By Roxanne Fitzgerald

Malarndirri McCarthy is tabling a petition in the Senate today to keep two Northern Territory House of Representatives seats and is calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to support her private bill to allow it to pass through the lower house.

The Northern Territory may be twice the size of Texas, but a dwindling population could see representation halved, meaning the merging of the Darwin seat of Solomon held by Labor’s Luke Gosling, and Lingiari held by Labor’s Warren Snowdon, and which takes up the rest of the NT as well as the Christmas and Cocos islands. Lingiari is the second largest seat in Australia by area.

Based on data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, an electorate reshuffle by the Australian Electoral Commission would see Victoria’s seats increase from 38 to 39, Western Australia, also in the firing line, would decrease from 16 to 15 seats and the NT would decrease from two seats to one.

The senate has already passed Ms McCarthy’s Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Ensuring Fair Representation of the Northern Territory) Bill 2020 that would guarantee two lower house seats for the NT.

And she said it is now up to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to cement the changes by allowing her bill to pass` the House of Representatives.

Ms McCarthy called on the prime minister to the support the Territory on ABC News on Monday morning, saying it is now up to him.

Raising the issue in Parliament on June 11, Ms McCarthy said there could not be a worse time for the NT to lose a voice in Federal Parliament, as the Territory works to recover from the brutal impacts of COVID-19.

“The challenges presented by the coronavirus have put a number of critical industries at risk,” she said.

“With international borders unlikely to be reopened until next year and a return to pre-COVID levels being some years off, supporting and advocating for domestic tourism opportunities will be more important than ever.

“This advocacy will be particularly important in the Territory where the tyranny of distance will require a different approach to what is successful on the east coast.”

The Northern Territory first gained a second seat at the 2001 election, dividing the electorate of the Northern Territory into Solomon and Lingiari.

Big day in Canberra today as the Private Senators Bill – introduced by Labor and supported by the Nationals – to legislate for two NT seats will be debated. I call on the PM @ScottMorrisonMP to support the Bill. I'll be speaking on this in the Senate this morning #auspol @abcnews pic.twitter.com/rFIxpOoTrY

— malarndirri mccarthy (@Malarndirri19) August 24, 2020

For the past two decades the Territory has been fighting for its seats as the population fluctuates, and now with a shortfall of around 4,700 electors, Ms McCarthy says, without legislative intervention, the Territory’s representation will be jeopardised “at the stroke of a pen”.

“The Territory’s size, the remoteness of many of its communities and its unique demography all contribute to its need for more than one lower house seat,” she said.

“Losing a seat would mean a single MP representing a population of nearly 250,000 Territorians.

“This would make the NT electorate by far Australia’s largest by population, with approximately 30,000 more people and spread over an area more than 35,000 times larger than the electorate of Melbourne.”

Ms McCarthy said the Territory’s true population is not known as remote communities have historically been undercounted due to language barriers and accessibility issues.

“The Territory is more than just Darwin,” she said.

“Without legislation, a single MP would need to divide their time between Darwin and communities like the Cocos Islands, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Christmas Island, Katherine and Arnhem Land. These are places of enormous historical, cultural and environmental significance to Australia and they need special attention.”

‘A stronger, louder, more influential voice’ for First Nations people needed

Ms McCarthy introduced the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Ensuring Fair Representation of the Northern Territory) Bill 2020 to parliament in July, with the support of Senator McMahon and Nationals senators.

If passed, the bill would guarantee two Lower House seats for the NT.

Today she takes with her a petition with more than 3,200 signatures and a call for First Nations people to have “a stronger, louder, more influential voice in our democratic processes”.

“Although First Nations peoples make up over a quarter of our population, only 68.2 per cent of eligible Indigenous Territorians are enrolled to vote,” she said.

“This compares to an overall enrolment rate in the NT of 84.4 per cent and a national enrolment rate of 96.3 per cent. Although the enrolment rate has been steadily improving, this is quite clearly an unacceptable gap.

“We need to maximise the opportunity for Indigenous Australians to be represented and to fully participate in our democracy.”