Speaker stops Nationals' push to expand WA Parliament in its tracks

A National Party bill to expand the state's Legislative Assembly has been stopped in its tracks after the Western Australian Parliamentary Speaker ruled it out of order.

The bill, which aims to increase the size of the Lower House from 59 to 61 seats passed the Legislative Council last week with support from the Liberals and Nationals.

But after consideration Speaker Michael Sutherland told Parliament the bill was out of order because it should have been introduced in the Legislative Assembly, not the Upper House.

"Bills appropriating revenue or monies shall not originate in the Legislative Council," Mr Sutherland said.

"The effect of the bill is that two additional members will need to be remunerated and there will no doubt be costs associated with supporting the two additional members.

"I accordingly rule that the bill is out of order and I will be sending a message to the council advising of the same."

WA Opposition Leader Mark McGowan described it as an embarrassing move by the Government.

"It was unwarranted in the first place, but it just shows that the Government can't get many things right," Mr McGowan said.

"They introduced laws that were clearly inappropriate, they were struck down by the Parliament, they made a mess of it."

Nationals MP Martin Aldridge introduced the private member's bill and said it was needed to stop the decline in the number of regional Lower House electorates.

Mr Aldridge highlighted the geographical growth of some regional seats and the rapid population growth in many metropolitan electorates.

The Nationals have been contacted for comment.