Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly
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The Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly was the main elected representative body of the
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
between 1975 and 1986, when preparations began to be made for the granting of self-government to the Territory. It served a largely advisory role, with most powers over the Territory still lying in the hands of the relevant federal minister through the life of the Assembly.


Background

Three years after the seat of government was established at
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
and after the opening of the first Parliament House in 1927, an appointed Advisory Council was established to administer the capital. In 1974 this was replaced by a fully elected Legislative Assembly, advising the Department of the Capital Territory. In 1979 this became a House of Assembly of 18 elected members, which was dissolved in 1986. In 1978 a
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on self-government was defeated, with 68 per cent of voters recording a No vote. The federal
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
government of
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
set up a Self-Government Task Force in 1986 to report on the government of the ACT.


Creation of the Assembly

The assembly was first created in 1975 by the
Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...
government, as a response to frequent criticism about the lack of representation for the citizens of the territory. Whitlam had appointed the local federal MP,
Kep Enderby Keppel Earl Enderby (25 June 1926 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian politician and judge. Enderby was a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Australian Labor Party between 1970 and 1975 and became a senior cabinet minist ...
, as Minister for the ACT, and Enderby sought to create a new representative body along the lines of the
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory of Australia. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member electorates for four-year terms. The voting method fo ...
, which had been created in 1974. Elections were held for the first Legislative Assembly on 28 September that year, with representatives of the Labor Party,
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,
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, and several independents taking seats in the Assembly. Unlike its Northern Territory counterpart, it was not made self-governing in 1977. Nine members were elected by Single Transferable Vote proportional representation from each of the ACT's two federal House of Representatives divisions, making 18 in total. Independent members who vacated mid-term were replaced by recounting their original votes to their next preferences to choose a runner-up. Members endorsed by a political party were replaced by a nominee of that party. The new Assembly began sitting in the then-Civic Offices, later renovated to become the current Legislative Assembly Building. An independent MLA,
Jim Pead James Harold Pead (3 April 1924 – 15 November 2009) was an Australian politician. ACT politics He was an independent member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for Canberra from 1975 to 1979, and then elected from th ...
, took office as the first President (the equivalent of the Speaker) of the new body.
Gordon Walsh Gordon John Walsh (30 December 1932 – 14 June 2000) was an Australian politician for the Labor Party. Early life Walsh was born in Welling in Kent (now in the London Borough of Bexley) in England. He was twice evacuated from London with other ...
became the first leader of the Labor caucus, with Dr Peter Hughes leading the Liberal caucus. Both were replaced in 1977; Walsh joined the nascent
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, and was replaced as leader by Peter Vallee, Hughes quit the Liberal Party and was replaced as leader by
Jim Leedman Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...
.
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became the leader of the
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, before being replaced by Walsh in 1977. The first Assembly saw two prominent members on its benches: future federal ministers
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and
Susan Ryan Susan Maree Ryan (10 October 194227 September 2020) was an Australian politician and public servant. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and held ministerial office in the Hawke Government as Minister Assisting the Prime Mini ...
. Ryan resigned during the first term, successfully seeking a seat in the Senate. The second election for the Assembly was held on 2 June 1979, and saw a change in name from the Legislative Assembly to the House of Assembly. The election saw the addition of a fourth party, with the conservative
Family Team The Australian Family Movement was a minor familialist Australian political party formed in 1974 and active throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It originally came out of a group created to oppose the stage show ''Hair'' in Adelaide (this group was s ...
led by
Bev Cains Beverley Mary Evelyn Cains (born 25 February 1938) is a former Australian politician. Cains was elected to the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly for the electorate of Fraser in 1979 as a member of the Family Team; she was the part ...
winning a seat. It also saw the election of future self-government ministers
Greg Cornwell Gregory Gane Cornwell (born 19 June 1938), former Australian politician, was a member of the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly elected to the multi-member single constituency Assembly and later elected to represent t ...
and
Paul Whalan Paul Russell Whalan (born 10 July 1941) is an Australian political lobbyist, former politician and member of the first Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, representing Canberra for the Labor Party. Whalan was elected in 1989 and ...
. A third election was held on 5 June 1982, which saw the introduction of a more partisan system. The Liberals held a majority in the Assembly, with Leedman becoming Leader of the House, and new Labor leader
Ken Doyle Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...
becoming the minority leader. He was to be short-lived as leader, with
Maurene Horder Maurene Horder (born 1950) is a former Australian politician. She is notable for having been the first woman to be the parliamentary leader of the Australian Labor Party in any state or territory of Australia, and also for having been the first ...
succeeding him after only two years. The last Assembly also saw the creation of an office of Speaker, filled by independent MHA Harold Hird. The final election also saw the election of future Liberal Chief Minister
Trevor Kaine Trevor Thomas Kaine (17 February 1928 – 3 June 2008), was an Australian politician who served as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 1989 to 1991. Kaine was elected into a multi-member single electorate in the unicameral ...
. It was allowed to expire in 1986 due to plans to introduce full self-government for the territory. After some years of discussions, the House of Assembly was replaced with the current Legislative Assembly in 1989, with new Labor leader
Rosemary Follett Rosemary Follett (born 27 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the inaugural Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, serving in 1989 and again between 1991 and 1995. She was the first woman to become head of gove ...
becoming the first
Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory The chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usu ...
. Voting was not compulsory for the House of Assembly, and its influence was limited. Many of its prominent figures retired rather than contest the elections for the new Legislative Assembly in 1989; several others, including outgoing Speaker Harold Hird and
Family Team The Australian Family Movement was a minor familialist Australian political party formed in 1974 and active throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It originally came out of a group created to oppose the stage show ''Hair'' in Adelaide (this group was s ...
leader Bev Cains were soundly defeated. Three MHAs, however—Greg Cornwell, Trevor Kaine, and Paul Whalan—went on to be elected to the new parliament, and later served in major roles.


Electorates

Division of Canberra (Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly) The division of Canberra was one of the two electorates of the unicameral Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly. It elected 9 members in 1975 and 1979, and 10 members in 1982. It was named for the city of Canberra, Australia's national c ...
Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly) The division of Fraser was one of the two electorates of the unicameral Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly. It elected 9 members in 1975 and 1979, and 8 members in 1982. It was named for Jim Fraser, who was the Member for Australian Ca ...


Members

* Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, 1975–1979 * Members of the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly, 1979–1982 * Members of the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly, 1982–1986


References

{{coord, -35.2817, 149.1311, region:AU-ACT_type:event, display=title History of the Australian Capital Territory Parliament of the Australian Capital Territory 1975 establishments in Australia 1986 disestablishments in Australia Historical legislatures