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- The Territory Government produced a document in 1986 entitled Northern Territory Constitutional Disadvantages – Overview. Most of the content of that document remains current. The document is available from the Statehood Steering Committee.
- Some points from that document have been selected to illustrate the types of things that people can take for granted if they live in a State.
- The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution refers to ‘The States’ throughout the document. The guarantees for the States do not apply to the Northern Territory.
- Significant examples include the requirement the Commonwealth may not discriminate between the States: the Commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade, commerce, or revenue, give preference to one State or any part thereof over another State or any part thereof (S.99).
- The Commonwealth Parliament has the right to make laws regarding taxation but those laws cannot discriminate between States or parts of States (S51 (ii)) Nothing about the Territory in there.
- Trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States, must also be absolutely free. (S91) No mention of Territory here either!
- These are just a few of the important references to the Commonwealth and the States in the Constitution that excludes the Territory and Territorians by the very fact the Northern Territory is not a State.
- The Commonwealth has no power to acquire land in States except for Commonwealth purposes on just terms, whereas Territory land can be used by the Commonwealth as they wish and acquired on the terms they see fit.
- The Northern Territory has no guarantee of Federal representation at all unlike the States which have guaranteed minimums.
- There is no constitutional recognition of the existence of our Supreme Court. Territory residents in disputes with State residents cannot use the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court that State residents in dispute with other State residents can.
- Uranium deposits remain the property of the Commonwealth, whereas States own their own uranium.
- The Territory has no direct control over Industrial Laws, National Parks or Land Rights legislation as the States have.
- These issues have the potential to impact upon Territorians and will remain until they are addressed through an eventual grant of Statehood.
Northern Territory Statehood Steering Committee
statehood@nt.gov.au
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