The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It has been the only unicameral state legislature in the country since the upper chamber, the Legislative Council, was abolished in 1922. The Legislative Assembly sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Brisbane. All laws applicable in Queensland are authorised by the Parliament of Queensland, with the exception of specific legislation defined in the Constitution of Australia, very limited criminal law applying under the Australia Act 1986 as well as a small volume of remaining historical laws passed by the Parliament of New South Wales and the Imperial Parliament. Following the outcome of the 2015 election, successful amendments to the electoral act in early 2016 include: adding an additional four parliamentary seats from 89 to 93, changing from optional preferential voting to full-preferential voting, and moving from unfixed three-year terms to fixed four-year terms. History The Parliament was founded 22 May 1860, less than a year after the Colony of Queensland was created in June 1859. It was convened at military and convict barracks converted for the purpose located on Queen Street, Brisbane. Immigration was an important issue for the early Parliament. Population growth was encouraged with new settlers enticed by land ownership. In 1915, Queensland became the first state to make voting compulsory at state elections. Since 1 April 2003, live audio broadcasts have streamed through the internet from the Parliament while it is in session. In June 2007, the Parliament started broadcasting video of parliamentary proceedings. Nine in-house television cameras are used to record sessions. The first female Speaker, Fiona Simpson was elected on 15 May 2012. Membership The Assembly has 93 Members of Parliament (MPs). These are intended to represent approximately the same population in each electorate. Voting is by the Full Preferential Voting system (FPV), with elections held approximately once every three years. In April 2016, legislation was passed to increase the number of seats in the parliament by four to a total of 93. An amendment was also passed to abolish optional preferential voting. A referendum held the previous month was passed, supporting a bill to establish fixed four-year terms. Royal assent The role of the monarch in Parliament is to give royal assent to legislation. This function is in practice exercised by the Governor