the Judge or Chief Justice, the Colonial Secretary, the Advocate-General and the Resident Commissioner, with broad legislative and executive powers including the imposition of rates, duties, and taxes.

The Act also made provision for a commission to initiate the establishment of democratic government, electoral districts, requirements for voting rights, and terms of office.

In addition, the reforms meant that the Governor no longer oversaw proceedings, with the role being filled by a Speaker who had been elected by the members.

This laid out the means for true self-government, and created a bicameral system, which involved delegating most of its legislative powers to the new House of Assembly.

Women earned the right to vote in the Council at the same time as the Assembly, in 1895, the first Parliament in Australia to do so, under the radical Premier Charles Kingston.

The electoral districts were drawn with a heavy bias in favour of rural areas in place, with half of the council being elected each time.

[citation needed] The conservative members in the council were very independent, and differed markedly from their counterparts in the House of Assembly.

During the long reign of Liberal and Country League (LCL) Premier Sir Thomas Playford, they would prove to be an irritant, and Labor support was sometimes required for bills to pass.

When a Labor government was eventually elected in 1965 and began introducing social legislation that was anathema to LCL councillors, they would delay, obstruct and modify such bills.

The councillors, however, saw their actions (in the words of MLC Sir Arthur Rymill) necessary to "oppose... radical moves that I feel would not be in the permanent will of the people.

Under the original 1856 Constitution, the franchise was restricted to men, "having a freehold estate in possession, either legal or equitable, situate within the said Province, of the clear value of Fifty Pounds sterling money above all charges and encumbrances affecting the same, or having a leasehold estate in possession, situate within the said Province, the lease thereof having been registered in the General Registry Office, for the registration of deeds, and having three years to run at the time of voting, or containing a clause authorising the lessee to become the purchaser of the land thereby demised, or occupy a dwelling house of the clear annual value of Twenty-five Pounds sterling money.

"[11] In 1907, the right to vote was extended to any person occupying a dwelling house, or "dwelling house and premises appurtenant thereto", with an annual rent of at least 17 pounds per annum (excluding any payment of rent by a wife to her husband); to a registered proprietor of a leasehold on which there were improvements to the value of at least 50 pounds and which were the property of the proprietor.

At the same time, the franchise was also extended to ministers of religion, school head teachers, postmasters, railway stationmasters, and the officer in charge of a police station.

[11] In 1918, the right to vote for members of the upper house was extended to all those who had served in armed forced in the First World War.

Dunstan, a social reformist, tired of the council's obstructionist attitude, and put forward bills for its reform.

These changes would remove the council's rural bias as well as all restrictions on suffrage (other than the age of majority, though this was lowered from 21 to 18 years).

2 One ex-Independent/Nick Xenophon Team MP was created a new state political party named Advance SA in September 2017.