Editing Northern Territory (section)

==Governance==
{{main|Government of the Northern Territory}}
[[File:Darwin (AU), Parliament House -- 2019 -- 4336-8.jpg|thumb|The [[Parliament House, Darwin|Parliament House]] building in [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]]]]

===Parliament===
{{main|Northern Territory Parliament|Northern Territory Legislative Assembly|Proposed Northern Territory statehood}}
The Northern Territory Parliament is one of the three [[unicameralism|unicameral]] parliaments in the country. Based on the [[Westminster System]], it consists of the [[Northern Territory Legislative Assembly]] which was created in 1974, replacing the [[Northern Territory Legislative Council]]. It also produces the ''[[Northern Territory of Australia Government Gazette]]''.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974. The total enrolment for the 1947 election was 4,443. The Northern Territory was split into five electorates: Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Batchelor, and Stuart.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

While this assembly exercises powers similar to those of the parliaments of the states of Australia, it does so by legislated [[devolution]] of powers from the [[Australian Government|Commonwealth Government]], rather than by any constitutional right. As such, the Commonwealth Government retains the right to legislate for the territory, including the power to override legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly. The [[Monarchy of Australia|Monarch]] is represented by the [[Administrator of the Northern Territory]], who performs a role similar to that of a [[governors of the Australian states|state governor]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Twenty-five members of the Legislative Assembly are elected to four-year terms from single-member [[Electoral district|electorates]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government |first=Northern Territory |date=2017-06-16 |title=Members |url=https://parliament.nt.gov.au/members |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=parliament.nt.gov.au |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918023750/https://parliament.nt.gov.au/members |url-status=live }}</ref>

Numerous times since self government was granted there has been [[Proposed Northern Territory statehood|agitation for full statehood]] within the region.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-08-13 |title=The Northern Territory worked for decades to become a state. Could it ever happen? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-14/northern-territory-statehood-future/101292860 |access-date=2024-09-18 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918023749/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-14/northern-territory-statehood-future/101292860 |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[1998 Northern Territory referendum|referendum]] of voters in the Northern Territory was held on the issue in 1998, which resulted in a 'no' vote.<ref>{{Cite web |last=House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs |date=2007-05-01 |title=The long road to statehood: Report of the inquiry into the federal implications of statehood for the Northern Territory |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/house/committee/laca/ntstatehood/report/fullreport.pdf |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Parliament of Australia}}</ref> This was a shock to both the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments, as opinion polls showed most Territorians supported statehood. But under the Australian Constitution, the federal government may set the terms of entry to full statehood. The Northern Territory was offered three senators, rather than the twelve guaranteed to original states (because of the difference in populations, equal numbers of Senate seats would mean a Territorian's vote for a senator would have been worth more than 30 such votes in [[New South Wales]] or [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]]). Alongside what was cited as an arrogant approach adopted by then chief minister [[Shane Stone]], it is believed that most Territorians, regardless of their general views on statehood, were reluctant to adopt the particular offer that was made.<ref>{{cite video |title=ABC Lateline Discussion |url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s13445.htm |url-status=dead |medium=Current Affairs |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |location=Australia |date=15 October 1998 |access-date=10 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519013129/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s13445.htm |archive-date=19 May 2006}}</ref>

===Chief minister and cabinet===
The [[Chief Minister of the Northern Territory|chief minister]] is the head of government of a self-governing territory (the head of a state government is a ''[[premier]]''). The chief minister is appointed by the [[administrator of the Northern Territory|administrator]], who in normal circumstances appoints the leader of whichever party holds the majority of seats in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. The current chief minister is [[Lia Finocchiaro]] of the [[Country Liberal Party]]. The CLP defeated Territory Labor to win office on 24 August 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-08-26 |title='The important work has begun': NT chief minister-elect outlines new government's first steps |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-26/lia-finocchiaro-outlines-new-nt-governments-first-steps/104254328 |access-date=2024-09-18 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-08-24 |title=Who is Lia Finocchiaro, the woman who will become the NT's next chief minister? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-25/lia-finocchiaro-clp-leader-chief-minister-nt-election/104266424 |access-date=2024-09-18 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918023929/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-25/lia-finocchiaro-clp-leader-chief-minister-nt-election/104266424 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Boecker |first=Brianna |date=2024-08-26 |title=First female Country Liberal Party chief minister of the Northern Territory. Who is Lia Finocchiaro? |url=https://womensagenda.com.au/politics/local/first-female-country-liberal-party-chief-minister-of-the-northern-territory-who-is-lia-finocchiaro/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Women's Agenda |language=en-AU |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918023929/https://womensagenda.com.au/politics/local/first-female-country-liberal-party-chief-minister-of-the-northern-territory-who-is-lia-finocchiaro/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Administrator===
The Northern Territory became self-governing on 1 July 1978 under its own [[administrator of the Northern Territory|administrator]] appointed by the [[Governor-General of Australia]]. The federal government, not the NT government, advises the governor-general on the appointment of the administrator, but by convention consults first with the Territory government. The current administrator is [[Hugh Heggie]] who commenced his three-year term on 31 January 2023; he had previously served as the [[Chief Medical Officer (Australia)|Northern Territory’s Chief Health Officer]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=McBain |first=Kirsty |date=2022-12-08 |title=Media Release: Dr Hugh Heggie PSM Appointed as Northern Territory Administrator |url=https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/mcbain/media-release/dr-hugh-heggie-psm-appointed-northern-territory-administrator |access-date=2024-09-18 |archive-date=17 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241217055903/https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/mcbain/media-release/dr-hugh-heggie-psm-appointed-northern-territory-administrator |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Government |first=Northern Territory |date=2024-02-05 |title=About the Administrator |url=https://govhouse.nt.gov.au/the-administrator/about-the-administrator |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=govhouse.nt.gov.au |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918024550/https://govhouse.nt.gov.au/the-administrator/about-the-administrator |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Federal government===
[[File:Children wave Australian flags during an Anzac Day parade in Palmerston, Australia, April 25, 2013, as U.S. Marines with the 1st Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational 130425-M-AL626-014.jpg|thumb|right|Children wave Australian flags during an [[Anzac Day]] parade in Palmerston]]
The Northern Territory is represented in the [[Parliament of Australia|federal parliament]] by two members in the House of Representatives and two members in the Senate. As of May 2022, resulting from the [[2022 Australian federal election|2022 federal election]], [[Marion Scrymgour]] from the [[Australian Labor Party]] (ALP) in [[Division of Lingiari|Lingiari]] and [[Luke Gosling]] from the [[Australian Labor Party]] (ALP) in [[Division of Solomon|Solomon]] serve in the House of Representatives, and [[Malarndirri McCarthy]] from the ALP and [[Jacinta Nampijinpa Price]] from the [[Country Liberal Party]] serve in the Senate.

===Local government===
The Northern Territory is divided into [[Local government areas of the Northern Territory|seventeen local government areas]]: two cities, three municipalities, nine regions, and three shires.  Shire, city and town councils are responsible for functions delegated by the Northern Territory parliament, such as road infrastructure and waste management. Council revenue comes mostly from property taxes and government grants.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-07-10 |title=Find your council |url=https://nt.gov.au/community/local-councils-remote-communities-and-homelands/find-your-council |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Northern Territory Government |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918025244/https://nt.gov.au/community/local-councils-remote-communities-and-homelands/find-your-council |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Aboriginal land councils===
[[File:Australia Aboriginal Culture 011.jpg|thumb|Aboriginal Australians own about 49% of the Northern Territory's land]]
{{Further|Aboriginal land councils in the Northern Territory}}
[[Aboriginal land council]]s in the Northern Territory are groups of Aboriginal landowners, set up under the ''[[Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Aboriginal Land Rights Act |url=https://www.clc.org.au/the-alra/#:~:text=The%20Land%20Rights%20Act%20mandated,form%20a%20new%20land%20council. |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Central Land Council |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Aboriginal Land Rights Act |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-land-rights-act |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=National Museum of Australia |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918024900/https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-land-rights-act |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Political parties ===
The two historically dominant political parties in the Northern Territory are the conservative [[Country Liberal Party]] which governed the Territory from 1974 to 2001, from 2012 to 2016 and since 2024, and the social-democratic [[Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)|Australian Labor Party]] which governed the Territory from 2001 to 2012 and from 2016 to 2024. Minor parties that are also active in the NT include the [[Northern Territory Greens]], the [[Shooters and Fishers Party]] and various others. It is common for [[independent politician]]s to win elections.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The CLP's rule was once so tight, that a former minister once said the CLP had a "'rightful inheritance of being the party that runs this place'".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-09/nt-election-clp-seeking-return-after-two-terms-in-opposition/104185102 | title=After eight years in the political wilderness, the CLP hopes it can return to power in the NT | newspaper=ABC News | date=8 August 2024 | archive-date=26 August 2024 | access-date=27 August 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826124139/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-09/nt-election-clp-seeking-return-after-two-terms-in-opposition/104185102 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/462324/0/89 | title=Arcadian populism. The Country Liberal Party and Self-Government in the Northern Territory | access-date=27 August 2024 | archive-date=27 August 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827092455/https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/462324/0/89 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[2024 Northern Territory general election]] saw the [[NT Greens]] win a seat in the Legislative Assembly, with [[Kat McNamara]] defeating former Chief Minister [[Natasha Fyles]] in the seat of [[Electoral division of Nightcliff|Nightcliff]]; this marked the first time the Greens entered the Legislative Assembly in the history of the Northern Territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tallyroom.com.au/56505|title=Greens win Nightcliff from third place|author=Ben Raue|work=The Tally Room|date=4 September 2024 }}</ref> 

As fewer parties and candidates contest Northern Territory general elections than they do Australian federal elections in the Northern Territory, the CLP, Labor and independents usually have a higher vote share at territory elections than at federal elections in the Northern Territory due to the absence of right-wing minor parties such as [[Pauline Hanson's One Nation]] and the fact that the Greens do not run in every seat at territory elections.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}