The Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral parliament of the Northern Territory in Australia. It sits in Parliament House, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of Darwin.-History:...

. Though the office had existed since the creation of the Assembly in 1974, it was given greater legislative force when the roles and functions of the office were included in the federal Act that gave the Territory self-government in 1978. The position of Speaker is currently held by 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...

 member Jane Aagaard

Jane Aagaard

Jane Lesley Aagaard is an Australian politician. She has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2001, representing the Darwin-based electorate of Nightcliff. She has been the Speaker of the Assembly since June 2005...

.

The Speaker's principal duty is to preside over the Assembly. The occupant of the Chair must maintain order in the House, uphold the Standing Orders (rules of procedure) and protect the rights of backbench members.

The Speaker must be a member of the Assembly themselves, and is elected to the position by a ballot of the members of the Assembly. It is generally a partisan position, although both Speaker and Deputy Speaker were independents between 2001 and 2005 . As with the other states and territories, the Speaker continues to attend party meetings and stands at general elections as a party candidate, if they are indeed a member of a party. There is no convention that the Speaker should not be opposed in his or her constituency.

On the other hand, the Speaker is not a political figure like those in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He or she does not take part in debates in the House, does not vote in the House except in the (rare) event of a tied vote, and does not speak in public on party-political issues (except at election time in his or her own constituency). He or she is expected to conduct the business of the House in an impartial manner, and generally does so. The Speaker is assisted by a member-elected Deputy Speaker, who is currently ALP member Rob Knight.

Speakers of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly

Member	Party	Term in Office
Bernie Kilgariff Bernie Kilgariff Bernard Francis "Bernie" Kilgariff AM was an Australian politician. He was one of the founders of the Country Liberal Party and served as a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly before being elected to the Australian Senate.-Early life:Kilgariff was born in Adelaide, South...	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...	20 November 1974 – 16 July 1975
Les MacFarlane Les MacFarlane John Leslie Stuart "Les" MacFarlane is a former Australian politician. He was the Country Liberal Party member for Elsey in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1983. He was Speaker from 1975 to 1984.-References:...	Country Liberal Party	17 July 1975 – 27 February 1984
Roger Steele Roger Steele Roger Michael Steele is a former Australian politician. He was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1987, representing Ludmilla until 1983 and Elsey thereafter.-References:...	Country Liberal Party	28 February 1984 – 16 June 1986
Roger Vale Roger Vale Roger William Stanley Vale was an Australian politician. He was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1994, representing Stuart from until 1983 and Braitling thereafter....	Country Liberal Party	17 June 1986 – 9 October 1989
Nick Dondas Nick Dondas Nicholas Manuel "Nick" Dondas AM is a former Country Liberal politician in the Northern Territory, Australia, representing the seat of Casuarina in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1996, and the Division of Northern Territory in the Australian House of Representatives from...	Country Liberal Party	10 October 1989 – 26 June 1994
Terry McCarthy	Country Liberal Party	27 June 1994 – 24 November 1997
Loraine Braham Loraine Braham Loraine Margaret Braham is an Australian politician. She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1994 to 2008, representing the electorate of Braitling...	Country Liberal Party	25 November 1997 – 15 February 1999
Terry McCarthy	Country Liberal Party	16 February 1999 – 15 October 2001
Loraine Braham Loraine Braham Loraine Margaret Braham is an Australian politician. She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1994 to 2008, representing the electorate of Braitling...	Independent	16 October 2001 – 28 June 2005
Jane Aagaard Jane Aagaard Jane Lesley Aagaard is an Australian politician. She has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2001, representing the Darwin-based electorate of Nightcliff. She has been the Speaker of the Assembly since June 2005...	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...	29 June 2005 - present

External links

• Members of the Legislative Assembly: 1974 to 21 July 2010