We need to take a stand for NT, writes MALARNDIRRI McCARTHY

THE Northern Territory deserves proper representation. Territorians have been fighting for our political rights since the Surrender Act of 1908 when South Australia surrendered us to the Commonwealth. In 1911, we became a Federal Territory under the control of the Commonwealth.

This week, in the Senate, CLP Senator Sam McMahon and I brought Labor and the Nationals together to fight to keep the seats of Solomon, represented by Luke Gosling, and Lingiari, represented by Warren Snowdon.

Despite our political differences, the CLP and Labor know that losing the representatives we have in the Federal Parliament will diminish the democratic voice of Territorians.

Based on Parliamentary Library projections, the NT’s representation in the House is set to halve after an electoral boundary redistribution process due to start next month. The estimated population figures will see the NT fall short of a second quota by approximately 4700 electors.

Losing a seat would mean a single MP serving an electorate covering 1.4 million square km and representing a population of nearly 250,000. It would make the NT electorate by far Australia’s largest by population and one of the biggest by geography.

The saying is ‘Bigger than Texas’. We really should be saying ‘Bigger than the Territory’ to get a true sense of our vast region.

Tasmania, as an original state in the Constitution, is guaranteed five seats regardless of its size. Five members with a population of about 535,000. Yet the Constitution leaves Parliament to decide the representation for the Territories.

Territorians are prickly