The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country b ...

. They perform functions similar to those of a

state governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. Strictly speaking, the appointment of an Administrator is made by the Governor-General-in-Council, that is, the Governor-General acting on the ''advice'' of the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

, rather than the advice of the

Government of the Northern Territory The Government of the Northern Territory of Australia, also referred to as the Northern Territory Government, is the Australian territorial democratic administrative authority of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory w ...

. The Northern Territory received self-government on 1 July 1978, in accordance with the provisions of the '' Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 ( Cth)''. Since then, the practice has arisen that in making an appointment the Governor-General-in-Council will act on the ''recommendation'' of the Northern Territory Government. Unlike an Australian

State Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, the Administrator is not the ''direct'' representative of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the t ...

in the Territory but is instead appointed by the King's representative in the Commonwealth, the Governor-General, to administer the Territory in accordance with the Act. In practice, however, the Administrator performs a similar constitutional role to that of a state governor and can be considered the King's ''indirect'' representative in the Territory. This is light of the fact that territories are not sovereign in the same way as states, there being no 'Crown in right of the Northern Territory'. The Administrator formally appoints the

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier. When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government w ...

and the members of the Cabinet after every election. In all but a few cases, they are required by convention to act on the Cabinet's advice. The Administrator gives

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

to all bills passed by the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. Although the Governor-General (in practice, the Commonwealth Government) has the power to veto any territorial bill, in practice this right is almost never exercised. The office of the ''Deputy of the Administrator'' was created in 1997. In 2014, the Governor-General granted current, future and living former Administrators the title of 'The Honourable' for life, following the lead of Governors-General and Governors of New South Wales in granting the title. The present Administrator is Vicki O'Halloran, AO.

Crest of Administrator

The crest of Administrator of the Northern Territory which is similar to the one used by the Governor-General of Australia except that the flower below the

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th cent ...

is the Sturt Desert Rose which is the floral emblem of the Northern Territory.

South Australia (1863 to 1912)

On 6 July 1863, land now known as the Northern Territory was annexed to the Colony of South Australia. Legislation regulating the sale of land in the Northern Territory which was given assent on 12 November 1863 included provision for both the appointment of a Government Resident and a description of the powers of this office.

Commonwealth of Australia (1912 to present)

Administrators and Government Residents of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

after transfer of control to the Commonwealth Government:

Administrator (1912 to 1919)

Director (1919 to 1921)

Administrator (1921 to 1927)

Government Resident (1927 to 1931)

From 1926 to 1931, the

was divided into the territories of

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

and North Australia, with the border at the

20th parallel south The 20th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 20 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America. Around the world Starting a ...

. Each territory was administered by a Government Resident located respectively in

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

(then known as Stuart) and in Darwin. Both territories were reincorporated as the Northern Territory in 1931.

Administrator (1931 to present)

Deputy of the Administrator (1997 to present)

The office of the ''Deputy of the Administrator'' was established in 1997.

References

External links

Office of the Administrator – official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Administrator Of The NorThern Territory

Parliament of the Northern Territory