Administrator of the Northern Territory

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Administrator of the
Northern Territory
Badge of the Administrator
since 2 February 2023
Office of the Administrator
StyleHis Honour the Honourable
ResidenceGovernment House, Darwin,
SeatDarwin
AppointerGovernor-General
on the advice of the Commonwealth Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, following consultation with the Northern Territory Chief Minister
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
(usually 5 years by convention)
Formation12 June 1931
First holderJohn A. Gilruth
Websitegovhouse.nt.gov.au

The administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the governor-general of Australia to represent the Crown in right of the Northern Territory.[1][a] They perform functions similar to those of a state governor.

Strictly speaking, the appointment of an administrator is made by the governor-general in Council, that is, the governor-general acting on the advice of the Australian government, rather than the advice of the government of the Northern Territory.[4] However, ministers have described the process as being based on "advice from the Australian and Northern Territory governments".[5]

Unlike an Australian state governor, the administrator is not the direct representative of the King in the Territory but is instead appointed by the King's representative in Australia, the governor-general, to administer the Territory in accordance with the Act. In practice, however, the administrator performs a similar constitutional role to that of a state governor.

The administrator formally appoints the chief minister of the Northern Territory and the members of the Cabinet after every election. In all but a few cases, they are required by convention to act on the Cabinet's advice. The Administrator gives royal assent to all bills passed by the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. Although the Governor-General (in practice, the Commonwealth Government) has the power to veto any territorial bill, in practice this right is almost never exercised.

The office of the deputy of the administrator was created in 1997.

In 2014, the governor-general granted current, future and living former administrators the title of The Honourable for life,[6] following the lead of Governors-General and Governors of New South Wales in granting the title.[citation needed]

The present administrator is Hugh Heggie.

Crest of administrator

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The crest of Administrator of the Northern Territory which is similar to the one used by the Governor-General of Australia except that the flower below the Crown is the Sturt Desert Rose, the floral emblem of the Northern Territory.

South Australia (1863 to 1912)

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On 6 July 1863, land now known as the Northern Territory was annexed to the Colony of South Australia. Legislation regulating the sale of land in the Northern Territory which was given assent on 12 November 1863 included provision for both the appointment of a Government Resident and a description of the powers of this office.[7]

No. Government Resident From To
1 The Hon. Boyle Travers Finniss 3 March 1864[8] 4 November 1865[9]
(acting) James Stokes Millner MD January 1870 April 1870
2 William Bloomfield Douglas 27 April 1870 June 1873[10]
(acting) James Stokes Millner MD June 1873[11] October 1873
3 George Byng Scott 6 October 1873 30 June 1876[12]
4 Edward William Price 1 July 1876 6 March 1883[13]
(acting) Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn March 1883[14] March 1884
5 John Parsons 19 March 1884 14 February 1890[15]
6 John Knight FRIBA 16 July 1890 10 January 1892[16]
7 Charles James Dashwood 24 February 1892 31 January 1905[17]
8 Charles Edward Herbert 1 February 1905 8 February 1910[18]
9 The Hon. Samuel Mitchell 1 April 1910 25 March 1912

Commonwealth of Australia (1912 to present)

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Administrators and Government Residents of the Northern Territory after transfer of control to the Commonwealth Government:

Administrator (1912 to 1919)

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From left: Minister Josiah Thomas, Sir Walter Barttelot and Administrator John Gilruth in 1912.
No. Administrator From To
1 John Gilruth FRSE MRCVS 25 March 1912 1 August 1919

Director (1919 to 1921)

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No. Director From To
1 Henry Ernest Carey 1 August 1919 17 January 1921

Administrator (1921 to 1927)

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No. Administrator From To
1 Frederic Urquhart 17 January 1921 1 March 1927

Government Resident (1927 to 1931)

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From 1926 to 1931, the Northern Territory was divided into the territories of Central Australia and North Australia, with the border at the 20th parallel south. Each territory was administered by a Government Resident located respectively in Alice Springs (then known as Stuart) and in Darwin. Both territories were reincorporated as the Northern Territory in 1931.[19][20]

No. Government Resident (North Australia) From To
1 Robert Weddell 1 March 1927 12 June 1931
No. Government Resident (Central Australia) From To
1 John Cawood 1 March 1927 11 December 1929
2 Victor Carrington MBE 11 December 1929 12 June 1931

Administrator (1931 to present)

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No. Administrator Post-
Nominal 		From To
1 Robert Weddell 12 June 1931 29 March 1937
2 The Hon. Aubrey Abbott 29 March 1937 1 July 1946
3 Arthur Driver BEM 1 July 1946 1 July 1951
4 The Hon. Frank Wise 1 July 1951 1 July 1956
5 James Archer OBE 1 July 1956 1 April 1961
6 Roger Nott 1 April 1961 1 October 1964
7 Roger Dean CBE 1 October 1964 4 March 1970
8 The Hon. Frederick Chaney CBE AFC 4 March 1970 10 December 1973
9 Jock Nelson 10 December 1973 12 November 1975
10 John England CMG 1 June 1978 1 January 1981
11 Commodore Eric Johnston AO OBE RAN 1 January 1981 1 July 1989
12 The Hon. James Muirhead AC QC 1 July 1989 1 March 1993
13 The Hon. Austin Asche AC QC 1 March 1993 17 February 1997
14 The Hon. Dr. Neil Conn AO 17 February 1997 28 November 2000
15 The Hon. John Anictomatis AO 28 November 2000 30 October 2003
16 The Hon. Ted Egan AO 31 October 2003 31 October 2007
17 The Hon. Tom Pauling AO QC 31 October 2007 31 October 2011
18 The Hon. Sally Thomas AC 31 October 2011 10 November 2014
19 The Hon. John Hardy AO 10 November 2014 30 October 2017
20 The Hon. Vicki O'Halloran AO, CVO 31 October 2017 30 January 2023
21 The Hon. Hugh Heggie AO, PSM 2 February 2023 Present

Deputy of the Administrator (1997 to present)

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The office of the Deputy of the Administrator was established in 1997.

No. Deputy of the Administrator From To
1 Minna Sitzler AM[21] 17 February 1997 30 November 2001
2 Pat Miller AO[22] 20 September 2002
3 Fran Kilgariff AM 15 February 2024 present

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Administrators of the Northern Territory.

Notes

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  1. ^ The term The Crown is ambiguous. Relevantly here, the Crown may refer to the body politic, or the sovereign and the capacity in which they act. In the first sense, the Northern Territory was established "as a body politic under the Crown".[2] In the second sense however, there is no legally distinct "Crown in right of the Northern Territory" from the federal Crown of Australia as the administrator's authority (as advised by Territory ministers) is derived from the Self Government Act (an act of the Commonwealth Parliament). This differs from the state governors, who represent directly the authority of the Crown, whose powers may be exercised according to the Australian Constitution. Academic Anne Twomey, in discussing the ambiguity notes that in Australia "the number of Crowns, in the sense of executive governments, may be different from the number of Crowns, in the sense of bodies politic, which in turn may be different from the number of Crowns the monarch might bear with respect to Australia."[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Role of the Administrator". Government House Northern Territory. 22 September 2023.
  2. ^ Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 (Cth) s 5.
  3. ^ Twomey, Anne (2008). "Responsible government and the divisibility of the Crown". Public Law (Winter): 748–50. ISSN 0033-3565 – via Westlaw UK.
  4. ^ "Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 - SECT 32 Office of Administrator". Australian Government. Retrieved 22 May 2019 – via Austlii.
  5. ^ "Dr Hugh Heggie PSM Appointed as Northern Territory Administrator" (Press release). Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories. 8 December 2022.
  6. ^ Baker, Karen (30 July 2014). "Title Honourable for Administrators of the Northern Territory". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  7. ^ "The Northern Territory Act 1863 No. 23" (PDF). Government of South Australia. 12 November 1863. pp. 275 and 278–279. Retrieved 18 May 2019. appoint an officer to be resident in the said territory, to be called the Government Resident, and all other necessary and proper officers for securing the order. and good government of the said territory
  8. ^ Ayers, Henry (10 March 1864). "Untitled announcement of the appointment of the Government Resident of the Northern Territory" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 184. Retrieved 18 May 2019. His Excellency has this day been pleased to appoint Boyle Travers Finniss, Esq., to be Government Resident in and for the New Territory recently annexed to this Province by Her Majesty's Royal Letters Patent, bearing date July 6th, 1863
  9. ^ "William Bloomfield Douglas" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  10. ^ "William Bloomfield Douglas" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  11. ^ "The Ministry have accepted the resignation ..." The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889). Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 9 June 1873. p. 2. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  12. ^ "George Byng Scott" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  13. ^ "Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  14. ^ "Appointment". Northern Territory Times and Gazette (Darwin, NT : 1873 - 1927). Darwin, NT: National Library of Australia. 31 March 1883. p. 1. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  15. ^ "John Langdon Parsons" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  16. ^ "John George Knight" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  17. ^ "Charles James Dashwood" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  18. ^ "Charles Edward Herbert" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  19. ^ Ling, Ted. "Dividing the Territory, 1926–31". Commonwealth Government Records about the Northern Territory. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  20. ^ "Biography: Previous Incumbents - Victor George Carrington" (PDF). Government House Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  21. ^ "Appointment as Companions of the University, Minna Lydia Ruth Sitzler and Paul Otto Sitzler" (PDF). Charles Darwin University. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Dr Patricia Miller AO". Centre for Remote Health. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
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