'House of Assembly' is a name given to the
legislature or
lower house of a
bicameral legislature, in some countries, often at
subnational level.
Historically, the House of Assembly in
British crown colonies superseded the (usually unelected)
Legislative Council as the
colonial legislature, as the colony gained more internal
responsible government, in some instances becoming the lower house – in
Bermuda, it forms the lower house of the
bicameral parliament - see
House of Assembly of Bermuda.
Barbados has the oldest ''House of Assembly'' in the
Commonwealth - see
Barbados House of Assembly.
The
Canadian provinces of
Nova Scotia and
Newfoundland and Labrador call their unicameral provincial legislatures the ''House of Assembly'' as a result of the provinces' former status as British crown colonies - see
Nova Scotia House of Assembly and
Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. The Indigenous Peoples of
Haida Gwaii also call their legislative body a House of Assembly.
In the
Australian states of
South Australia and
Tasmania, the House of Assembly is the lower house - see
South Australian House of Assembly and
Tasmania House of Assembly.
In
South Africa, the House of Assembly, known in
Afrikaans as the ''Volksraad'', was the lower house of the whites-only
parliament until
1981, when the
Senate was abolished. Following a new
Constitution in
1984, it became one of three Houses of the
Tricameral Parliament. Following the end of
apartheid and the introduction of a new Constitution in
1994, it was replaced by a
National Assembly.
In
Dominica, the House of Assembly is the unicameral legislature, in which the appointed members are called Senators - see
House of Assembly of Dominica.
In
Nigeria, the House of Assembly is the name given to each state legislature.
In
Zimbabwe, the House of Assembly was the sole parliamentary chamber following the abolition of the country's Senate in
1990, prior to its reinstatement in
2005 - see
House of Assembly of Zimbabwe.
In
Trinidad and Tobago, the House of Assembly is the legislature of
Tobago, which enjoys limited self-government - see
Tobago House of Assembly.
In
Papua New Guinea, the
unicameral National Parliament was known as the
House of Assembly of the Papua and New Guinea before independence.
See also
★
Legislative Assembly