The
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly is the unicameral parliament of the
Northern TerritoryThe 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
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. It sits in
Parliament HouseParliament House in Darwin is Australia's newest Parliament Building, it has been the seat of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 1994...
, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of
DarwinDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 120,652, 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...
.
It was created by an act of the Commonwealth Parliament in 1974, replacing the partly elected
Legislative CouncilThe 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.
The
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly is the unicameral parliament of the
Northern TerritoryThe 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
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. It sits in
Parliament HouseParliament House in Darwin is Australia's newest Parliament Building, it has been the seat of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 1994...
, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of
DarwinDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 120,652, 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 CouncilThe 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 Andrews Bill overrode the Territory's legalisation of
voluntary euthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. Many different forms of euthanasia can be distinguished, including animal euthanasia and human euthanasia, and within the latter, voluntary and involuntary euthanasia...
.
Powers
As with most Australian states and territories, legislation passed through the Assembly requires
royal assentThe granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which a constitutional monarch completes the legislative process of lawmaking by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. While the power to withhold Royal Assent was once exercised often, it is exceedingly rare in the modern, democratic...
, which is granted by the
Administrator of the Northern TerritoryIn accordance with the provisions of the Northern Territory Act 1978 , the Northern Territory received self-government on 1 July 1978 under its own Administrator of the Northern Territory appointed by the Governor-General of Australia...
. Once the Administrator gives assent, the
Governor-General of AustraliaThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the monarch of Australia . 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
AdministratorIn accordance with the provisions of the Northern Territory Act 1978 , the Northern Territory received self-government on 1 July 1978 under its own Administrator of the Northern Territory appointed by the Governor-General of Australia...
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
1974The 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, the Assembly was controlled by the conservative
Country Liberal PartyThe Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the Liberal and National parties. It is a member of the Coalition....
, which is affiliated with the federal
LiberalThe 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 competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
-
NationalThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing rural voters, it was originally called the Country Party, but adopted the name National Country Party in 1975 and changed to its present name in 1982...
coalitionThe Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922. The Coalition partners are the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia ;...
. However, in 2001, the
Australian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party.Known as the ALP for short, the party is the current governing party of Australia, since the 2007 federal election...
won government for the first time on a one-seat majority, with
Clare MartinClare 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 HendersonPaul 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 the United Kingdom to A-Levels and studied mechanical...
became leader of the ALP, and retained government with another one-seat majority in
2008General 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 ScrymgourMarion 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 AndersonAlison Anderson is an Australian politician and previous member of the Australian Labor Party. 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...
left the party to sit as an independent.
Current distribution of seats
| Party |
Seats held |
Percentage of Assembly |
| |
Australian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party.Known as the ALP for short, the party is the current governing party of Australia, since the 2007 federal election...
|
12 |
48% |
| |
Country Liberal Party The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the Liberal and National parties. It is a member of the Coalition....
|
11 |
44% |
| |
Independent |
2 |
8% |
|
Total |
25 |
100% |
See also
- Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
The 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 Assembly
Following 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 ministries
The 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
External links