the regional demographic distribution. Both House of Representatives seats have mostly been held by the Australian Labor Party, while ALP and the Liberal Party of Australia have always each held one Senate seat. In 1930, the ACT Advisory Council was established to advise the Minister for Territories on the community's concerns and from 1934 the territory had its own Supreme Court. In 1974 the Council became a fully elected Legislative Assembly, advising the Minister of the Capital Territory, and in 1979 this renamed the House of Assembly. Movements towards self-governance Although there was a push by residents of the ACT for a greater say in the management of the territory, this did not necessarily equate to a desire for self-governance. John Overall, who served as the head of the NCDC from 1957 to 1972, summarised the distinction in "Canberra: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow": Nevertheless, there were many residents in Canberra who wanted self-government, and there were a number of forces pushing the territory in that direction. In 1973 the Minister for the Capital Territory, Gordon Bryant, announced that the ACT would have self-government within 12 months. The formation of the Legislative Assembly in 1974 was intended as the significant step towards self-government, but the Whitlam Government, under whose auspices the Assembly was formed, tended to "override or ignore its wishes." Similarly, the subsequent 1975 Fraser Government seemed uninterested in the Assembly. However, in February 1976, Tony Staley accepted the post of Minister for the Capital Territory. Staley had been a supporter of self-government for the ACT, and he proposed a model whereby Canberrans would rapidly gain control of much of the territory's administration. The model found opposition, though, in part because it failed to adequately address the funding arrangements. Although Staley's plan did not eventuate, the next person to run the Ministry, Robert Ellicott, chose to hold a referendum on the issue. The referendum on 27 November 1978 provided the residents of the territory with three options: That self-government be granted to the Territory by delegating functions to a locally elected legislative body. That a locally elected legislative body be established in the Territory with local government-type legislative and executive functions. That the present arrangements for governing the Territory should continue for the time being. A clear majority voted for continuing with the status quo – 63.75%, as opposed to 5.72% in favour of the local government model and 30.54%