Territory Rights

Further to my comments a couple of weeks ago about the quashing of laws in the ACT and Northern Territory by the Federal Government, I notice Civil Liberties Australia has written to the PM requesting the Government “rectify the unequal and inequitable treatment of its Territorian citizens before Australia Day 2009″.

Dr Kristine Klugman, President of CLA argues that equal rights for Territorians are not contained in a number of Constitutional clauses and as such do not exist. For example:

• Lesser rights to water, relative to the rights of residents of Australian States, of residents of the ACT and NT, as spelled out in Clause 100 of the Australian Constitution:

(Extract from the Australian Constitution):
Nor abridge right to use water.
100. The Commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade or
commerce, abridge the right of a State or of the residents therein to the
reasonable use of the waters of rivers for conservation or irrigation.

• The absence of a right to equality of treatment in relation to disabling and/or discriminatory legislation by the Commonwealth – or by States – to residents of the ACT and the NT:

Rights of residents in States.
117. A subject of the Queen, resident in any State, shall not be subject in
any other State to any disability or discrimination which would not be
equally applicable to him if he were a subject of the Queen resident in
such other State.

• The absence of giving – in relation to the citizens of the NT and ACT – full faith and credit to the laws, public Acts/records and judicial proceedings of the legislature and judiciaries of the ACT and the NT, by comparison with the laws, public Acts/records and judicial proceedings of the Australian States:

Recognition of laws, &c. of States.
118. Full faith and credit shall be given, throughout the Commonwealth to
the laws, the public Acts and records, and the judicial proceedings of
every State.

• The inequity of citizens of the ACT/NT being ‘double ruled’ – by comparison with residents of Australian States – by being subject to the laws of the ACT/NT and, in addition, to any special laws or executive decisions imposed solely on the ACT and/or NT, and not on the States, by the Australian Government:

Government of territories.
122. The Parliament may make laws for the government of any territory
surrendered by any State to and accepted by the Commonwealth, or of any
territory placed by the Queen under the authority of and accepted by the
Commonwealth, or otherwise acquired by the Commonwealth, and may
allow the representation of such territory in either House of the Parliament
to the extent and on the terms which it thinks fit.

We clearly have an agenda for reform here. The constitutional rights of the people in the Territories need to addressed, not to mention the inequity in parliamentary representation. But that’s a matter for another post.