Meet-n-Greet [Learn from the mistakes of others]

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I'm thinking perhaps I ought to make an effort to meet up with more of my local LJ contacts.

I haven't seen some of you in years.

Others, well, I've yet to have the pleasure.

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There are 5 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

if youre ever on the central coast nsw give us a yell.

Have a brief legal question if you're not busy. This recent NT aborignal child abuse business....saw costello talking tonight(last night). He said if the NT can't deal with it effectively the Commonwealth would take over the nt's 'aboriginal affairs". So my question is what does this entail, ie their monetary affairs, in specifics what happens to their voting rights re uranium production etc etc. Does this give the commonwealth carte blanche to use/do what they see fit with Aboriginal rights in that regard. & the question of having US bases on Aboriginal land which I believe has been rejected by the NT before?

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He said if the NT can't deal with it effectively the Commonwealth would take over the nt's 'aboriginal affairs".

The NT is a Commonwealth Territory - and under the Constitution, the Commonwealth Government (aka Federal Government) ultimately has the power to administer it. Limited Self-government was arranged for boht the ACT and the NT a while back - at least in part to get the day-to-day hassles of running those places out of the way.

A Commonwealth Act of Parliament can overrule any NT law, so the Feds only have ottslip a Bill through and they can give the Commonwealth Indigineous Affairs Minister direct control again.

This FedGov has overridden several NT laws during their tours of duty ... so it's no idle pronouncement.

Mind you, this issue is much more complicated than just a matter of "dealing with it" ... there are entrenched cultural attitudes on all sides that will require a great deal of care to handle. Some fo hte highlighted Indigenous groups are much more mobile than Canberra would like to imagine.

specifics what happens to their voting rights

Northern Territorians only have local voting rights by the whim of the Commonwealth - via the Self-government Act. That could change over a weekend (unlikely, and very unpopular-causing, but possible).

The NT is not a State - it has no independent claim to sovereignty.

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