Page 2922 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 15 August 1990
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Senator McMullan, to his credit, acknowledges this, and to his credit he acknowledged this on ABC radio this morning. My clear impression is that the Federal ministry would prefer the Territory to determine its own evolution and management subject, of course, to the statutory enjoinder in the self-government Act which would allow the Governor-General to dismiss the Assembly if, in the opinion of the Governor-General, the Assembly was either incapable of effectively performing its functions or was conducting its affairs in a grossly improper manner. In my view, and subject to these limitations, neither the Federal Parliament nor the Federal Ministers should impede the outcome of the democratic vote of this Assembly. To do otherwise is to deny self-government to the Territory.
Although procedurally Mrs Kelly should be the sponsoring Minister for the regulation made in accordance with the democratic request of this Assembly, I am advised that the approval process for regulations is that the regulation is made by the Governor-General in Council. The Federal Executive Council may comprise as few as two Federal Ministers and clearly may well include Mrs Kelly. The regulations would be notified in the Commonwealth Gazette. They would probably come into effect on notification but a later date could be set. Once notified, they may be laid before both houses of the Federal Parliament for 15 sitting days. In the absence of any contrary commencement date the regulation will have immediate effect pending any disallowance. By way of illustration, I will point up the Northern Territory position.
The Northern Territory Administrator determines the number and designation of Northern Territory Ministers. We do not have, in the ACT, an administrator or a viceregal personage. In the Northern Territory the Administrator does so on the advice of the Northern Territory Chief Minister. The Northern Territory legislation contains no provisions that are comparable to the ACT sections 40 and 41 of our self-government Act.
There are nine Ministers in the Northern Territory. Their Assembly has 25 members. The population of the Northern Territory was 156,147 at the last report. Tasmania has 54 upper and lower house parliamentary members and 14 Ministers. Tasmania has a population of 450,956.
This motion invokes the clear anticipation in the Act that the Assembly can resolve to expand its ministry. The Act otherwise anticipates that decisions and resolutions of this nature are cast by the majority representing the will of Territory residents. The challenge for the Opposition today is to recognise the need for there to be a further distribution of workload in our hard-pressed ministry. I am aware that self-government is still finding acceptance and that, combined with the road to economic security, means that there will be sectors of the community unhappy about notions of fiscal constraint. There will also be oppositions that do not understand fiscal restraint and
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