The Senate (Representation of Territories) Act 1973 is significant legislation giving the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory representation in the Senate.

When the Australian Parliament was established in 1901, each state was represented by six senators. The Australian Constitution provided that the Parliament could make laws increasing or decreasing the number of senators for each state as long as each state had equal representation and that there would not be fewer than six senators.

In 1911 the transfer of the Northern Territory and the new Federal Capital Territory (now the Australian Capital Territory) to the Commonwealth from South Australia and NSW governments entered into effect. The transfer meant that residents of both territories were left with no political representation, having no form of local government and no elected representatives in the federal parliament. 

Legislation giving the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory representation in the House of Representatives was enacted in 1922 and 1948 respectively. While the rights and powers of these representatives were originally very limited, these restrictions were progressively removed so that they enjoyed the same rights and privileges as any other member of the House.

However, the two territories were not granted a Senate seat for many more years, despite attempts to provide for territory representation as early as 1920.

Advocacy for the territories to be represented in the Senate contributed to the introduction of the Senate (Representation of Territories) Bill 1973 and the related Representation Bill 1973 by the Whitlam government. Similar private bills had been introduced by the Whitlam Opposition in 1968 and 1970. The Representation Bill provided for the election of two senators each from the NT and the ACT, who would serve terms equivalent to that of the House of Representatives. 

The issue of territory representation in the Senate was the subject of much debate. Supporters argued the rights of the people of the ACT and INIT to have their views represented in the Senate. However, doubts were expressed whether the legislation was constitutionally valid. Others were concerned that the constitutional concept of the Senate as a states' House would be undermined.

The Bill was twice rejected by the Senate. This gave the Whitlam Labor Government, along with five other rejected bills, the grounds to advise the Governor-General to dissolve both houses of Parliament in April 1974. Following the Whitlam Government's re-election, the package of Bills passed both houses of Parliament at a historic joint sitting on 6 and 7 August 1974 . This joint sitting was televised.

The Act survived High Court challenges in 1975 and 1977.

The first senators, Bernard Kilgariff and Edward (Ted) Robertson for the Northern Territory and Susan Ryan and John Knight for the Australian Capital Territory, were elected in December 1975. You can read more about the senators below.

Bernard Francis Kilgariff AM
Country Liberal Party

Bernard Francis Kilgariff (1923–2010) was one of the first members of the Senate for the Northern Territory, elected in 1975 and remaining in office until 1987.

Throughout his career, Kilgariff advocated for constitutional reform to give residents of the Northern Territory the same rights as the Australian states. He was a signatory to the Remonstrance in August 1962, a document outlining the grievances of the Territory over its constitutional situation and led a delegation to Canberra in 1970 to advocate for the progression of Territory rights, including Senate representation. He was also concerned with Indigenous affairs and land rights in the Northern Territory.

Kilgariff was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1989 and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1996.

Edward Albert Robertson
Australian Labor Party

Edward Albert Robertson (1929–1991) was one of the first members of the Senate to represent the Northern Territory, elected in 1975 and serving until 1987. Robertson was elected to the Senate after unsuccessfully contesting the single Northern Territory seat in the House of Representatives in both 1969 and 1972.

Robertson was an advocate for the Northern Territory and brought attention to the unique challenges faced by a small, dispersed population. Robertson frequently made speeches on social issues affecting the Territory, particularly regarding Aboriginal affairs, land rights and education. He was a champion of the parliamentary committee system, serving on a variety of committees as both a member and chair.

Robertson also served as both the Opposition Whip 1980–83 and Government Whip 1983–87 in the Senate.

The Hon Susan Maree Ryan AO
Australian Labor Party

The Hon Susan Maree Ryan AO (1942–2020) was one of the Australian Capital Territory’s first two senators elected in 1975 and serving until 1988. She was appointed Minister for Education in 1983, the first time a woman had become a Cabinet minister for the Labor Party. An advocate for women’s rights, equal access to education, employment and financial opportunities, in her first speech to the Senate, Ryan stated,

‘as a woman member of Parliament, I am a member of a particularly small minority group … women are as badly under-represented here as they are anywhere else in our society where power resides or where decisions are made’.¹

Ryan was influential in the passage of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986. Ryan later served as the Age Discrimination Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1990.

John William Knight
Liberal Party of Australia

John William Knight (1943–1981) was elected as one of the first two senators for the Australian Capital Territory in 1975 and remained in office until his death in 1981.

Prior to serving in the Senate, Knight worked as a diplomat in South Asia, where he developed a lasting interest in the region. Knight served as Chair of the Joint Committee on the Australian Capital Territory. Senator Susan Ryan paid tribute to Knight, acknowledging his readiness to ‘work cooperatively’ and the ‘shared aspirations for the development of the Territory as a community where people live’.²

His lasting contributions to the development of the ACT were recognised with the proclamation of the John Knight Memorial Park at Lake Ginninderra in Belconnen in 1982. Knight was posthumously named Canberran of the Year in 1981.

References
1. Susan Ryan, ‘Governor-General’s Speech: Address-in-Reply’, Senate, Debates, 25 February 1976,
226.
2. Susan Ryan, ‘Death of Senator John William Knight’, Senate, Debates, 4 March 1981, 306.