Federal Register of Legislation - Australian Government

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Act No. 39 of 1974 as amended, taking into account amendments up to Act No. 14 of 1980
Registered 07 Dec 2009
Start Date 12 May 1980
End Date 21 Feb 1984
Date of repeal 21 Feb 1984
Repealed by Commonwealth Electoral Legislation Amendment Act 1983

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 [Note: This Act is "repealed" by Act No. 144 of 1983]
(#DATE 31:01:1983)

- Reprinted as at 31 January 1983 *1* The Senate (Representation of Territories) Act 1973 as shown in this
reprint comprises Act No. 39, 1974 amended as indicated in the Tables below.
Table of Acts
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Application,
saving
or
Act Number Date Date of transitional
and year of Assent commencement provisions
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Senate
(Representation of
Territories) Act
1973 39, 1974 7 Aug
1974 7 Aug 1974
Senate
(Representation of
Territories)
Amendment Act 1980 14, 1980 8 Apr
1980 12 May 1980 (see
Gazette 1980, No.
S97, p. 1) S. 4
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Table of Amendments
ad. = added or inserted am. = amended rep. =
repealed rs. = repealed and substituted
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Provision affected How affected
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S. 9. . . . . . . . . rs. No. 14, 1980
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SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - TABLE OF PROVISIONS

TABLE

TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section

1. Short title

2. Commencement

3. Interpretation

4. Representation in the Senate

5. Powers, immunities and privileges of senator

6. Term of service

7. Time of elections

8. Issue of writs

9. Casual vacancies

10. Application of Commonwealth Electoral Act

11. Disputed elections

12. Regulations

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SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - LONG TITLE

SECT

An Act to provide for the Representation in the Senate of the Australian Capital Territory, the Jervis Bay Territory and the Northern Territory of Australia

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 1
Short title

SECT

1. This Act may be cited as the Senate (Representation of Territories) Act 1973.*1*

SEE NOTES TO FIRST ARTICLE OF THIS CHAPTER .

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 2
Commencement

SECT

2. This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.*1*

SEE NOTES TO FIRST ARTICLE OF THIS CHAPTER .

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 3
Interpretation

SECT

3. (1) In this Act-
"Territory" means a Territory to which this Act applies;
"the Australian Capital Territory" includes the Territory that was accepted by the Jervis Bay Territory Acceptance Act 1915.

(2) The Territories to which this Act applies are the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory of Australia.

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 4
Representation in the Senate

SECT

4. Each Territory shall be represented in the Senate by two senators for the Territory directly chosen by the people of the Territory voting as one electorate.

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 5
Powers, immunities and privileges of senator

SECT

5. (1) A senator for a Territory has all the powers, immunities and privileges of a senator for a State and-
(a) shall be included in the whole number of the senators for the purpose of ascertaining the number of senators necessary to constitute a meeting of the Senate for the exercise of its powers and, if present, shall be counted for the purpose of determining whether the necessary number of senators are present; and
(b) shall have a vote on all questions arising in the Senate.

(2) The provisions contained in sections 16, 19 and 20 and sections 42 to 48 (inclusive) of the Constitution, to the extent, if any, to which they do not apply, by virtue of the Constitution, in relation to a senator for a Territory, apply, by force of this Act, in relation to such a senator in the same way as they apply in relation to other senators.

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 6
Term of service

SECT

6. The term of service of a senator for a Territory commences on the day of his election and expires at the close of the day next preceding the polling day for the general election of members of the House of Representatives next following his election.

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 7
Time of elections

SECT

7. (1) Subject to sub-section (2), the first election of senators for a Territory shall be held at the same time as an election of senators for a State, being the first election of senators for that State that is held after the commencement of this Act.

(2) An election of senators for each Territory shall be held at the same time as each general election of members of the House of Representatives.

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 8
Issue of writs

SECT

8. (1) The Governor-General may cause writs to be issued for elections of senators for a Territory.

(2) The writs for the elections of senators for a Territory in accordance with sub-section 7 (2) shall be issued within ten days from the expiry of the House of Representatives or from the proclamation of a dissolution thereof.

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 9
Casual vacancies

SECT

9. (1) If the place of a senator for the Northern Territory becomes vacant before the expiration of his term of service, the Legislative Assembly of the Territory shall choose a person to hold the place until the expiration of the term, but if it is not in session when the vacancy is notified, the Administrator of the Territory, with the advice of the Executive Council thereof, may appoint a person to hold the place until the expiration of 14 days from the beginning of the next session of the Legislative Assembly or the expiration of the term, whichever first happens.

(2) If the place of a senator for the Australian Capital Territory becomes vacant before the expiration of his term of service, the Senate and the House of Representatives, sitting and voting together, shall choose a person to hold the place until the expiration of the term, but if the Parliament is not in session when the vacancy is notified, the Governor-General may appoint a person to hold the place until the expiration of 14 days from the beginning of the next session of the Parliament or the expiration of the term, whichever first happens.

(3) Where a vacancy has at any time occurred in the place of a senator chosen by the people of a Territory and, at the time when he was so chosen, he was publicly recognized by a particular political party as being an endorsed candidate of that party and publicly represented himself to be such a candidate, a person chosen or appointed under this section in consequence of that vacancy, or in consequence of that vacancy and a subsequent vacancy or vacancies, shall, unless there is no member of that party available to be chosen or appointed, be a member of that party.

(4) Where-
(a) in accordance with sub-section (3), a member of a particular political party is chosen or appointed to hold the place of a senator whose place had become vacant; and
(b) before taking his seat he ceases to be a member of that party (otherwise than by reason of the party having ceased to exist),
he shall be deemed not to have been so chosen or appointed and the vacancy shall be again notified in accordance with sub-section (5).

(5) Whenever the place of a senator for a Territory becomes vacant before the expiration of his term of service-
(a) in the case of a senator for the Northern Territory-the President of the Senate shall notify the Administrator of the Northern Territory of the vacancy; and
(b) in the case of a senator for the Australian Capital Territory-the President of the Senate shall notify the Governor-General of the vacancy.

(6) The name of any senator chosen or appointed under sub-section (1) or chosen by the Senate and the House of Representatives under sub-section (2) shall be certified by the Administrator of the Northern Territory or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, to the Governor-General.

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 10
Application of Commonwealth Electoral Act

SECT

10. (1) Subject to this Act, the provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918-1973 apply, with such exceptions and subject to such modifications and adaptations as are prescribed, to and in relation to an election of a senator or senators for a Territory in like manner as they apply to and in relation to an election of a senator or senators for a State and those provisions so apply as if the Territory were a State.

(2) Regulations for the purposes of this section shall not affect the application, in relation to elections under this Act, of the principles in accordance with which, under the provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918-1973 applied by this section, ballot papers are to be prepared, votes are to be marked, the scrutiny is to be conducted and vacancies are to be filled at an election of senators for a State.

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 11
Disputed elections

SECT

11. (1) The provisions of section 21 of the Australian Capital Territory Representation (House of Representatives) Act 1973 apply to and in relation to a petition disputing an election under this Act of a senator or senators for the Australian Capital Territory in like manner as they apply to and in relation to a petition disputing an election under that Act.

(2) The provisions of section 8A of the Northern Territory Representation Act 1922-1968 apply to and in relation to a petition disputing an election under this Act of a senator or senators for the Northern Territory of Australia in like manner as they apply to and in relation to a petition disputing an election under that Act.

SENATE (REPRESENTATION OF TERRITORIES) ACT 1973 - SECT 12
Regulations

SECT

12. The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to this Act.