Northern Territory

Northern Territory
Flag of Northern Territory Coat of Arms of Northern Territory
Flag Coat of Arms
Slogan or Nickname: The Territory, The NT, The Top End
Motto(s): none
Map of Australia with Northern Territory highlighted
Other Australian states and territories
Capital Darwin
Government Constitutional monarchy
Administrator Tom Pauling
Chief Minister Paul Henderson (ALP)
Federal representation
 - House seats 2
 - Senate seats 2
Gross Territorial Product (2006-07)
 - Product ($m)  $13,405[1] (8th)
 - Product per capita  $63,548 (1st)
Population (June 2008)
 - Population  219,948 (8th)
 - Density  0.16/km² (8th)
0.4 /sq mi
Area  
 - Total  1,420,970 km² (3rd)
548,640 sq mi
 - Land 1,349,129 km²
520,902 sq mi
 - Water 71,839 km² (5.06%)
27,737 sq mi
Elevation  
 - Highest Mount Zeil
+1,531 m (5,023 ft)
 - Lowest Sea Level
Time zone UTC+9:30 (No DST)
Abbreviations  
 - Postal NT
 - ISO 3166-2 AU-NT
Emblems  
 - Floral Sturt's Desert Rose
 - Colours Black, white, and ochre
 - Bird Wedge-tailed Eagle
 - Animal Red Kangaroo
Web site www.nt.gov.au

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory is bordered by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Despite its large area — over 1,349,129 square kilometres (520,902 sq mi), making it the third largest Australian federal division — it is sparsely populated. With a population of 219,948[2] it is the least populous division in the country.

The history of the Northern Territory began over 40,000 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, and very likely for 300 years prior to that, while the coast of the territory was first seen by Europeans in the 17th century. The British were the first to attempt to settle the coastal regions in the 19th century; however no attempt was successful until the establishment of a settlement at Port Darwin in 1869. Today the economy is based on tourism, especially Kakadu National Park in the Top End and the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Ayers Rock) in central Australia, and mining.

The capital city is Darwin. The population is not concentrated in coastal regions but rather along the Stuart Highway. The other major settlements are Katherine, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy in the territory's north-east.

Residents of the Northern Territory are often known simply as 'Territorians'.

Contents

History

Main article: History of the Northern Territory

Indigenous Australians have lived in the present area of the Northern Territory for an estimated 40,000 years, and extensive seasonal trade links existed between them and the peoples of what is now Indonesia for at least five centuries.

With the coming of the British, there were four early attempts to settle the harsh environment of the northern coast, of which three failed in starvation and despair. The Northern Territory was part of New South Wales from 1825 to 1863, except for a brief time from February to December 1846, when it was part of the short lived colony of North Australia. It was part of South Australia from 1863 to 1911. Under the administration of South Australia, the overland telegraph was constructed between 1870 and 1872. A railway was also built between Palmerston and Pine Creek between 1883 and 1889. The economic pattern of cattle raising and mining was established so that by 1911 there were 513,000 cattle. Victoria River Downs was at one time the largest cattle station in the world. Gold was found at Grove Hill in 1872 and at Pine Creek, Brocks Creek, Burrundi, and copper was found at Daly River.

Letters Patent annexing the Northern Territory to South Australia, 1863

On 1 January 1911, a decade after federation, the Northern Territory was separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control. Alfred Deakin opined at this time "To me the question has been not so much commercial as national, first, second, third and last. Either we must accomplish the peopling of the northern territory or submit to its transfer to some other nation."

For a brief time between 1927 and 1931 the Northern Territory was divided into North Australia and Central Australia at the 20th parallel of South latitude. Soon after this time, parts of the Northern Territory were considered in the "Kimberley Scheme" as a possible site for the establishment of a Jewish Homeland, understandably considered the "Unpromised Land".

During World War II, most of the Top End was placed under military government. This is the only time since Federation that an Australian state or territory has been under military control. After the war, control for the entire area was handed back to the Commonwealth.

Indigenous Australians had struggled for rights to fair wages and land. An important event in this struggle was the strike and walk off by the Gurindji people at Wave Hill Cattle Station in 1966. The Commonwealth Government of Gough Whitlam set up the Woodward Royal Commission in February 1973 set to inquire into how land rights might be achieved in the Northern Territory. Justice Woodward's first report in July 1973 recommended that a Central Land Council and a Northern Land Council be established in order to present to him the views of Aboriginal people. In response to the report of the Royal Commission a Land Rights Bill was drafted, but the Whitlam Government was dismissed before it was passed.

The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was eventually passed by the Fraser Government on 16 December 1976 and began operation on the following Australia Day (26 January 1977).

In 1978 the Territory was granted responsible government, with a Legislative Assembly headed by a Chief Minister.

During 1996 the Northern Territory was briefly one of the few places in the world with legal voluntary euthanasia, until the Federal Parliament overturned the legislation.[3] Before the overriding legislation was enacted, three people committed suicide through voluntary euthanasia, a practice orchestrated by Dr. Philip Nitschke.

Government

The legislative assembly building in Darwin.
Main article: Government of the Northern Territory

The Territory has a legislative assembly. Whilst this assembly exercises similar powers as the governments of the states of Australia, it does so by legislated delegation of powers from the commonwealth government, rather than by any constitutional right.

For several years there has been agitation for full statehood. A referendum was held on the issue in 1998, which was resolved in the negative. This was a shock to both the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments, for opinion polls showed most Territorians supported statehood. However, 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 votes in New South Wales or 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.[4]

The current head of government is Chief Minister Paul Henderson, who replaced Claire Martin on 26 November 2007. The Leader of the Opposition was Denis Burke, head of the Country Liberal Party, until the Territory elections of June 2005, where Burke lost his seat. The party then chose Terry Mills as the new Opposition Leader. Subsequently, Jodeen Carney took over for a time. In January 2008, Terry Mills again became the Opposition Leader.

The Northern Territory is represented in the Commonwealth parliament by two Members in the House of Representatives, currently Warren Snowdon and Damian Hale for the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and two members in the Senate, currently Trish Crossin for the ALP and Nigel Scullion for the CLP.

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, all of whom were white. The Northern Territory was split into five electorates: Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Batchelor and Stuart.

The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of a self-governing territory, while the head of government of a state is a Premier. The Chief Minister is appointed by the Administrator of the Northern Territory, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whatever party holds the majority of seats in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. The current Chief Minister of the Northern Territory is Paul Henderson.

The Northern Territory received self-government on 1 July 1978 under its own Administrator of the Northern Territory appointed by the Governor-General of Australia. The Commonwealth government, not the Government of the Northern Territory, advises the governor-general on appointment of the Administrator, but by convention, consults first with the Territory Government. The current administrator, Tom Pauling, was sworn in on 9 November 2007.

The Northern Territory has 63 Local Government Areas; though only six councils are considered municipalities which include one shire, three towns and two cities. There are other types of local bodies.

Demographics

Northern Territory
population by year
1901 4,765
1956 19,556
1961 44,481
1974 102,924
1975 92,869
1981 122,616
1991 165,493
2002 199,411
2006 210,600
2011 236,300
2021 296,300
2031 364,000
2056 573,000
Source: Australian Bureau
of Statistics
Darwin skyline from East Point

The population of the Northern Territory in late 2006 was estimated at 212,600[5] This was an 1.8% increase from the 2001 Australian Bureau of Statistics report, and the population represents 1% of the total population of Australia. The estimated population of the Northern Territory at the end of March 2008 was 218,380. The population grew 2.2% which was the second largest growth in the country with Queensland after Western Australia which grew 2.4%.

The Northern Territory's population is the youngest in Australia and has the largest proportion under 15 years of age and the smallest proportion aged 65 and over. The median age of residents of the Northern Territory is 30.3 years, almost six years younger than the national median age. More than 100 nationalities are represented in the Northern Territory's population, including more than 50 organisations representing different ethnic groups.[6]

The Northern Territory's population comprises of people from many different ethnic backgrounds. The 2006 Census revealed the following places of birth for overseas migrants were Australian with 64,491 (30.6%), English with 44,662 (20.2%), Irish with 14,346 (6.8%), Scottish with 11,759 (5.6%), German with 7,729 (3.7%), Chinese with 4,081 (1.9%) and Italian with 3,308 (1.5%). Indigenous Australian people make up 31% of the Northern Territory's population and own some 49% of the land. The life expectancy of Aboriginal Australians is well below that of non-Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory, a fact that is mirrored elsewhere in Australia. ABS statistics suggest that Indigenous Australians die about 20 years earlier than the average Australian. There are Aboriginal communities in many parts of the territory, the largest ones being the Pitjantjatjara near Uluru, the Arrernte near Alice Springs, the Luritja between those two, the Warlpiri further north, and the Yolngu in eastern Arnhem Land.

In terms of birthplace, according to the 2006 census 13.8% of the population were born overseas.[7] 2.6% of Territorians were born in England, 1.7% in New Zealand, 1.0% in Philippines, 0.6% in the United States of America and 0.5% in East Timor.

More than 54% of Territorians live in Darwin, located in the territory's north (Top End). The greater Darwin metropolitan area and nearby Palmerston is home to 120,900 people. Less than half of the territory's population live in the rural Northern Territory.

Rank Statistical Division/District June 2007 Population[8]
1 Darwin 120,900
2 Palmerston 27,185
3 Alice Springs 26,486
4 Litchfield 17,358
5 Katherine 9,124
6 Nhulunbuy 4,112
7 Tennant Creek 3,427
8 Tiwi Islands 2,565
9 Thamarrurr 2,363
10 Coomalie 1,643

Religion

53.6% of Territorians describe themselves Christian. Roman Catholics form the single largest religious group in the territory with 20.3% of the Northern Territory's population, followed by Anglican (12.7%), Uniting Church (7.0%) and Lutheran (3.6%). Buddhism is the territory's largest non - christian religion (1.4%), followed by Islam (0.5%) and Hinduism (0.2%). around 21.9% of territorians claim no religion.[9]

Land Rights

Aboriginal rock art in Kakadu National Park

The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 established the basis upon which Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory could, for the first time, claim rights to land based on traditional occupation. In effect it allowed title to be transferred for most of the Aboriginal reserve lands and the opportunity to claim other land not owned, leased or being used by someone else.

The Land Councils are representative bodies with statutory authority under the Act. They also have responsibilities under the Native Title Act 1993 and the Pastoral Land Act 1992. There are four Land Councils in the Northern Territory, they are:

The Northern Territory Emergency Response provides for the Commonwealth Government to compulsorily acquire five year leases of townships currently held under the title provisions of the Native Title Act 1993 through with compensation on a basis other than just terms. (The number of settlements involved remains unclear.)

Education

Primary and secondary

A Northern Territory school education consists of six years of primary schooling, including one transition year, three years of middle schooling, and three years of secondary schooling. In the beginning of 2007, the Northern Territory introduced Middle School for Years 7-9 and High School for Years 10-12. Northern Territory children generally begin school at age five. On completing secondary school, students earn the Northern Territory Certificate of Education (NTCE). Students who successfully complete their secondary education also receive a tertiary entrance ranking, or ENTER score, to determine university admittance. An International Baccalaureate is offered at one school in the Territory - Kormilda College.

Northern Territory schools are either publicly or privately funded. Public schools, also known as state or government schools, are funded and run directly by the Department of Employment, Education and Training.[10] Private fee-paying schools include schools run by the Catholic Church and independent schools, some elite ones similar to English public schools. Some Northern Territory Independent schools are affiliated with Protestant, Lutheran, Anglican, Greek Orthodox or Seventh-day Adventist churches, but include non church schools and an Indigenous school.

As of 2007, the Northern Territory had 150 public schools, 15 Catholic schools and 20 independent schools. 33,000 students were enrolled in public schools, and 3,373 in private schools and 4,684 in catholic schools. The Northern Territory has about 4,000 full-time teachers.

Tertiary

Charles Darwin University

The Northern Territory has one university. Northern Territory University (now called Charles Darwin University) enrolled its first student in 1987.[11] Charles Darwin University had about 19,000 students enrolled: about 5500 higher education students and about 13500 VET students. The first tertiary institution in the territory was the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (established in mid 1960s).

Libraries

The Northern Territory State Library is the Territory's research and reference library. It is responsible for collecting and preserving the Northern Territory documentary heritage and making it available through a range of programs and services. Material in the collection includes books, newspapers, magazines, journals, manuscripts, maps, pictures, objects, sound and video recordings and databases.

Geography

Main article: Geography of the Northern Territory
Northern Territory towns, settlements and road network

There are many very small settlements scattered across the territory, but the larger population centres are located on the single paved road that links Darwin to southern Australia, the Stuart Highway, known to locals simply as "the track".

The Northern Territory is also home to two spectacular natural rock formations, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), which are sacred to the local Aboriginal peoples and which have become major tourist attractions.

In the northern part of the territory lies Kakadu National Park, which features breathtaking wetlands and native wildlife. To the north of that lies the Arafura Sea, and to the east lies Arnhem Land, whose regional centre is Maningrida on the Liverpool River delta. There is an extensive series of river systems in the Northern Territory. These rivers include: Alligator River, Daly River, Finke River, McArthur River, Roper River, Todd River and Victoria River.

National parks

Main article: protected areas of the Northern Territory (Australia)
Mount Sonder, the second highest mountain in the Northern Territory after nearby Mount Zeil, in West MacDonnell National Park
Nourlangie Rock in Kakadu National Park
Uluru, (Ayers Rock) one of the most well known images of the Northern Territory

Climate

Average monthly maximum
temperature in Northern Territory
Month Darwin Alice Springs
January 31.8 °C 36.3 °C
February 31.4 °C 35.1 °C
March 31.9 °C 32.7 °C
April 32.7 °C 28.2 °C
May 32.0 °C 23.0 °C
June 30.6 °C 19.8 °C
July 30.5 °C 19.7 °C
August 31.3 °C 22.6 °C
September 32.5 °C 27.1 °C
October 33.2 °C 30.9 °C
November 33.2 °C 33.7 °C
December 33.6 °C 35.4 °C
Source: Bureau of Meteorology

The Northern Territory has two distinctive climate zones.

The northern end, including Darwin, has a tropical climate with high humidity and two seasons, the wet (November to April) and dry season (May to October). During the dry season nearly every day is warm and sunny, and afternoon humidity averages around 30%. There is very little rainfall between May and September. In the coolest months of June and July, the daily minimum temperature may dip as low as 14°C, but very rarely lower, and frost has never been recorded. The wet season is associated with tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March (the southern hemisphere summer), when thunderstorms are common and afternoon relative humidity averages over 70% during the wettest months. On average more than 1,570 mm of rain falls in the north.

The central region is the desert centre of the country, which includes Alice Springs and Ayers Rock, and is semi-arid with little rain usually falling during the hottest months from October to March. Central Australia receives less than 250 mm of rain per year.

The highest maximum temperature recorded in the territory was 48.3 °C (118.9 °F) at Finke on 2 January 1960. The lowest minimum temperature was -7.5 °C (18.5 °F) at Alice Springs on 12 July 1976.[12]

Economy

The Northern Territory's economy is largely driven by mining, which is concentrated on energy producing minerals, petroleum and energy and contributes around $2.5 billion to the gross state product and employs over 4,600 people. Mining accounts for 26 per cent of the gross state product in 2006 - 2007 compared to just 7 per cent nationally.[13]

The economy has continued to grow during the 2005 - 2006 financial year from the past two fiancial years. Between 2003 and 2006 the gross state product had risen from $8,670 million to $11,476 million and increase of 32.4 per cent. During the three years to 2006 - 2007 the Northern Territory gross state product grew by an average annual rate of 5.5 per cent.[14] Gross state product per capita in the Northern Territory ($63,548) is also higher than the gross domestic product per capita for Australia ($45,021). This can be attributed to the recent mining and resources boom.

The Northern Territory's exports were up 19 per cent during 2005 - 2006. The largest contributer the the territories exports was: oil and gas (33.4 per cent), iron-ore (20. per cent), other manufactoring (5.9 per cent) and agriculture (4.9 per cent). Imports to the Northern Territory totalled $2,887.8 million which consisted of mainly machinery and equipment manufactoring (58.4 per cent) and petroleum, coal, chemical and associated product manufacturing (17.0 per cent).[15]

The Ranger Mine

The principal mining operations are bauxite at Gove Peninsula where the production is estimated to increase 52.1 per cent to $254 million in 2007-08. Manganese at Groote Eylandt, production is estimated to increase 10.5 per cent to $1.1 billion which will be helped by the newly developed mines include Bootu Creek and Frances Creek. Gold is estimated to increase 21.7 per cent to $482 million at the Union Reefs plant. Uranium at Ranger Uranium Mine.[16]

Tourism is one of the major industries on the Northern Territory. Iconic destinations such as Uluru and Kakadu make the Northern Territory a popular destination for domestic and international travellers. Diverse landscapes, spectacular waterfalls, wide open spaces, aboriginal culture, wild and untamed wildlife, all create a unique opportunity for the visitor to immerse themselves in the natural wonder that the Northern Territory offers. Images of Uluru (Ayers Rock) are recognised around the world ensuring that Tourism in the Northern Territory will remain a vital component of its future. In 2005-06, 1.38 million people visited the Northern Territory. They stayed for 9.2 million nights and spent over $1.5 billion.

The territory is well known for being promoted with the slogan "You'll Never Never Know if you Never Never Go". This was implemented as a result of the Kennedy Review in 1992.

Transport

The Ghan, which runs across the Territory from north to south, in Alice Springs.

The Northern Territory is the most sparsely populated state or territory in Australia. Despite its sparse population there is a network of sealed roads connecting the major population centres, the neighboring states, and some other centres such as Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. The Stuart Highway, known as "The Track", runs north to south, connecting Darwin and Alice Springs to Adelaide. Some of the sealed roads are single lane bitumen. Many unsealed (dirt) roads connect the more remote settlements.

The Adelaide-Darwin Railway, a new standard gauge railway, connects Adelaide via Alice Springs with Darwin, replacing earlier narrow gauge railways which only went north as far as Alice Springs.

The Northern Territory was one of the few remaining places in the world with no speed restrictions on public roads. Since 1 January 2007 a default speed limit of 110 km/h applies on roads outside of urban areas (Inside urban areas of 40, 50 or 60 km/h). Speeds of up to 130 km/h are permitted on some major highways, such as the Stuart Highway.[17]

As of June 2007 however road deaths were up 28.6% compared to the previous year. The road toll has also increased, by 35.7%.[18]

Darwin International Airport is the major domestic and international airport for the territory. Several smaller airports are also scattered throughout the Territory and are served by smaller airlines; including Alice Springs Airport, Ayers Rock Airport and Tennant Creek Airport.

Media

Print

The Northern Territory has only one daily tabloid newspaper, News Corporation's Northern Territory News, Centralian Advocate which is circulated around the Alice Springs region twice a week. Also published is one Sunday tabloid newspaper The Sunday Territorian. There are also 5 weekly Community Newspapers. The Northern Territory also receives the national daily, The Australian

Television

Metropolitan Darwin has had five broadcast television stations:

In addition, broadcasters operate digital multichannels:

Regional Northern Territory has a similar availability of stations. Imparja Television is produced from Alice Springs and is available throughout most of the Northern Territory. Produces weeknightly local news 6pm - 6:30pm.

Radio

Darwin has radio stations on both AM and FM frequencies. ABC stations include ABC NewsRadio (102.5FM), 105.7 ABC Darwin (8DDD 105.7FM), ABC Radio National (657AM), ABC Classic FM (107.3FM) and Triple J (103.3FM). The 2 commercial stations are: Mix 104.9 (8MIX), Hot 100 (8HOT)

The leading community stations are 104.1 Territory FM and Radio Larrakia (8KNB).

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Australian National Accounts: State Accounts, 2006-07
  2. ↑ ABS population estimates (June 2008)
  3. ↑ Federal Parliament NT Legislation, http://www.nt.gov.au/lant/parliament/committees/rotti/parldebate.shtml
  4. ↑ ABC Lateline Discussion [Current Affairs]. Australia: Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  5. ↑ "3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics, June 2007". Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007-12-04).
  6. ↑ "Our Different Cultures". Northern Territory Government (2007-06-14).
  7. ↑ "ABS NT Quick Stats". Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007-06-14).
  8. ↑ "3218.0 - Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2006-07". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
  9. ↑ Profiles&textversion=true&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=PLD&&collection=census&period=2006&producttype=Community Profiles&#Basic Community Profile 2006 Census Community Profile Series : Northern Territory
  10. ↑ Department of Employment, Education and Training, http://www.deet.nt.gov.au/education/
  11. ↑ Charles Darwin University Annual Report, http://www.cdu.edu.au/vc/annualreport.html
  12. ↑ World Extremes, http://members.iinet.net.au/~jacob/worldtp.html
  13. ↑ About Minerals and Energy Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources
  14. ↑ Northern Territory Budget
  15. ↑ "Northern Territory Economics". Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007-31-10). Retrieved on 2008-07-27.
  16. ↑ Northern Territory Budget Mining and energy
  17. ↑ "Speed limit introduced Northern Territory Introduces Speed Limits". CarAdvice.com.au (2006-11-04).
  18. ↑ "Monthly Bulletin", Road Deaths Australia (Australian Transport Safety Bureau): 2, 2007-06-12, ISSN 1449-1168, http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/2007/pdf/mrf062007.pdf 

References

External links