Protest at NT Parliament House over "dangerous" Coordinator Bill

Giovanni Torre
Giovanni Torre Published March 18, 2025 at 2.30pm (AWST)

Community members protested in front of NT Parliament House on Tuesday, holding signs representing the laws and departments the Territory Coordinator will override, such as building laws, environment laws, the public service.

Organisers noted 95 percent of people opposed the Bill during the consultation process.

During the protest, people dressed to represent the Country Liberals and the Territory Coordinator "ceremoniously" took the signs off the community members and put them in a big bin, representing the laws to be run roughshod over by the Coordinator's powers.

The legislation is expected to be passed Tuesday, promptly after being introduced to parliament.

The Territory Coordinator would have the power to exempt big projects from 32 laws that keep Territorians safe - from building and planning regulations to laws that govern water extraction, environmental protection, and fisheries.

On Sunday, another demonstration occurred in Nhulunbuy in which community members gathered to oppose the Territory Coordinator.

Kris Keogh, community member from Nhulunbuy said the Territory Coordinator Bill is "a massive overreach of power from the CLP and deeply unpopular with people from across the Territory".

"We can't believe they are pushing ahead with this dangerous proposal."

All four of the Territory's Land Councils have opposed the Bill, as has the Larrakia Nation, Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT, and the Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation.

In a submission to the NT parliamentary Legislative Scrutiny Committee, Greg McIntyre SC, a former Law Council of Australia president who represented Eddie Mabo in the landmark native title case, wrote: "This is an extraordinary piece of legislation which gives unprecedented powers to a public servant… It is a very unusual piece of legislation to have before any parliament."

"It has extraordinary powers of allowing this Territory Coordinator to step into the place of existing decision-makers to vary conditions which they previously placed upon approvals," he warned.

On Tuesday Frack Free NT Darwin spokesperson Pete Callender said the CLP's Territory Coordinator is "an assault on the rights of everyday Territorians".

"It gives an unelected bureaucrat unprecedented powers to enter properties all over the Territory based on the whim of the Chief Minister, clearing the way for destructive and dangerous projects," he said.

No New Gas Coalition NT member Meghan Donaghy noted that only two of the 302 submissions supported the Bill as drafted, "yet the CLP Government is ramming these laws through Parliament with only the most minor changes".

Shadow Attorney General Chansey Paech, who is a member of the Legislative Scrutiny Committee, said: "I have heard first-hand from people who have put through submissions, who provided evidence to say how damaging and how disastrous this bill will be for the Northern Territory, and we are yet to hear from the CLP government if they will accept any of the amendments that the [scrutiny committee] has put forward."

The Arrente, Arabana and Gurindji man said the Bill "is about helping the rich get richer, not looking after Territorians".

He also called for 'no-go zones' to be included in the Bill - areas where the Coordinator's powers wouldn't apply

"We are saying no, it needs to be on the floor of parliament," he said.

"Anything that has to do with nuclear waste, radioactive material, sacred sites, local government, heritage – these are all areas that absolutely require a robust parliamentary debate around changes, rather than just simply by the stroke of a pen."

Leader of Government Business Steve Edgington said: "The Territory Coordinator will give us a competitive edge against other states, who have not undertaken the level of reform we have."

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National Indigenous Times

Disclaimer: This function is AI-generated and therefore may mispronounce.