Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Sunday 1 July is Territory Day. It was on this day 40 years ago, two score years ago, that the Northern Territory got limited self-government. Territory Day is an opportunity for us Territorians to celebrate everything we love about the Territory: the relaxed lifestyle, open and friendly people, stunning sunsets, markets, waterfalls—it's all there in the Far North. The music and the sartorial tastes have changed somewhat since 1978—the year the Bee Gees and Meat Loaf were the top of the charts, and Territory politicians were given permission to wear safari suits during sittings—but the essence of what makes the Territory so special has remained. It's the resilience of a town that was flattened in the bombings during World War Two, and by Cyclone Tracy, but was rebuilt to become the amazing modern and tropical city it is today. In the lead-up to Territory Day we Territorians have a message for the Commonwealth. In the words of Meat Loaf:

I want you, I need you

But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna—

give up on full rights for the Northern Territory—

Now don't be sad

'Cause two out of three ain't bad

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unfortunately I have to stop the member there, and I must say: some decisions still need to be questioned.