Australia
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is one of two self-governing internal territories of the Australian federation, the other being the Northern Territory (NT). Created in 1911, the ACT was originally called the Federal Capital Territory, the current name being acquired in 1938. The ACT was constituted specifically to house the seat of government, the goal being to avoid situating the new nation's capital Canberra in either New South Wales or Victoria, the two most populous states. The ACT is an enclave of New South Wales.
Although the ACT has its own Chief Minister and its own legislature (the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly), the Federal Parliament retains the right to overrule ACT legislation. While governing the entire ACT, the Legislative Assembly also acts as a municipal government for the city of Canberra. The Governor-General of Australia exercises certain rights that in the states would be exercised by a state governor, such as the power to issue writs for elections.
At a federal level, the ACT and the NT both elect two members of the House of Representatives and two Senators. The terms of the territory senators are tied to the term of the House of Representatives, not to the term of the Senate. This means that if there is an election for the Senate only (as last happened in 1970), this would involve only half the state senators, and the territory senators' terms would continue. Conversely, if there is an election for the House of Representatives only (as last happened in 1972), this would also involve the territory senators but not the state senators.
Read more about this topic: Capital Districts And Territories
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