Bid to give territories more federal senators sparks debate in the NT

As the commonwealth floats giving the NT more senators, punters on the street have shared their views on the issue – including some surprise calls to make the Territory a state.

The Territory could have more senators as soon as the next federal election in 2025, as part of a new commitment to increase our political representation.

The national Labor Party agreed to addressing the “historic proportional under-representation” of the NT and the ACT at its national conference over the weekend, with a commitment to give each jurisdiction more senators.

The territories currently have two senators each while Australian states have 12, meaning Tasmania has six times the representation in the upper house compared to the NT but only double its population.

Solomon MP Luke Gosling said he would like to see the NT get as many senators as possible but thought six in total would be ideal. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Solomon MP Luke Gosling said while he would like to see “as many as possible”, each territory could potentially get four more senators at the next election – taking the NT’s total to six.

“We’ve succeeded in overturning the commonwealth having a position on our laws (the Territory Rights Bill) so the next thing is more representation.” he said.

“Our population is going to grow and their population is going to grow in the ACT.”

While both Mr Gosling and Attorney-General Chansey Paech said they believed the NT needed more senators, everyday Territorians have different opinions on the idea.

Andrew Byrne from Nightcliff was the only Territorian the NT News spoke to who was against the idea of more senators. Picture: Annabel Bowles

Andrew Byrne, from Nightcliff, did not think extra senators would lead to better outcomes for the Territory.

“I just think it’s too many politicians – I think if two can’t do the job, why do we need more?” he said.
“I know we’re a big area but we’re only a small population so I think two should be able to handle it.

“Everything just goes down either Liberal or Labor Party lines anyway so it doesn’t matter whatever the government at the time thinks – they listen to themselves.”

Stuart Park resident Donna Murray agreed the Territory needed as many as four more senators. Picture: Annabel Bowles

However Stuart Park resident Donna Murray agreed with the Labor Party’s proposal.

“I think the NT does need extra representation at that national level … I think we’d probably at least need another four,” she said.

“It’s ridiculous that we’re so restricted with the small number we have, that represents such a vast majority of people

“The largest Indigenous population is here, we need to make sure we’ve got representation that represents all facets of our community.”

Allan Garraway, from Larrakeyah, weighed in on the debate to give the Territory more senators. Picture: Annabel Bowles

Allan Garraway, from Larrakeyah, said extra senators could do “no harm” and the Territory should become a state.

“I think the Territory should be treated as a state and if the states have a number of senators then it’s not unreasonable (we have more),” he said.

“Especially given the population of say Tasmania versus the Territory – you could keep it a bit pro rata.

“It doesn’t do any harm to have our locals (in Canberra) especially with Northern Australia becoming more important in Australian politics.”

Larrakeyah resident Jeswynn Yogaratnam thought the NT should have more seats in the upper house. Picture: Annabel Bowles

Fellow Larrakeyah resident Jeswynn Yogaratnam, who is also the Territory’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, said the NT needed more senators but thought the number should be based on our population.

“I think the idea is novel and could be one that could have an impact, if we are reflective on what two senators have already achieved in the Northern Territory,” he said.

“We are a democracy so we need to be clear about how we represent ourselves in parliament.

“If what’s offered to us is four (extra senators and) that represents the context of the demographic make-up, of composition in parliament, then I think that’s fair.”

Nightcliff resident Camille Fong Lim thought statehood was a bigger priority than more senators. Picture: Annabel Bowles

Nightcliff resident Camille Fong Lim said she thought the Territory only needed two more senators to double our representation to four.

“I don’t think we need quite that many NT senators (six), I think we do need an increase,” she said.

“But being a territory instead of a state, I think we need to be a state first … if we’re going to prioritise things we need to be a state before we get more senate seats.”

Sandeep Shandilya from Nakara said he would like to see better cultural diversity in the federal parliament. Picture: Annabel Bowles

Nakara man Sandeep Shandilya said he would like to see more senators and better cultural diversity within federal parliament.

“So far I think they’re good (but) I think we should be having more representation in the house,” he said.

“We got two right now, we should be putting on four or maybe five – a total of five, that’s what I’m looking for.

“The more representation, the more the voice will be from the NT side … there should be a wide variety of cultural representation, not just the one particular idea.”