| Northern Territory Parliament | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Unicameral |
| Houses | Legislative Assembly |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker | Jane Aagaard, Labor Party since 29 June 2005 |
| Members | 25 |
| Meeting place | |
| Parliament House, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | |
| Website | |
| www.nt.gov.au/lant | |
The Northern Territory Parliament consists of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and the Monarch represented by the Administrator of the Northern Territory. It is one of the three territory unicameral parliaments in the country, the upper house, the Legislative Council, was replaced by the Legislative Assembly in 1974. The Legislative Assembly sits in Parliament House in the territory capital, Darwin.
The leader of the party or coalition with the most seats in the Legislative Assembly is invited by the Administrator of the Northern Territory to form government. The head of the government is the Chief Minister.
From 1911 to 1947 the laws of the Northern Territory were made by the Commonwealth Government.
In 1947 the Northern Territory (Administration) Act was amended to provide for a territory legislature. The first Legislative Council for the Northern Territory was created in Darwin in March 1948. It consisted of seven official members appointed by the Governor-General, six elected members and the Administrator as President of the Council.
In 1974 the Legislative Council was replaced by a fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly with nineteen members.
From 1974 until 2001, the Assembly was controlled by the conservative Country Liberal Party, which is affiliated with the federal Liberal-National coalition. However, in 2001, the Australian Labor Party won government for the first time on a one-seat majority, with Clare Martin becoming the Territory's first Labor and first female Chief Minister. The Martin-led ALP won 19 seats to the CLP's 4 in 2005, however Martin resigned in 2007. Paul Henderson became leader of the ALP, and retained government with another one-seat majority in 2008.
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