supporting the "state style" self-government approach. Overall identified a number of reasons why residents opposed self-government. Along with the previously mentioned fear of increases in taxation or decreases in services, he argued that those living in the ACT would have felt that they already had a voice in the governance of the territory, through federal electoral representation. Canberra also had a high proportion of public servants who felt that they were already a part of the government, and knew how to work with the system. In spite of the result, the referendum failed to end the debate. There were a number of pressures that continued to push the ACT towards self-government, including: National consistency of governance. In 1978 the Northern Territory achieved self-government. The ACT was the only other mainland territory, with a population greater than that of the Northern Territory that was growing faster, so it was suggested that if self-government was appropriate for the Northern Territory, then it must also be appropriate for the ACT. The re-enfranchisement of the community. Two inquiries had recommended that the ACT needed to provide the community with "the same sort of representative institutions that have been established in other parts of Australia". Financial pressures. The ACT had enjoyed high quality services through Federal Government funding, to the extent that the Federal Grants Commission report that Australia was subsidising the residents "to the tune of over $200 for every man, woman and child in the Territory." Self-government would allow the ACT to be placed on the same financial footing as that of the other states and the Northern Territory. This was identified by Bill Harris, the head of the ACT Administration just prior to self-government, as the "fundamental reason" for the eventual realisation of self-government in the Territory. In 1988, the new minister for the ACT, Gary Punch, received a report recommending the abolition of the NCDC and the formation of a locally elected government. Punch recommended that the Hawke government accept the report's recommendations, and subsequently Clyde Holding introduced legislation to grant self-government to the Territory in October 1988. Self-government The enactment on 6 December 1988 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 established the framework for ACT Self-government. The first election for the 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on 1989. The provisions of the Act establishing the ACT as a self-governing territory within the Commonwealth of Australia