Concadian Capital Territory

The Concadian Capital Territory, more commonly known as the CCT, is a federal territory of Concadia containing the Concadian capital city of Artovia and some surrounding towns and villages. It is located in the north of the country and is bordered by the states of Cleovilbia and Yeorough as well as Henton Lake to the South. Founded upon the formation of the country, it is the home of all institutions of the Concadian Government.

While the overwhelming majority of the population resides within the City of Artovia in the South, the territory also includes some surrounding towns such as Witrinh, Betesfield, Skipton, Mamerke and Seabinham.

The CCT is home to many important institutions of the federal government, national monuments and museums, including the Parliament of Concadia, the Supreme Court of Concadia and the national headquarters of the Concadian Armed Services. It is the location of almost all of the foreign embassies in Concadia. There are a number of universities with campuses in the territory as well, including the University of Artovia, the Concadian Academy of Performing Arts, the University of Northern Concadia and the Concadian School of Science and Technology.

The territory has its own legislature comprising of two elected chambers. It was initially one chamber, however the rapid growth of the population meant that an upper chamber was created as the lower chamber was expanded. However, because the Capital Territory is a federal territory, the federal government has jurisdiction over the area. This has lead to the Secretary of State for Federal Affairs being given the position of Territorial Governor, meaning that the Federal Cabinet has direct oversight of the territorial government. Furthermore, should the President declare a state of emergency, the Federal Secretary has the power to assume the powers of the territorial government back into the federal government on a temporary basis, given that the seat of Federal Government is located within the territory.

With 4,904,342 residents, the Concadian Capital Territory is more populous than any other state or province.

History
Prior to federation, the area now known as the Concadian Capital Territory was home to only a few towns. The population of the area was small and comprised of mostly fishermen and farmers, making use of the Hatford River and Henton Lake. Upon federation, however, the President and the Prime Minister decided that an area needed to be set aside for the federal government to operate out of, separate to any of the states to ensure their independence. When deciding on the location, Ministers determined that it should be somewhat central and be located in an area that would allow for good trade, therefore it should be located near a river. An area covered by the states of Yeorough and Cleovilbia was relatively uninhabited and fitted the description almost perfectly. As such, the Parliament passed an amendment to the constitution that redrew the borders of those two states so that a substantial area was left to be occupied by the Federal Government. That area became known as the Concadian Capital Territory, and the government began to build the City of Artovia, which would be the capital of Concadia.

Following this, the government determined that the territory should function almost identically to the states, but that the federal government should still have jurisdiction. It was then decided that the Territorial Governor would be a member of the Federal Cabinet, and by convention that role has been held by the Secretary of State for Federal Affairs. In 1743, the Concadian Capital Territory Act was passed by Parliament, delivering self-governance to the territory and establishing a unicameral legislature and an executive government, as well as a judiciary.

The Early 1900s saw a rapid increase in the territory's population, especially in the City of Artovia, and so the Concadian Capital Territory Government (Bicameralism) Act 1904 was passed by the Federal Parliament, establishing an elected upper chamber to the Territorial Legislature.

Territorial Government
See Also: Government of the Concadian Capital Territory, Congress of the Concadian Capital Territory

The Concadian Capital Territory has its own self-government, functioning similarly to a state government in many ways, however a greater degree of independence is afforded to states than to the Capital Territory. Whilst the legislature can pass legislation, and their is a territorial executive, the position of Governor is held by the Secretary of State for Federal Affairs, a member of the Federal Cabinet. This means that the Territorial Government is subject to federal oversight, and the sitting of the Territorial Congress is subject to the Federal Government. Given that the Capital Territory contains the seat of Federal Government, it was deemed necessary for the Federal Government to have a certain amount of power and control over its activities. This is most clearly demonstrated should the President declare a state of emergency. In this eventuality, the Territorial Governor can immediately dissolve the Congress, and all executive powers are assumed back into the Federal Government for the duration of the emergency.

Laws are made in a bicameral Congress, consisting of the House of Assembly (the lower house) and the Federal Council (the upper house). Members of the House of Assembly are known as Assembly Members (AM) and members of the Federal Council are known officially as Federal Councillors, although they are almost always called Councillors. In total, there are 575 members of Congress. The Congress deals with territory-wide issues and can pass Acts of the Territorial Congress. Lower levels of local government still exist, for example the Government of the City of Artovia.

Members of the House of Assembly are elected via the Mixed-Member Proportional system, with 235 representing constituencies within the territory and the remaining 165 being list members. Members of the Federal Council are elected via the Single transferable vote system, where the territory is split into 35 5-member constituencies.

The Executive of the Concadian Capital Territory, also known as the Capital Government or the CCT Government, consists of a Chief Minister (Currently Olivia Baker AM, Socialist Labour) and other Ministers appointed by the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is the territory-level leader of the largest party represented in the House of Assembly.

What makes the CCT unique is that the Governor is not appointed by the President as their representative in the state. Instead, given the CCT contains the entirety of the Federal Government, the individual occupying the office of Territorial Governor is also the Secretary of State for Federal Affairs. This gives the Federal Government significant power over the territory.

Judiciary and Policing
The Concadian Capital Territory has its own judicial system, with the highest court being the Court of Appeals of the Concadian Capital Territory. There are lower courts, such as magistrates courts and district courts as well.

Policing of the territory is conducted by the Concadian Federal Police through the Capital Territory Division. Although the Federal Police answers to the Ministry of the Interior, under normal circumstances, the authority is transferred to the territorial Minister for Internal Affairs. In a state of emergency, however, authority is transfers back to the Interior Secretary.

Federal Representation
In Concadia's Federal Parliament, the CCT is represented by 61 members, the most of any state, province or territory. 12 of these members are Senators in the House of Senators, and the remaining 49 are MPs in the House of Commons.