Members_of_the_Australian_Senate,_2002-2005
This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2005.[1] Half of the state senators had been elected at the November 2001 election and had terms due to finish on 30 June 2008; the other half of the state senators had been elected at the October 1998 election and had terms due to finish on 30 June 2005. The territory senators were elected at the November 2001 election and their terms ended at the next federal election, which was October 2004.
Senate composition at 1 July 2002
Government (35) – (4 seat minority)
Liberal (31)
National Party (3)
Country Liberal (1)
Opposition (28)
Labor (28)
Crossbench (13)
Democrats (8) [lower-roman 1]
Greens (2)
One Nation (1)
Independent (2) [lower-roman 2]
Changes in composition
Meg Lees resigned from the Democrats in July 2002 to sit as an independent. In April 2003, she founded the Australian Progressive Alliance Shayne Murphy had resigned from the Labor Party on 2 October 2001 and served out the rest of his term as an independent.