Editing Two-party system (section)

===Senate===

On the other hand, the [[Australian Senate]] is effectively a multi-party system, and a Senate majority matching the House is very rare. It uses [[single transferable vote]] with multiple Senators for each state/territory. This results in rough [[proportional representation]] and as a result, third parties have much more influence and often hold the [[Balance of power (parliament)|balance of power]]. Since 2004, the [[Australian Greens]] have been the third largest party in the country, with 8-13% of the national vote and an equivalent amount of Senators. Prior to this, the [[Australian Democrats]] was the third largest party. Other current and past parties include [[One Nation (Australia)|One Nation]], the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Australia)|Liberal Democrats]] and [[Family First Party|Family First]].

Some Australian states have seen the rise of minor parties at either the state or federal level (eg: [[Centre Alliance]] in [[South Australia]], [[Katter's Australian Party]] in northern [[Queensland]], and the [[Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party]] in western New South Wales), while some have seen long periods of dominance by one party. Some parties are absent entirely in parts of the country.
* The [[Australian Capital Territory]] has had a [[Australian Labor Party (Australian Capital Territory Branch)|Labor]]/[[ACT Greens|Greens]] coalition government since 2012, opposed by the [[Liberal Party of Australia (A.C.T. Division)|Liberals]] (Nationals not present). Labor was in government alone from 2001-2012.
** Notably, the ACT is the only state/territory where the Greens have been in power.
* In the [[Northern Territory]], the two main parties are [[Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)|Labor]] and the [[Country Liberal Party]] (CLP), which aligns with the Coalition at the federal level.
* In [[Western Australia]], the [[Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division)|Liberal]] and [[National Party of Australia (WA)|National parties]] are not in a permanent coalition at the state level. At the [[2021 Western Australian state election]] [[Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch)|Labor]] won 53 out of 59 lower house seats in a landslide victory. The National Party won 4 seats making them the official opposition. The Liberals won only 2 seats, putting them on the [[crossbench]].
* In [[New South Wales]] and [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], the main parties reflect the situation nationally: Labor versus the Coalition of the Liberals and Nationals. NSW is the only state where the Coalition has never split, but has also never merged into one party.
* In [[South Australia]] and [[Tasmania]], the main parties are Labor and the Liberals, with the Nationals not holding any seats.
* In [[Queensland]], the main parties are [[Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch)|Labor]] and the [[Liberal National Party of Queensland|Liberal-National Party]] (LNP). Historically, the Country Party was the largest Coalition member and they governed the state from 1957 until 1989. This was partially due to a [[malapportionment]] which heavily favoured rural seats. It had been originally designed by a Labor government, but ended up benefitting the Country Party as demographics shifted. Later, Premier [[Joh Bjelke-Petersen]] increased his power by using [[Queensland Police]] to suppress political dissent, and enacted the [[Bjelkemander]], worsening malapportionment in order to reduce the power of the Liberals so his Country Party could rule alone. Eventually, media reports and the [[Fitzgerald Inquiry]] revealed wide-ranging corruption police and government. Bjelke-Petersen was forced to resign in disgrace, while many high-ranking police and politicians were criminally charged. Labor has been in power for most of the time since then, with the state Country and Liberal parties merging into the LNP, which is a member of the Coalition federally.