Government of the Northern Territory beginning 20 November 1974 - period in office of Premier Letts, Godfrey Alan ending on 21 September 1977
Period in office of premier (see Glossary entry for 'period in office' and related terms)
Parliamentary support during period
Coalition partner 1
Number of ministers at beginning of period (this may vary during the period)
Assembly elections contested as premier or after which became premier (see Glossary entry for 'after election')
| Election | Premier at election | Premier's party | Premier after election | Premier's party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NT 13 August 1977 | Godfrey Alan Letts | Country Liberal Party | Godfrey Alan Letts | Country Liberal Party |
| NT 19 October 1974 | Godfrey Alan Letts | Country Liberal Party |
Next period in this series for NT
Notes
Northern Territory self-government: The Northern Territory did not gain full representative self-government until 1978, although this had been planned since 1973.
'In 1973 the Whitlam [federal] Labor government established a joint committee of the federal parliament to plan for a setting up of a legislative assembly in 1974. But, in a style which Territorians would claim has been a consistent pattern, the Commonwealth Committee reported after the new assembly had been designed, confirmed and elected. The Legislative Assembly of nineteen members had all of the structures and processes of a representative parliament, but its powers remained the same as those of the previous Legislative Council. In 1978, however, after protracted negotiations with the Fraser Liberal government, the territory was granted self-government', Dean Jaensch, 'Northern Territory', in Jeremy Moon and Campbell Sharman (editors), Australian Politics and Government: The Commonwealth, the States and the Territories, pp 224-238 (Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 0521532051).
This situation meant that the Letts government was not technically a ministry under a system of responsible government, but an executive working under the supervision of the Commonwealth government.
Premier and first minister: The head of government in both self-governing territories is called the first minister, an equivalent office to that of premier. In this database and website, general headings referring to premiers include the first ministers of territories.