Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, legislative house of the unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory

The Northern Territory Legislative Assembly is a unicameral legislature of 25 members elected for four-year terms. Its Darwin building has a broad flat roof on tall cylindrical columns, deep vertical bays with patterned screens, and a rounded white tower on the right. Inside, the chamber has a central light-wood desk with a zig-zag parquet pattern on pale green carpet, a raised platform with two tall dark chairs, and a black panel with a crest above.

The Legislative Assembly was created in 1974 by the federal Northern Territory (Administration) Act 1974, replacing the half-elected Legislative Council with 19 fully elected members; it gained limited self-government only in 1978. Membership rose to 25 for the 1983 election. Federal parliament kept control of Aboriginal land, industrial relations, national parks and uranium mining, and in 1997 overrode the territory's 1995 voluntary euthanasia law.

The Speaker presides over debates and, unlike in many parliaments, may cast a vote; ties are broken by the Speaker's casting vote. The chamber's rear wall carries a crest with two animals above the raised platform where the Speaker and Clerk sit. The assembly's single chamber meets in Darwin, and its proceedings are open to public galleries when the house sits.

Visitors can easily find the building in Darwin and sometimes watch public sessions when they are open to the public. It is helpful to check beforehand what sessions are scheduled and whether tours are available to better understand how the building operates.

The chamber's rear wall carries a black square panel with a crest showing two animals, visible from the green-upholstered bench facing the central desk. The Assembly has 25 members elected for four-year terms; 13 votes form a majority. Its powers come from Commonwealth delegation, so the federal Parliament can override Territory laws, as it did with the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997.