Deputy Premier Hon Julian Fraser, RA (R3) has said the public consultation process for reviewing the Territory’s constitution was flawed. Photo: CRC

Scenes from the Constutition Review Commission's community meeting at the Francis Lettsome Primary School in January 2023. Photo: CRC

Deputy Premier and Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Hon Julian Fraser, RA (R3), during the Ninth Sitting of the Second Session of the Fifth House of Assembly on Thursday, September 18, 2025. Photo: YouTube/HoA

Hon Fraser made this damning accusation while giving his contributions in the House of Assembly on the 2022-2023 Constitution Reform Commission (CRC) Report, during the Ninth Sitting of the Second Session of the Fifth House of Assembly on Thursday, September 18, 2025. 

The Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change said, according to the report, one of the topics that drew several comments from the public was the At Large system.

This report was laid in the HoA on January 31, 2024. 

A “flawed” process

"This is what the report is saying, Madam Speaker…and that was a need to review the At Large system, and I want to say this also about the process: Madam Speaker, the process was flawed. It was a flawed process.”

Hon Fraser further accused the public consultation process by the Constitutional Review Committee of being flawed. 

“Why was this flawed?… Anyone who appeared in any of those meetings or anyone who was ambitious enough to submit to make a submission, whether in writing or verbally, was to be heard and whatever their submission was, was to be taken seriously, and it had equal weight, no matter where you’re from, no matter who you are, no matter your gender or whatever.”

Who are these people? 

Hon Fraser went on to say that anyone could have walked into these public consultations and given their opinions, as there was no way to “discriminate” between locals, foreigners, visitors or people who just wandered in but had no right to be there. 

“Who are these people? I’m not making this stuff up, Madam Speaker, this is possible…So how could this be considered anything but flawed?”