The team at the top: ministers in the Northern Territory

With this study the North Australia Research Unit introduces a new series of monographs designed for the publication of research on Northern Australian topics. The monographs replace an earlier series, the North Australia Research Bulletin which is to be discontinued when number 8 is published during 1982. Other monographs in the new series which are at an advanced stage of preparation include Steven Thiele's study of the Aboriginal-owned cattle station, Yugul, in the Northern Territory, a report on the National Aboriginal Conference election in the Northern Territory in 1981, and a selection of papers dealing with service delivery to Aboriginal outstations from the Research Unit's 1981 conference. The Unit, located in Darwin, is a part of the Research School of Pacific Studies of the Australian National University. It provides services for visitors and maintains its own research program. Patrick Weller, senior lecturer in political science at the Australian National University, visited the Unit in 1981 when he and Will Sanders, one of the Unit's staff, carried out the interviews on which this monograph is based. As field director of the Unit I would like to join with them in acknowledging the cooperation of Northern Territory ministers and departmental heads, all of whom gave generously of their time. To all of them we owe thanks and particularly to the Chief Minister, Paul Everingham. Our thanks go too to Debbie Hill who set the text on the computer