Division of Northern Territory

Last updated

Northern Territory
Australian House of Representatives Division
Northern Territory in Australia.svg
Map of the Northern Territory
Created1922
Abolished2001
MP Several
Party Labor (five times), Country Liberal (four times), National (once), Independent (once)
Namesake Northern Territory
DemographicProvincial, rural and remote

The Division of Northern Territory was an Australian Electoral Division in the Northern Territory for the Parliament of Australia. Throughout its existence, it was the only Division in the Northern Territory. At the redistribution of 21 December 2000, the Division was divided into two new divisions, which were named the Division of Solomon, which covered the area immediately around Darwin, and the Division of Lingiari, which covered the remainder of the territory.

Contents

History

Until 1911, the Northern Territory was a part of South Australia and from 1890 was represented in the South Australian House of Assembly by two members from the Electoral district of Northern Territory. In 1911, however, the Northern Territory was transferred to the Commonwealth government, which also had the effect of depriving Territorians of all political representation. The first Commonwealth census held in 1911 disclosed the Territory had a non-Aboriginal population of 3,271, comprising 2,673 males and 598 females. [1] [2]

In 1922, the Northern Territory Representation Act 1922 was passed by the Australian Parliament to give the Territory a single non-voting member in the House of Representatives.

The federal Division of Northern Territory was first contested at the 1922 federal election. Its first member was Harold George Nelson, who had led the agitation which unseated the Administrator in 1918. In 1927, the Northern Territory was split into the separate territories of Central Australia and North Australia; there remained only one electoral division and the split was reversed in 1931. Before 1968, the Member for Northern Territory did not have full voting rights, and did not count for the purposes of forming government. Between 1922 and 1936, he could speak in the House and take part in committee work, but could not vote. Between 1936 and 1959 he was only able to veto motions to disallow laws made for the Territory, and between 1959 and 1968, he could only vote on matters relating to the Territory alone. [2] In 1968, the Member for Northern Territory acquired full voting rights. [3]

In 1984, the external territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands were incorporated into the Division for electoral purposes. [4] [5]

The Division of Northern Territory was divided on 21 December 2000 into two new divisions – Solomon, which covered the Darwin area, and the Lingiari, which covers the remainder of the Territory – with Warren Snowdon, the last member for the united division, transferring to Lingiari.

On 19 February 2003, the new Divisions were nominally abolished and the Territory returned to a single Division, but on 28 April 2004 the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Representation in the House of Representatives) Act 2004 passed by the Australian Parliament had the effect of leaving the Northern Territory divided into two Divisions. [6]

Members

ImageMemberPartyTermNotes
  Harold George Nelson (cropped).jpg H. G. Nelson
(1881–1947)
Labor 16 December 1922
15 September 1934
Lost seat. Son was Jock Nelson
  AdairBlain1.jpg Adair Blain
(1894–1983)
Independent 15 September 1934
10 December 1949
Lost seat
  JockNelson1959.jpg Jock Nelson
(1908–1991)
Labor 10 December 1949
31 October 1966
Retired. Last member of the House of Representatives to be elected unopposed, in 1963. Father was H. G. Nelson
  Sam Calder 1971.jpg Sam Calder
(1916–2008)
Country 26 November 1966
20 July 1974
Retired
  Country Liberal 20 July 1974 –
19 September 1980
  Grant Tambling.jpg Grant Tambling
(1943–)
18 October 1980
5 March 1983
Previously held the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly seat of Fannie Bay. Lost seat. Later elected to the Senate in 1987
  John Reeves.jpg John Reeves
(1952–)
Labor 5 March 1983
1 December 1984
Lost seat
  Paul Everingham.jpg Paul Everingham
(1943–)
Country Liberal 1 December 1984
5 June 1987
Previously held the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly seat of Jingili. Previously served as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 1978 to 1984. Retired
  Warren Snowdon MP 2011.jpg Warren Snowdon
(1950–)
Labor 11 July 1987
2 March 1996
Lost seat
  Nick Dondas MLA.jpg Nick Dondas
(1939–2024)
Country Liberal 2 March 1996
3 October 1998
Previously held the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly seat of Casuarina. Lost seat
  Warren Snowdon MP 2011.jpg Warren Snowdon
(1950–)
Labor 3 October 1998
8 October 2001
Transferred to the Division of Lingiari after Northern Territory was abolished in 2001

Election results

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Australian federal election</span> Election for the 40th Parliament of Australia

The 2001 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 10 November 2001. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and coalition partner the National Party of Australia led by John Anderson defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Kim Beazley. As of 2024, this was the most recent election to feature a rematch of both major party leaders. Future Opposition Leader Peter Dutton entered parliament at this election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Territory Legislative Assembly</span> Unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory, Australia

The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member electorates for four-year terms. The voting method for the Assembly is the full-preferential voting system, having previously been optional preferential voting. Elections are on the fourth Saturday in August of the fourth year after the previous election, but can be earlier in the event of a no-confidence vote in the government. The most recent election for the Legislative Assembly was the 2024 election held on 24 August. The next election is scheduled for 26 August 2028.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district (Canada)</span> Federal or provincial electoral district in Canada

An electoral district in Canada is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based. It is officially known in Canadian French as a circonscription but frequently called a comté (county). In Canadian English it is also colloquially and more commonly known as a riding or constituency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Electoral Commission</span> Agency responsible for federal elections in Australia

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory authority and agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management of federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums.

Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory and for local government councils. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, although there are minor variations between them. The elections for the Australian Parliament are held under the federal electoral system, which is uniform throughout the country, and the elections for state and territory Parliaments are held under the electoral system of each state and territory. An election day is always a Saturday, but early voting is allowed in the lead-up to it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electorates of the Australian House of Representatives</span> Federal electorates in Australia

Electorates of the Australian House of Representatives are single member electoral districts for the lower house of the Parliament of the Commonwealth. There are currently 151 electorates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Lingiari</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Lingiari is an Australian electoral division in the Northern Territory that covers the entirety of the territory outside of the Division of Solomon, which covers Darwin and surrounding areas. The division also includes the territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

The Northern Territory Legislative Assembly is made up of 25 single-member electoral divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One man, one vote</span> Political slogan

"One man, one vote" or "one vote, one value" is a slogan used to advocate for the principle of equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of democracy and political equality, especially with regard to electoral reforms like universal suffrage, direct elections, and proportional representation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Solomon</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Solomon is an Australian Electoral Division in the Northern Territory. It is largely coextensive with the Darwin/Palmerston metropolitan area. The only other division in the territory, the Division of Lingiari, covers the remainder of the territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NT Greens</span> Political party in Australia

The Northern Territory Greens are a green party in the Northern Territory, a member of the federation of the Australian Greens party. The party currently has one representative in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, having won the seat of Nightcliff in 2024.

The history of the Northern Territory began over 60,000 years ago when Indigenous Australians settled the region. Makassan traders began trading with the indigenous people of the Northern Territory for trepang from at least the 18th century onwards.

The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 is an Act of the Australian Parliament which continues to be the core legislation governing the conduct of elections in Australia, having been amended on numerous occasions since 1918. The Act was introduced by the Nationalist Party of Billy Hughes, the main purpose of which was to replace first-past-the-post voting with instant-runoff voting for the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Labor Party opposed the introduction of preferential voting. The Act has been amended on several occasions since.

In Australia, a redistribution is the process of redrawing the boundaries of electoral divisions for the House of Representatives arising from changes in population and changes in the number of representatives. There is no redistribution for the Senate as each State constitutes a division, though with multiple members. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), an independent statutory authority, oversees the apportionment and redistribution process for federal divisions, taking into account a number of factors. Politicians, political parties and the public may make submissions to the AEC on proposed new boundaries, but any interference with their deliberations is considered a serious offence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court of Disputed Returns (Australia)</span> Special electoral jurisdiction of the High Court of Australia

The Court of Disputed Returns is a special jurisdiction of the High Court of Australia. The High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, hears challenges regarding the validity of federal elections. The jurisdiction is twofold: (1) on a petition to the Court by an individual with a relevant interest or by the Australian Electoral Commission, or (2) on a reference by either house of the Commonwealth Parliament. This jurisdiction was initially established by Part XVI of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902 and is now contained in Part XXII of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Challenges regarding the validity of state elections are heard by the supreme court of that state, sitting as that state's court of disputed returns.

The Electoral district of Northern Territory was an electoral district of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1890 to 1911. The electorate encompassed all of what is the Northern Territory when the Territory was included as part of South Australia for political purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darwin rebellion</span> 1918 Australian labour unrest

The Darwin rebellion of 17 December 1918 was the culmination of unrest in the Australian Workers' Union which had existed between 1911 and early 1919. Led by Harold Nelson, over 1,000 demonstrators marched on Government House at Liberty Square in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia where they burnt an effigy of the Administrator of the Northern Territory, John Gilruth, and demanded his resignation.

Suffrage in Australia is the voting rights in the Commonwealth of Australia, its six component states and territories, and local governments. The colonies of Australia began to grant universal male suffrage from 1856, with women's suffrage on equal terms following between the 1890s and 1900s. Some jurisdictions introduced racial restrictions on voting from 1885, and by 1902 most Australian residents who were not of European descent were explicitly or effectively excluded from voting and standing for office, including at the Federal level. Such restrictions had been removed by 1966. Today, the right to vote at all levels of government is held by citizens of Australia over the age of 18 years, excluding some prisoners and people "of unsound mind".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Australian federal election</span> Election for the 46th Parliament of Australia

The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 18 May 2019 to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolution federal election. All 151 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 of the 76 seats in the Senate were up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2025 Australian federal election</span> Election for the 48th Parliament of Australia

The 2025 Australian federal election will be held on or before 17 May 2025, or be held on or before 27 September 2025 to elect members of the 48th Parliament of Australia. 150 seats in the House of Representatives and likely 40 of the 76 seats in the Senate will be contested. It is expected that at this election, the Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be seeking re-election to a second term in office, opposed by the Liberal/National Coalition under Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton.

References

  1. National Archives of Australia: Population censuses in the Northern Territory
  2. 1 2 Documenting a Democracy: Northern Territory Representation Act 1922 (Cth)
  3. House of Representatives Committees, House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Parliament of Australia, 2010
  4. Christmas Island Annual Report, Australia. Department of Territories, 1988, page 4
  5. Year Book Australia, No. 71, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1988, page 926
  6. Australian Electoral Commission, Dates of Redistributions since 1901

20°0′S133°0′E / 20.000°S 133.000°E / -20.000; 133.000