In May of 1995, the Northern Territory Government passed a new law
that would send shockwaves through Australia's political landscape.
They had just legalised euthanasia or voluntary assisted
dying, making the Northern Territory the first state or territory in Australia
to do so.
It was a big deal at the time, but not everyone was happy.
After 18 months of controversy in the Northern Territory,
the euthanasia debate arrived in Federal Parliament.
The Commonwealth Government, that's the Federal Government,
were not fans of this new euthanasia law and they wanted to get rid of it,
which, as it turns out, is a surprisingly easy thing for the Commonwealth to do.
Thanks to a little thing called Section 122
of the Constitution.
Section 122 is a nice short paragraph
some light reading you could do over breakfast.
Let's focus on that first bit.
The Parliament may make laws for the government of any territory
surrounded by any state to an accepted by the Commonwealth.
And you know what the Northern Territory is?
It's a territory that was once surrendered by state.
Okay.
Look at this map.
These are the six states of Australia.
But if you look at this map from Federation,
these were the six states of Australia. Yep.
The Northern Territory was once part of South Australia, but not for long.
By 1911,
the South Australian Government decided it wanted nothing to do with the Top End.
So a border line was drawn
and the Northern Territory was surrendered
to the Commonwealth.
Were the Commonwealth kind of, like, adopted it
and it was directly governed by it until the 1st of July 1978.
The Northern Territory Self-Government Act was passed,
meaning the Northern Territory could now govern itself.
But this didn't turn it into a state.
It did give the Northern Territory its own legislative assembly,
meaning that in most cases it could now make its own decisions on things
just like a state government would.
You are embarking on one of the noblest adventures open to any people
democratic self-government.
But because of section 122, the Commonwealth could always step in
and take the reins if it ever felt like things were getting out of control.
And that happened in 1995
with the passing of the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act.
The Rights of the Terminally Ill Act
is operational in the Northern Territory from July the first.
It was a huge deal and quite controversial both locally and nationally.
It didn't take long for the Commonwealth to realise
it did not like these new euthanasia laws, so it vetoed the new law.
And remember, the Commonwealth is totally allowed
to just do that because of Section 122.
To start with,
the Northern Territory is not a state, it’s a territory and the law well--
- Doesn't it have the same rights as say West Aus-- -No, no,
it does not, because the law that established
self-government for the Northern Territory expressly reserved
to the Commonwealth Parliament the right to overrule a Territory law.
While it was there, it also made an amendment
to the Northern Territory Self-Government Act,
removing the NT's power to make laws about euthanasia ever again.
Voluntary euthanasia is no longer legal in the Northern Territory.
Don't do this. You breach all the rules in the book.
You breach all the conventions of the Westminster system.
Obviously, some people in the Northern Territory
government were a bit miffed and they wanted to look at ways
the NT could get more powers equal to that of the states.
And the most obvious way of doing that was to join them and become a state.
The Northern Territory is to become the seventh state of Australia.
In 1998, the Prime Minister,
John Howard, announced a referendum for Territorians to decide whether or not
the Northern Territory should become a state.
It would also ensure that we have the legislative base
to legislate for ourselves in an unrestricted way.
But while it was a tight one, it was a no vote of 51.3%,
according to an inquiry carried out by the Northern Territory
Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee.
People felt like they hadn't been enough consultation
and many didn't feel like they understood enough about the idea of statehood.
Vote No for the statehood.
On the 3rd of October.
Aboriginal people also expressed concerns that it might affect their land
rights due to a lack of trust of the anti-government.
There was an overwhelming vote for yes in the city, in the towns.
We got there by a clear majority.
We missed out in the Aboriginal communities, and there's reasons for that.
So there we go.
That's why the Northern Territory is not a state.
But back to those euthanasia laws for a minute.
In December of 2022 the Restoring Territory Rights Bill
made its way through Federal Parliament.
Its purpose was to get rid of that amendment
from the Northern Territory Self-Government Act
so that it could make laws, specifically about euthanasia, again.
By the way, the ACT is lumped into this too,
because even though it hasn't had as much to do
with the whole debate, it's still a territory as well.
But while the territories are now legally granted the ability
to make euthanasia laws once again, one thing still exists.
Section 122 of the Constitution. That's not going anywhere.
And for as long as the Northern Territory stays a territory,
the Commonwealth Government could always just do this again.