Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Encyclopedia
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It sits in Parliament House
Parliament House, Darwin
Parliament House in Darwin is Australia's newest Parliament Building, it has been the seat of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 1994. Parliament House is located on State Square in the centre of Darwin, which is also the administrative centre of the Northern Territory law and...
, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
.
History
It was created by an act of the Commonwealth Parliament in 1974, replacing the partly elected Legislative CouncilNorthern Territory Legislative Council
The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974....
. Though it was fully elected, its 19 members initially lacked significant powers, as self-government was not granted until 1978. In 1982, the number of members was increased to 25. Each member serves four year terms, and represents a single-member constituency. All members are elected through the preferential system, and as with all other Australian states and territories, voting is compulsory for all those over 18 years of age.
The granting of self-government saw the Assembly assume control of most of the functions of life in the Northern Territory. However, the federal government retained control of certain areas, including Aboriginal land, industrial relations, national parks and uranium mining. The federal government also retained the power to override legislation passed by the Assembly. Though rarely used, this power was most clearly illustrated in the mid-1990s, when the Commonwealth overrode the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995.
Powers
As with most Australian states and territories, legislation passed through the Assembly requires royal assentRoyal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
, which is granted by the Administrator of the Northern Territory
Administrator of the Northern Territory
The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to exercise powers analogous to that of a state governor...
. Once the Administrator gives assent, the Governor-General of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
also has the option to reject the bill. However, both of these are largely formalities, as refusal to give assent is practically unheard of.
The party or coalition with the most seats in the Assembly is invited by the Administrator
Administrator of the Northern Territory
The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to exercise powers analogous to that of a state governor...
to form government. The leader of that party subsequently becomes the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, and their senior colleagues become ministers responsible for various portfolios. As Australian political parties traditionally vote along party lines, most legislation introduced by the governing party will pass through the Legislative Assembly.
From the Parliament's inception in 1974
Northern Territory general election, 1974
The first general election for the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was held in the Northern Territory on Saturday 19 October 1974, and was won by the incumbent Country Liberal Party ....
until 2001, it was controlled by the conservative Country Liberal Party
Country Liberal Party
The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...
, which is affiliated with the federal Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
-National
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
. However, in 2001, the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
won government for the first time on a one-seat majority, with Clare Martin
Clare Martin
Clare Majella Martin is a former Australian politician. She is the current CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service . A former journalist, she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995...
becoming the Territory's first Labor and first female Chief Minister. The Martin-led ALP won 19 seats to the CLP's 4 in 2005, however Martin resigned in 2007. Paul Henderson
Paul Henderson (Australian politician)
Paul Raymond Henderson is an Australian politician and the current Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.Henderson was born in Croix-Chapeau, France, where his father was serving with the United States military. He was educated in Great Britain to A-Levels and studied mechanical...
became leader of the ALP, and retained government with another one-seat majority in 2008
Northern Territory general election, 2008
General elections were held in the Northern Territory of Australia on 9 August 2008. 23 of the 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly were contested; two safe Labor seats were uncontested...
. Labor lost its majority when Marion Scrymgour
Marion Scrymgour
Marion Rose Scrymgour is an Australian politician. She has been a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2001, representing the electorate of Arafura. She was the Labor Party Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from November 2007 until February 2009, and was the...
went to the cross-benches as an independent. She re-joined the party after Alison Anderson
Alison Anderson
Alison Anderson is an Australian politician. She has been a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2005, representing the electorate of MacDonnell, and is a prominent indigenous activist and former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Central Zone Commissioner...
left the party to sit as an independent. Anderson joined the CLP in September 2011. The next election is due in 2012.
Current distribution of seats
| Party | Seats held | Percentage of Assembly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
|
|
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| Country Liberal Party Country Liberal Party The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties... |
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| Independent | |
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| Total | |
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See also
- Parliaments of the Australian states and territoriesParliaments of the Australian states and territoriesThe Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia. Before the formation of the Commonwealth in 1901, the six Australian colonies were self-governing, with parliaments which had come into existence at various...
- Members of the Northern Territory Legislative AssemblyMembers of the Northern Territory Legislative AssemblyFollowing are lists of members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly:* Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, 1974–1977 * Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, 1977–1980...
- Northern Territory ministriesNorthern Territory ministriesThe ministries of the Northern Territory are appointed by the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory each term from the members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.-List of Northern Territory ministries:-See also:...
- List of Northern Territory by-elections