14 Northern Territory

Northern Australia’s^[1] history is reflected in the Northern Territory’s incremental and highly iterative representative progress. Northern Australia is a little understood part of the country, representing 53 per cent of the land mass yet just 5.2 per cent of its population, 17.4 per cent of which is Indigenous.

Pastoralism, which occupies 60 per cent of land in Northern Australia, grew out of colonial frontier violence, which forced Aboriginal people^[2] off their traditional lands and onto the least fertile areas. For that reason, Aboriginal activism has been an intrinsic part of the region’s history and is reflected in this year’s 50th anniversary of passage of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.

Other industries reflect the boom-bust nature of extractive mining and the strategic value of the north where defence infrastructure spending is determined by geopolitical events and Commonwealth government policy.^[3]

It is within this context that the Northern Territory wrestled with its place in the Australian Federation. After decades of struggle for representation, it is largely self-governing although not the equal of any of the original States.

The Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 of the Commonwealth parliament conferred limited self-governing powers on the Northern Territory. That legislation created the Legislative Assembly, a unicameral parliament. The Assembly is composed of 25 representatives of single-member electoral divisions, each having an average 6107 electors.^[4]

As with the Australian Capital Territory, whether the Northern Territory achieves Constitutional and legislative equality with the original States of Australia is a matter for the Commonwealth parliament and the citizens of those territories.

History

The Northern Territory was part of the colony of New South Wales from 1849 until 1863.^[5] It then became part of South Australia until 1911,^[6] meaning that it was part of South Australia at the time of Federation.

Under the South Australian Northern Territory Representation Act 1888, the NT was a single electoral district that elected two Members to the SA House of Assembly and, indirectly, to the Legislative Council. From 1901 until 1911, Northern Territory residents who had been extended full adult suffrage^[7] voted for the six Senators representing South Australia and, from 1903, the NT was included in South Australia’s federal division of Grey.^[8]

In 1911, the Northern Territory was ceded by South Australia to the Australian government. This was achieved by South Australia’s Northern Territory Surrender Act 1907 and the Federal parliament’s Northern Territory Acceptance Act 1910. Under this regime, the Northern Territory had no representation at all in the Commonwealth parliament and no state-like legislature. It may well be that this disenfranchisement was the result of the White Australia Policy, enacted in 1901, because the NT population was overwhelmingly dominated by Asians,^[9] which would inevitably have resulted in non-white representation in the Commonwealth parliament.^[10]

In preparation for this change, the Federal parliament enacted the Northern Territory (Administration) Act 1910, which provided for government in the Northern Territory by an Administrator appointed by the Governor-General.^[11]

After bitter objections from Northern Territory residents, a single seat in the House of Representatives was granted by the Northern Territory Representation Act 1922. That member, however, had no vote. In 1936, the NT representative was granted a vote, but only on ordinances setting down laws for the Northern Territory.

Legislative Council

A Legislative Council was established in the NT in 1947. It was not, however, truly representative. The Commonwealth retained control by providing for the election of six Members and the appointment of seven Members. The Council had power to make laws for the ‘peace, order and good government of the Territory subject to assent by the Administrator and/or the pleasure of the Governor-General’^[12] and met for the first time in 1948.

Disaffection with the lack of autonomy remained and in April 1958 all six elected Members of the Council resigned in protest. All were re-elected, five unopposed, in June 1958.^[13]  In the same year, the NT’s Member of the House of Representatives was allowed to vote ‘on any proposed law or matter relating solely or principally to the Territory’.^[14]

The following year, composition of the Legislative Council was changed to eight elected Members, six official Members and three non-official Members. Commonwealth control was retained by appointing the Administrator President of the Council with two votes: a deliberative and a casting vote.^[15] At the same time, an Administrator’s Council was created as an advisory body and comprised two official (appointed) Members and three elected Members.

In 1965 the Administrator was replaced as a Member and President of the Legislative Council. The President was, for the first time, an elected Member of the Council. In 1968, composition was changed again: non-official appointed Members were replaced by elected Members, resulting in 11 elected Members and six appointed Members. For the first time, the Legislative Council was under Northern Territory control. In that year, the NT’s Member of the House of Representatives was granted full voting rights.

Legislative Assembly

Following election of the Whitlam government in 1972, a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Northern Territory was established and resulted in a Commonwealth commitment to constitutional reform by way of a Legislative Assembly.

On 20 November 1974, barely a month before Cyclone Tracy devastated Australia’s northern-most city, the first fully elected Legislative Assembly, composed of 19 Members, convened. This resulted in the NT’s first Executive, which was made up of seven ‘ministers’. Freedom from distant rule was short-lived. Emergency measures were imposed and controlled by Canberra following Cyclone Tracy, prompting this observation from the then Member for Nightcliff Dawn Lawrie who frequently clashed with the regime that had been imposed:

The very worst … Northern Territory government is better than a central government from Canberra.^[16]

In 1977, the Commonwealth parliament passed the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act.On 1 July 1978, the Northern Territory became substantially self-governing and the Northern Territory government was given authority over and responsibility for the territory’s finances. In 1982, to reflect a growing population principally driven by the building boom and residents returning following Cyclone Tracy, membership of the Legislative Assembly was increased to 25.

Limitations of self-government

When the Commonwealth ceded control of the Northern Territory to the Legislative Assembly, certain state-like powers were not transferred. These were: Aboriginal land rights; industrial relations; national parks; and uranium mining. Those limitations remain.

In addition, the Commonwealth may at any time nullify actions of the NT parliament and government. In May 1995, the Legislative Assembly passed the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act (ROTI), becoming the pioneering jurisdiction in the area of voluntary assisted dying (VAD).  However, this was ideologically opposed by the Coalition government in Canberra, and was overturned by the Commonwealth parliament’s Euthanasia Laws Act 1997.^[17] This amended the Self-Government Act by inserting section 51A to prohibit laws in relation to voluntary euthanasia. After nine failed attempts to repeal the Euthanasia Laws Act between 2004 and 2021, the incoming federal Labor government passed legislation repealing the prohibition in 2022. During that time, all Australian jurisdictions, including the ACT, introduced their own VAD legislation.^[18] At the beginning of 2026, the NT government announced its intention to reintroduce euthanasia legislation by the middle of the year. It is noteworthy that the Rights of the Terminall Ill Act 1996 has never been repealed and remained on the NT statute books for all that time.

Similarly, the Commonwealth parliament’s Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act 2007^[19] allowed for a federal ‘invasion’ of the Northern Territory and the suspension of some Northern Territory laws. Directed at Aboriginal communities, the haste with which it was introduced allowed ‘little time for consultation with Indigenous communities’ and included ‘army troops being deployed to Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory’.^[20]

Neither action would happen in a state because the Commonwealth Constitution provides them with entrenched autonomy and they function according to their own respective constitutions.^[21] Like the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory has no constitution of its own, and the Self-Government Act is effectively the NT constitution, which is under the full control of the Commonwealth parliament in which the NT has four representatives.

Financial arrangements and economy

The Northern Territory has been funded as a state by the Commonwealth government since 1988.^[22] Funding arrangements apply:

…on the principle of ‘horizontal fiscal equalisation’ meaning that funding is provided on the basis of what it costs to deliver a service per person in the Northern Territory. Distance is factored in to the Commonwealth’s formula, often to the chagrin of the more populous states.^[23]

Funding for Aboriginal disadvantage, however, has been a contentious matter since self-government in 1978. Speaking at the 2017 Garma Festival, former Chairman of the NT Grants Commission and former Co-ordinator General Bob Beadman said that while the reason for the dearth in funding is multi-faceted, a fundamental reason is that:

The Commonwealth Grants Commission carve-up provided no catch-up to address the infrastructure deficit dump-passed to the NT at the time of Self-Government.^[24]

Because of the population of the Northern Territory (232,605 in 2021^[25]), there are limited revenue raising opportunities for Northern Territory governments. Taxation revenue is restricted to payroll, motor vehicle registration and stamp duty collection. The boom-bust nature of the Territory’s resource-based economy means there is some income from mining royalties, but even these are subject to minimisation by the companies concerned, don’t necessarily flow into the NT and therefore don’t contribute a great deal to the budget.^[26] This means the Northern Territory is heavily reliant on Commonwealth government funding.

Notwithstanding that 30 per cent of the population is Aboriginal, the Northern Territory is losing ‘indigenous funding’ to other states because more people in those states are identifying as Aboriginal. This is complicated by the Commonwealth Grants Commission – the body responsible for determining how the GST revenue should be distributed to the states and territories – failing to assess relative need between Aboriginal populations in Australia.^[27]

The enduring lack of comprehensive federal policy in relation to Northern Australia has been lamented as the politics of neglect based on viewing the nation’s north as an economy rather than a society. Further:

To understand, reflect and plan for what Northern Australia might look like in the future, the region needs intellectuals, artists and writers who will articulate ideas, generate wider discussion on local issues and highlight the perspectives of a large range of northern citizens.^[28]

Historical neglect, noted Megarrity, means that the north is still considered a wild, frontier land for which visions of wealth and splendour are a product of east coast metropolitan whitefella dreaming.

Political parties and representation

Political parties

There are two dominant political parties in the Northern Territory: the Country Liberal Party (CLP); and the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The CLP was formed in 1974 when the Liberal Party, which was concentrated in Darwin, and the Country Party, which was concentrated in regional bush centres, merged to become the sole conservative force. The ALP was formed in 1973 and was traditionally ‘weak’ because:

The small size of the urban centres and the almost total lack of any large-scale industrial development has meant that the Labor party has no ‘natural’ base of membership and money. As well, organization of an industrial wing and a branch structure was made difficult by the vast distances, the poor communications and the costs of transport.^[29]

This difficulty was well demonstrated when the CLP held power in the Northern Territory from 1974 until 2001 when the ALP enjoyed its first success.

Aboriginal representation in the Legislative Assembly

Electoral laws applying at the 1974 and 1977 elections provided for voluntary enrolment of Aboriginal people, although if enrolled, voting was compulsory. By the 1980 election, enrolment and voting were compulsory for all qualified residents. Prior to 1980, remote Aboriginal people were obliged to use the postal vote system, but the introduction of mobile polling meant that election processes were taken to remote communities.^[30] To address language and translation challenges, candidates were identified both by name and photograph on ballot papers. That remains the case.

Aboriginal electoral enrolment is comparatively low, particularly in remote regions.^[31] The reasons are complicated and include language difficulties, perceptions of relevance of the electoral system and government, electoral roll accuracy and infrequent enrolment drives.

There has been Aboriginal membership of the Legislative Assembly since 1974, although membership of more recent Assemblies better reflects the Territory’s 30 per cent Aboriginal population. There have been several Aboriginal ministers – men and women – in Northern Territory governments.

Four year fixed-term elections were introduced in the Northern Territory in 2009. The table below lists the results of each General Election since the Legislative Assembly was created in 1974.^[32]

Issues

Three of the significant issues facing the Northern Territory are Aboriginal land rights, the Territory’s representation in the Commonwealth parliament, and the possibility of achieving statehood. While the former stems from colonisation, dispossession and sovereignty, the latter two are closely aligned and stem from the shackles of distant government, whether that be historical cases of the colonies of New South Wales and South Australia, or more recent intrusions by the Commonwealth government. In essence, however, all three are part of the Northern Territory’s journey to a permanent and equal place within the Australian federation.

Land rights

The Northern Territory Self-Government Act is at loggerheads with the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act because:

…very little thought was given back in 1978 to what legal and institutional relationships needed to exist between the new government, land councils and traditional owners to allow for a smoothly functioning polity. Those relationships remain confused and ill-defined.^[34]

At issue is the fact that 51 per cent of the Northern Territory’s land mass is designated Aboriginal land over which the Northern Territory government has no control. Equally, Aboriginal people have limited control over their land because power in relation to decisions about Aboriginal land is vested in four Aboriginal land councils^[35] to act in the interests of Traditional Owners. These limitations are created by the Land Rights Act, which was passed by the Australian Parliament in 1976. There are those who argue that the Land Rights Act vests far too much power in a limited number of people. Others argue that the Act affords vital protection from unscrupulous commercial exploitation of a vulnerable population.

Both the Self-Government and Land Rights acts are creatures of the Australian Parliament over which the Northern Territory has no control.

Federal representation

Section 122 of The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act provides that the Northern Territory has two Senators and two Members of the House of Representatives. This has been the case since 1975. However:

…the legislation to enable this representation was the subject of great rancour, only passing the Commonwealth Parliament following affirmation at a joint sitting of the two houses and subsequently surviving two High Court challenges.^[36]

Sloane points out that the Constitution preserves the rights of ‘original States’ and stipulates that changes to Senate representation, which in turn affects House of Representatives numbers, must ‘maintain parity in the representation of the original states’. In 2020, population decline meant that NT representation in the Lower House was reduced from two to one. Following an inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, the Fair Representation Bill, which guaranteed the existing two seats of Solomon and Lingiari, was passed on 9 December.^[37]

Statehood

The issue of whether the Northern Territory should be admitted as the seventh State of the Australian Federation has been contentious for a variety of reasons, including the relatively small population, negotiations with the Commonwealth government on terms and conditions of admission^[38] under section 106 of the Constitution^[39], internal wrangling within the NT about whether statehood is a priority and the minor but no less populist issue of whether citizens will lose their annual cracker night^[40], which is celebrated on Territory Day (the anniversary of self-government), 1 July, each year.

The Legislative Assembly appointed a Select Committee on Constitutional Development in 1985, which was superseded by a Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. Following the overturning of ROTI in 1997, the impetus for statehood was invigorated. A Constitutional Convention was held in 1998, but Aboriginal people and some trade union representatives walked out in protest. Aboriginal people held their own conventions in the same year, which resulted in two statements: the Kalkarindji Statement of August and the Batchelor Statement of December. The message from both statements was clear: there would be no discussion about statehood unless and until Aboriginal Territorians were consulted and included in negotiations.^[41]

Meanwhile a referendum on statehood was held on 3 October 1998:

Rather than the three questions recommended by the Constitutional Convention, Chief Minister Shane Stone rolled them into one and presented voters with a fait accompli:

Now that a constitution for a state of the Northern Territory has been recommended by the statehood convention and endorsed by the Northern Territory parliament, do you agree that we should become a state?

The ‘constitution’ referred to in the referendum question provided for the Premier to sack the Governor, which would render a Governor little more than a public servant and would potentially establish the state of the Northern Territory as a benign dictatorship^[42].

Aboriginal people voted in a solid bloc against the question, which resulted in a majority 51.31 per cent ‘no’ vote.

The ALP resurrected the idea after its election in 2001 and, with bipartisan support, established a community-driven Statehood Steering Committee, which proposed a Constitutional Convention for 2010. That didn’t proceed, although preparations for election of delegates to a second a convention were settled in the Constitutional Convention (Election) Act of 2013. That convention did not proceed, either, and the matter has not seriously resurfaced since.

Conclusions

The Northern Territory occupies a peculiar position in the Australian Federation, but essentially functions as a state to the extent that the Self Government (Northern Territory) Act allows. Friction arises – usually resulting in debates about ‘states rights’ – when the Commonwealth intervenes in Northern Territory matters, as was the case with the Euthanasia Laws Act and the Northern Territory intervention.

The Territory is characterised by intergenerational Aboriginal disadvantage, giving rise to complex social problems requiring considered and enduring policy responses, which in turn require significant funding. Principal among these are intergenerational trauma, successive generations of young people suffering from foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and an over-representation of Aboriginal people in the courts and gaols.

Whether or not the Territory becomes Australia’s seventh state is a matter for residents, the NT and Commonwealth governments. Key among the issues to be resolved is representation in the Australian parliament. At a broader level, recognition of Aboriginal people as the sovereign inhabitants of the Territory is a matter for both the NT and Commonwealth governments and will be crucial to any negotiations in relation to statehood.

References

About the author

Dr Robyn Smith is an historian who lectures in Colonial History and Indigenous Studies at Charles Darwin University. She is a writer on NT politics, history and heritage. Her books include Licence to Kill: massacre men of Australia’s north (2024), Turning 40: the history of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly 1974–2014 (2015, with Dean Jaensch) and Arcadian populism: the Country Liberal Party and self-government in the Northern Territory 1978–2005 (2013). Her journal contributions include the Australasian Parliamentary Review (2010–15), Political Chronicles in the Australian Journal of Politics and History (2011–present) and articles for Northern Territory Historical Studies. She worked on the University of Newcastle Mapping Massacres project and is presently engaged in research on Australian Wars and Resistance.