|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A general election was held in the Northern Territory, Australia, on 18 June 2005. The centre-left Australian Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Clare Martin, won a second term with a landslide victory, winning six of the ten seats held by the opposition Country Liberal Party in the 25-member Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, bringing their total to 19. Aside from the territory's first election in 1974 where the CLP won 17 seats on 49% with the ALP winning 0 seats on 30%, [1] it was the largest victory in any Northern Territory election. Opposition Leader Denis Burke's loss of his own seat of Brennan was only the second time a party leader in the Territory had been defeated in their own electorate, after former Majority Leader Goff Letts losing his seat of Victoria River in 1977.
Contents |
The Australian Labor Party won 52.5% of the vote, which was an increase of 11.9% over the 2001 election. The opposition Country Liberal Party polled 35.3%, a drop of 10.1% from 2001. The two party preferred result was Labor on 59.1% to the CLP on 40.9%, a swing to Labor of 11.1% from the previous election.[1] The Northern Territory Greens ran an increased number of candidates, and managed to increase their vote through much of Darwin, but had very little effect on the outcome of the election.
The Australian Labor Party won 19 seats, against the Country Liberal Party opposition's four seats. Two independent members, Loraine Braham and Gerry Wood, were also re-elected. The size of the government's win was very much unexpected - while they had been favourite to win a second term, most commentators had predicted a gain of one or two seats at best. Five of the six seats won by the ALP - Brennan, Daly, Drysdale, Goyder and Port Darwin - were formerly safe conservative seats that they had never won before in the history of the Assembly. The ALP also retrieved the seat of MacDonnell, which had been an ALP safe seat until its shock fall to the CLP in 1997. The CLP also very narrowly failed to win back the formerly safe seat of Braitling from independent Loraine Braham, despite a strong challenge from CLP candidate Michael Jones.
Amidst what was their worst ever result, the CLP did have some good news in two seats which the ALP had been openly hoping to win. The ALP had run Fran Kilgariff, the very high profile Mayor of Alice Springs and daughter of CLP founder Bernie Kilgariff as their candidate in Greatorex, against CLP Deputy Leader Dr Richard Lim. Despite Kilgariff's profile and the massive swing against the CLP elsewhere in the Territory, Lim managed to very narrowly retain his seat. There was a swing to the CLP in only one seat - Araluen, where leadership aspirant Jodeen Carney comfortably retained what had been the most marginal CLP-held seat.
The severity of the landslide result was all the more surprising considering that the ALP had never before been in government until 2001. The Legislative Assembly had been created in 1974, and the CLP had held government for an unbroken stretch of 27 years before Clare Martin won the ALP's first victory in 2001. The victory was seen in many cases as an endorsement of Martin's first government, and the ALP's ability to lead the Territory, as the CLP had consistently alleged that the ALP would be unfit to govern the Territory, and had used this as a key tactic during election campaigns many times in the past. However, it was also seen as being a vote of no-confidence in the opposition, and in the days after the election result, conservative Prime Minister John Howard strongly criticised the CLP for what he saw as their poor performance in opposition. Furthermore, the reduction of the CLP to just four seats raised questions as to whether it was viable for them to continue to be separate from the Liberal-National coalition which operates as the conservative party at federal level and in every other state and territory.
There were several prominent casualties of the election, but none was more significant or surprising than the defeat of Opposition Leader Denis Burke in Brennan. Brennan was the CLP's safest seat anywhere in the Territory, and the ALP had never won a seat anywhere in Palmerston. There had been no suggestion from any major commentators or opinion polls that Burke was even remotely under threat, but he was swept aside on election day with a swing against him of more than 21%. The ALP candidate, James Burke, a virtually unknown labor lawyer, expressed shock at his own win, and became a party legend overnight. Denis Burke had already stated that he would resign as party leader if he lost the election, but the loss of his seat forced the party to find a new leader immediately. The four remaining CLP members unanimously replaced Burke with Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Health Minister Jodeen Carney[2].
While the loss of Burke was a major shock, the defeat of three other CLP sitting members, Sue Carter (Port Darwin) Stephen Dunham (Drysdale), John Elferink (MacDonnell) also posed major problems for the party. Elferink had been the Leader of Opposition Business, Opposition Whip and Shadow Minister for Community Development, Housing, Local Government, Sport and Recreation, Regional Development, and Indigenous Affairs, Dunham had been the Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Lands and Planning, Parks and Wildlife and Essential Services, and Carter had been the Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services, Environment and Heritage, Arts and Museums and Women's Policy. In the aftermath of their defeat, all of these portfolios will have to be redistributed among the four remaining CLP members, Jodeen Carney (Araluen), Dr Richard Lim (Greatorex) Fay Miller (Katherine) and Terry Mills (Blain). This has raised concerns from both sides of politics about the CLP's ability to mount any form of effective opposition in the new parliament.
The two independent members of the outgoing parliament, disendorsed former CLP minister Loraine Braham and former Litchfield Mayor Gerry Wood both managed to retain their seats. In the lead-up to the election, there had been some suggestion that Wood may have some difficulty retaining his seat, but Braham had been widely expected to win another term. The final result turned out to be the opposite; Wood cruised to victory with a massive swing in his favour, whereas Braham very narrowly retained her seat in a result that was not known for several days after the election. The election was a disappointment for other independent candidates; Wood's successor as Litchfield Mayor, Mary Walshe, fell well short of expectations in Goyder, and Wadeye councillor Dale Seaniger failed to make much impact in Daly.
As in past elections, minor parties failed to make much impact at the 2005 election. While the Northern Territory Greens ran an increased number of candidates and increased their votes, none of their candidates, including leader Ilana Eldridge came close to winning a seat, and their preferences had comparatively little effect on the outcome of any seats, let alone the election. The Network Against Prohibition ran in several seats, but did noticeably poorly. The Australian Democrats ran candidates in only two seats, a significant decrease from 2001, and barely rated at all. The Socialist Alliance chose not to run any candidates for financial reasons, instead endorsing the Green and NAP candidates.
Law and order has always been a prominent issue in the Northern Territory, and the Country Liberal Party campaigned on this heavily during their 27-year unbroken stint in government. Perhaps in acknowledgment of this, the Australian Labor Party is also attempting to present itself as being harsh on antisocial behaviour. Mandatory sentencing is an issue in the background; there is some dispute as to its popularity in the Territory, and it is likely that a CLP government would reintroduce the policy, whereas it will almost definitely remain abolished under an ALP government.
| Election campaign, 2005 | ||
| Government | Opposition | |
|---|---|---|
| Party | Labor | Country Liberals |
| Leader | Martin | Burke |
| Leader since | 1999 | 1999 |
| 2PP 2001 result | 41% | 45% |
| Seats held | 13 | 10 |
| Seats needed | 0 | 3 |
While there had been a form of unofficial campaign going on for some months, due to the persistent rumors of a coming election, there had been comparatively little in the way of policy announcements or major developments. Both parties began trading accusations that the other was being overly influenced by "southerners", with the ALP noting that the CLP had hired controversial federal Liberal staffer Ian Hanke and taking advantage of Burke's statements that he had had assistance from the federal Liberals in drafting his economic policies. At the same time, the CLP has been trying to link Martin's fortunes to those of less popular federal Labor leader Kim Beazley, and has suggested that she is being overly influenced by the federal party. (Where the CLP exists only in the Northern Territory, but is allied with the federal Liberals, the ALP is an entirely federal party.)
The CLP has also suffered due to a damaging row between Burke and former Shadow Minister Peter Maley, culminating in Maley's expulsion from the party on 19 May 2005. While Maley had once been touted as a potential leadership contender, he was later dumped from the ministry, and soon after announced his intention to retire at the 2005 election. Maley had reportedly not told Burke of his decision to retire before telling the media, and combined with his earlier axing, this aggravated tensions between the two. When the story broke on that Maley's wife had taken out a court order against him over domestic violence issues (although this was quickly withdrawn), Burke abruptly expelled Maley from the party. Maley served out the last weeks of his term as an independent, and briefly threatened to run for re-election, before deciding to publicly endorse the ALP candidate in his seat.
With the official announcement of the election on 30 May, the campaign began in earnest. Both parties made their first major policy launch on 1 June, with the ALP announcing plans to introduce laws cracking down on habitual drunks involved in antisocial behaviour, forcing them to undergo treatment or face jail, with a special alcohol court planned to deal with these offences. In contrast, the CLP concentrated on the economy, launching its "Territory 2020" plan to encourage business growth in the Territory, which amongst other things, would involve setting up a fund to encourage innovation and providing assistance to the armoured vehicle maintenance industry (Due to its location, Darwin, the Territory's capital, is a major defence hub, and defence industries are particularly important to the city's economy).
Sitting members are in bold. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour.
| Electorate | Held By | Labor Candidate | CLP Candidate | Greens Candidate | Independent Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arafura | Labor | Marion Scrymgour | August Stevens | George Pascoe | |
| Araluen | CLP | John Gaynor | Jodeen Carney | Alan Tyley | |
| Arnhem | Labor | Barbara McCarthy | Djuwalpi Marika | Lance Lawrence | |
| Barkly | Labor | Elliot McAdam | Val Dyer | Janeen Bulsey | |
| Blain | CLP | Brendan Cabry | Terry Mills | Sue McKinnon | Duncan Dean |
| Braitling | Independent | Sue West | Michael Jones | Loraine Braham | |
| Brennan | CLP | James Burke | Denis Burke | Nelly Riley | |
| Casuarina | Labor | Kon Vatskalis | Wendy Green | Gary Mills Scott White |
|
| Daly | CLP | Rob Knight | Debbi Aloisi | Elke Stegemann | Dale Seaniger |
| Drysdale | CLP | Chris Natt | Stephen Dunham | ||
| Fannie Bay | Labor | Clare Martin | Edward Fry | Fiona Clarke | |
| Goyder | CLP | Ted Warren | Keith Phasey | Diana Rickard | Andrew Blackadder Mary Walshe |
| Greatorex | CLP | Fran Kilgariff | Richard Lim | David Mortimer | |
| Johnston | Labor | Chris Burns | Ross Connolly | Kate Neely | Gary Meyerhoff Steve Saint |
| Karama | Labor | Delia Lawrie | Trevor Sellick | ||
| Katherine | CLP | Sharon Hillen | Fay Miller | ||
| Macdonnell | CLP | Alison Anderson | John Elferink | Andrew Longmire | David Chewings Vincent Forrester |
| Millner | Labor | Matthew Bonson | Paul Mossman | Rob Hoad | Rob Inder-Smith Phil Mitchell |
| Nelson | Independent | Lisa McKinney-Smith | Chris Lugg | Gerry Wood | |
| Nhulunbuy | Labor | Syd Stirling | Peter Manning | ||
| Nightcliff | Labor | Jane Aagaard | Anthony Reiter | Ilana Eldridge | Andrew Arthur Stuart Highway |
| Port Darwin | CLP | Kerry Sacilotto | Sue Carter | ||
| Sanderson | Labor | Len Kiely | Peter Styles | ||
| Stuart | Labor | Peter Toyne | Anna Machado | ||
| Wanguri | Labor | Paul Henderson | Kerrie Kyriacou |
| Seat | Pre-2005 | Swing | Post-2005 | ||||||
| Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||
| Brennan | Country Liberal | Denis Burke | 19.0 | 20.8 | 1.8 | James Burke | Labor | ||
| Daly | Country Liberal | Tim Baldwin | 9.5 | 24.4 | 14.8 | Rob Knight | Labor | ||
| Drysdale | Country Liberal | Stephen Dunham | 15.7 | 16.9 | 1.3 | Chris Natt | Labor | ||
| Goyder | Country Liberal | Peter Maley | 19.0 | 20.8 | 1.8 | Ted Warren | Labor | ||
| Macdonnell | Country Liberal | John Elferink | 11.8 | 20.3 | 8.5 | Alison Anderson | Labor | ||
| Port Darwin | Country Liberal | Sue Carter | 19.0 | 20.8 | 1.8 | Kerry Sacilotto | Labor | ||
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||