The Government of the Northern Territory of Australia, also referred to as the Northern Territory Government, the Government of the Northern Territory or simply the NT Government, is the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the

Commonwealth of 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 by ...

, and the

Constitution of Australia The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a written constitution, constitutional document that is Constitution, supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a Federation of Australia, federation under a constitutio ...

and Commonwealth law regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under the Australian Constitution, the Commonwealth has full legislative power, if it chooses to exercise it, over the Northern Territory, and has devolved self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory legislature does not have the legislative independence of the

Australian states The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing pol ...

but has power in all matters not in conflict with the Constitution and applicable Commonwealth laws, but subject to a Commonwealth veto. Since 21 December 2023, the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

has been

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Eva Lawler Eva Dina Lawler is an Australian politician. She is a Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch), Labor member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2016, representing the electorate of Electoral division of Drysdale, Drys ...

of the Labor Party, following the resignation of

Natasha Fyles Natasha Kate Fyles (born 26 May 1978)Natasha Fyles
''Territory Women'', Northern Ter ...

as chief minister on 20 December 2023 following the undisclosed share and

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

scandal.

Legislative powers

Legislative power rests with the Legislative Assembly, which consists of the

Administrator of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a state gov ...

and the members of the Assembly. While the Assembly exercises roughly the same powers as the state governments of Australia, it does so by a delegation of powers from the Commonwealth, rather than by any constitutional right. This means that the

Australian Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

retains the right to legislate for the Territory, if it chooses to exercise it. Under the law granting self-government to the Territory, the Federal Cabinet can advise the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories are broadly similar to the electoral system used in federal elections in Australia. When the Australian colonies were granted responsible government in the 19th century, the constit ...

Executive powers

The government consists of a Ministry appointed by the Administrator, from the elected members of the Assembly. The Administrator normally appoints the leader of the majority party in the Assembly as the Chief Minister. The other members of the ministry are appointed by the Administrator on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Northern Territory Government is a member of the

Council of Australian Governments The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) was the primary intergovernmental forum in Australia from 1992 to 2020. Comprising the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local Go ...

Current ministries

Source:

Current composition

Source:

Proposed Northern Territory statehood

For many years there has been agitation for statehood. 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 ...

was held on the issue in 1998, but the proposal was narrowly rejected. This was a shock to both the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments, for opinion polls showed most Territorians supported statehood. However, under s. 121 of the Australian Constitution, the terms of admission of new states are decided by the Commonwealth Parliament. The terms offered included an increase to three seats in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from two. The other states all have 12 senators. Alongside what was cited as an arrogant approach adopted by then Chief Minister

Shane Stone Shane Leslie Stone (born 25 September 1950) is an Australian political figure. He is currently the Chair of the Council for the Order of Australia. He was also the Coordinator-General of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency and its pre ...

, it is thought that many Territorians were reluctant to accept statehood on the offered terms.

References

Notes

{{Authority control 1978 establishments in Australia