CLP reveal number of submissions, feedback on Territory Coordinator bill

The Northern Territory Government must sift through more than 500 submissions on the controversial proposed Territory Coordinator Bill ahead of its introduction to parliament.

Katie HallDeputy Editor

less than 2 min read

January 24, 2025 - 4:25PM

DARWIN, January 15, 2025: NT Labor Opposition Leader Selena Uibo and Deputy Opposition Leader Dheran Young are calling on the government to extend the consultation period on the Territory Coordinator Bill. Picture: Fia Walsh.

The Northern Territory Government must sift through more than 500 submissions on the controversial proposed Territory Coordinator Bill ahead of its introduction in parliament next month.

Stakeholders, residents and industry leaders have had their say on the draft bill since the consultation paper was issued on October 11, 2024.

According to the Northern Territory Government, the Territory Coordinator will drive economic growth and accelerate private sector jobs and opportunities “for all Territorians”.

The role of the bureaucrat would be to streamline government approvals; fast-track major investments and boost the NT’s competitiveness.

Interim Territory Coordinator Stuart Knowles.

The consultation period was closed on January 17, but not before the Opposition stepped out in an attempt to extend the timeline – claiming the CLP had failed to answer key questions on the Territory Coordinator’s powers.

They asked for the CLP to provide an example of what current projects would justify an exemption or step-in notice and claimed the current consultation period had not been “comprehensive enough”.

This was after six public forums were held across the Territory including in Tennant Creek, Katherine, Alice Springs, Palmerston and online since December.

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro as the NT government has funded a free meningococcal B vaccination program providing protection from the deadly disease for babies and teens. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The interim Territory Coordinator, Stuart Knowles headed the Palmerston session.

However, some attendees complained they felt they had not been heard, or had their questions vetted during the sessions.

In a statement this week, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said the revised bill would be informed by the “rigorous” responses from the forums and feedback submissions.

The statement outlined the other methods of feedback delivered to the government on the bill and included:

> 289 unique and 270 campaign submissions received across both consultation phases

> 89 stakeholder consultation meetings with 276 participants, including peak bodies, industry leaders and community groups

> 81 community forum feedback forms were received

Mrs Finocchiaro said the feedback would inform and ensure the Territory Coordinator’s framework “reflects the priorities” of the NT community and industries.

A publicly available report summarising the feedback will be published at an unspecified date and the revised bill is set to be introduced to the Legislative Assembly in February.

It will then be referred to the Scrutiny committee for further consultation.

The Committee has five members including CLP MLA’s Oly Carlso, Clinton Howe and Andrew Mackay, as well as Labor’s Chansey Paech and Independent Justine Davis.