2016 Northern Territory general election

The 2016 Northern Territory general election was held on Saturday 27 August 2016 to elect all 25 members of the Legislative Assembly in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament.

Legislation was passed in February 2016 to change the voting method of single-member electorates from full-preferential voting to optional preferential voting. Electoral districts were redistributed in 2015. The election was conducted by the Northern Territory Electoral Commission, an independent body answerable to Parliament.

The one-term incumbent Country Liberal Party (CLP) minority government, led by Chief Minister Adam Giles, was defeated by the Opposition Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Michael Gunner, in a landslide. The CLP suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government in the history of the Territory, and one of the worst defeats of a sitting government in Australian history. It was the first time that a sitting Northern Territory government was defeated after only one term. From 11 seats at dissolution (and 16 at the 2012 election), the CLP suffered the worst election performance in its history, winning only two seats—those of second-term MPs Gary Higgins (the only survivor of the Giles cabinet) and Lia Finocchiaro. Labor won 18 seats, in the process winning the third-largest majority government in Territory history, and the second-largest since the Territory was granted self-government in 1978. Independents won five seats. Although the independent MPs outnumbered the CLP MPs, on official advice the CLP was recognised as the official opposition.

Additionally, Giles lost his Alice Springs-based seat of Braitling to Labor, making him only the second sitting Chief Minister/Majority Leader to lose his own seat at an election. Labor also took Katherine, previously the safest seat in the Territory, off the CLP. It was the first and only election that saw Labor win seats in Katherine and inner Alice Springs.

With the overall result beyond doubt, Gunner had himself, Natasha Fyles, and Nicole Manison sworn in as an interim three-person government on 31 August until the full Gunner Ministry could be sworn in on 12 September. The CLP's two surviving MPs, Higgins and Finocchiaro, became leader and deputy leader of the CLP on 2 September.

Despite Labor's massive majority following the 2016 election, the new Labor government re-appointed CLP-turned-independent Kezia Purick as Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for another term.

Results ↓ 18 5 2 ALP Independents CLP

Independents: Robyn Lambley (Araluen), Terry Mills (Blain), Kezia Purick (Goyder), Gerry Wood (Nelson), Yingiya Mark Guyula (Nhulunbuy)

Labor went into the election as unbackable favourites, with Northern Territory opinion polls indicating a massive swing against the CLP—as much as 19 points, by at least one account (see below). Giles later admitted that he'd known almost as soon as the writs were dropped that the CLP would not be reelected, but felt he had to keep up appearances to maintain morale.

As expected, Labor swept the CLP from power in a massive landslide. It won 58.5 percent of the two-party vote on a swing of 14.3 percentage points, the largest two-party swing on record for a Territory election. It is only the second time Territory Labor has won a majority of the two-party vote at an election.

By only four percentage points, Labor won the third-largest majority government in Territory history, with 72 percent of the 25-seat Assembly. This was only bettered by Labor's landslide victory in 2005, when Labor won 19 seats (76 percent of the seats), and the first election in 1974, in which the CLP only faced two independents as opposition.

ABC election analyst Antony Green called the election for Labor at 6:41 pm Darwin time, less than an hour after counting began. Giles phoned Gunner to concede defeat just after 9 pm, and Gunner publicly claimed victory an hour later. Only one seat had been definitively called for the CLP by Sunday morning, with a second called on Monday morning.

The CLP lost a number of seats on swings of well over 10 percentage points. In some seats, the CLP suffered swings virtually unheard of in Australian politics. For example, Bess Price, one of several indigenous CLP members elected in 2012, was routed in her seat of Stuart, suffering a swing of nearly 31 points to Labor—easily the largest swing of the election (not counting swings picked up by former CLP members contesting as independents). The CLP was all but wiped out in the Darwin/Palmerston area, losing all but one seat there. This was all the more remarkable since Labor had historically run dead in Palmerston for most of the Legislative Assembly's existence. Labor picked up two Palmerston seats in its 2005 landslide, only to lose them both to the CLP in 2008.

By Sunday morning, Giles was trailing in his own seat of Braitling. He'd gone into the election sitting on a seemingly insurmountable majority of 19.6 percent after the redistribution. However, the ABC showed him trailing Labor challenger Dale Wakefield with counting still underway. Ultimately, Labor took the seat on a swing of almost 20 points, making Giles only the second Majority Leader/Chief Minister and the third major-party leader in the Territory to lose his own seat. With former CLP member-turned-independent Robyn Lambley having retained the other Alice Springs-based seat, Araluen as an independent, Giles' defeat meant that the CLP was completely shut out in its other traditional stronghold for the first time ever.

Also of note, former Deputy Chief Minister Willem Westra van Holthe lost his seat of Katherine to Labor. Going into the election, Westra van Holthe sat on a majority of 22.3 percent, making Katherine the safest seat in the Territory. However, Westra van Holthe's primary vote almost halved, enabling Labor challenger Sandra Nelson to oust him by 33 votes. Earlier, Green said that it would "truly be a disaster" for the CLP if both Braitling and Katherine fell to Labor; neither had ever been won by Labor before 2016.Green, Antony. Northern Territory Election Result Updates . ABC News, 2016-08-28. The only blemish on Labor's otherwise massive victory came when deputy leader Lynne Walker, who had been tipped to become Deputy Chief Minister, lost in her own seat of Nhulunbuy to independent candidate Yingiya Mark Guyula by a mere eight votes. However, Labor left open the possibility of challenging the result.

Although the CLP had fewer members than the independents, Territory Solicitor-General Sonia Brownhill advised that the independents should not be recognised as the Official Opposition because they did not have a realistic chance of forming an alternative government. While Labor was the only party to win enough seats for official party status in the legislature, Gunner promised that the CLP would be properly resourced as an opposition.

With the overall result beyond doubt, Gunner had himself, Natasha Fyles, and Nicole Manison sworn in as an interim three-person government on 31 August until the full Gunner Ministry could be sworn in on 12 September.

On 2 September, Higgins became leader of what remained of the CLP, and hence Opposition Leader, with Finocchiaro as his deputy.

Post-election pendulum Labor seatsMarginalBraitlingDale WakefieldALP0.3KatherineSandra NelsonALP0.5KaramaNgaree Ah KitALP0.8 v INDBrennanTony SieversALP2.6Port DarwinPaul KirbyALP2.8ArafuraLawrence CostaALP4.7DrysdaleEva LawlerALP5.2Fairly safeFong LimJeff CollinsALP7.8BarklyGerry McCarthyALP8.0 v INDNamatjiraChansey PaechALP8.5SafeSandersonKate WordenALP10.5CasuarinaLauren MossALP11.3Fannie BayMichael GunnerALP14.2ArnhemSelena UiboALP14.3JohnstonKen VowlesALP14.7WanguriNicole ManisonALP19.9StuartScott McConnellALP25.4NightcliffNatasha FylesALP 26.9

Country Liberal seatsMarginalDalyGary HigginsCLP2.1SafeSpillettLia FinocchiaroCLP13.1Independent seatsNhulunbuyYingiya Mark GuyulaIND0.1 v ALPBlainTerry MillsIND1.4 v ALPAraluenRobyn LambleyIND8.2 v CLPNelsonGerry WoodIND23.0 v CLPGoyderKezia PurickIND25.3 v CLP

Seats changing hands

Seat Pre-2016 election Swing Post-2016 election Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Arafura Country Liberal Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu 2.4 7.2 4.7 Lawrence Costa Labor Araluen Independent Robyn Lambley 20.0 (CLP) 28.1 8.2 Robyn Lambley Independent Arnhem Independent Larisa Lee 4.3 (CLP) 18.6 14.3 Selena Uibo Labor Blain Independent Nathan Barrett 15.1 (CLP) N/A 1.4 Terry Mills Independent Braitling Country Liberal Adam Giles 19.6 19.9 0.3 Dale Wakefield Labor Brennan Country Liberal Peter Chandler 14.0 16.6 2.6 Tony Sievers Labor Drysdale Country Liberal Lia Finocchiaro 11.5 16.6 5.2 Eva Lawler Labor Fong Lim Country Liberal Dave Tollner 0.2 7.9 7.8 Jeff Collins Labor Goyder Independent Kezia Purick 16.0 (CLP) 41.3 25.3 Kezia Purick Independent Karama Independent Delia Lawrie 6.4 (ALP) −5.6 0.8 Ngaree Ah Kit Labor Katherine Country Liberal Willem Westra van Holthe 22.3 22.7 0.5 Sandra Nelson Labor Namatjira Independent Alison Anderson 20.8 (CLP) 29.2 8.5 Chansey Paech Labor Nhulunbuy Labor Lynne Walker 13.7 13.8 0.1 Yingiya Mark Guyula Independent Port Darwin Country Liberal John Elferink 9.7 12.5 2.8 Paul Kirby Labor Sanderson Country Liberal Peter Styles 3.1 13.6 10.5 Kate Worden Labor Stuart Country Liberal Bess Price 5.5 30.9 25.4 Scott McConnell Labor

Members in italics did not re-contest their Legislative Assembly seats at this election.

Candidates Sitting members are listed in bold. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. Where there is possible confusion, an asterisk is used. Electorate Held by Labor CLP Greens 1TP Other Arafura CLP Lawrence Costa Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu Jon Lotu Tristan Mungatopi (Ind)Araluen CLP Adam Findlay Stephen Brown Robyn Lambley (Ind)Arnhem CLP Selena Uibo Ian Gumbula James Gaykamangu Lance Lawrence (Ind) Larisa Lee (Ind)Barkly Labor Gerry McCarthy Tony Jack Jack Green (Ind) Elliot McAdam (Ind)Blain CLP Damian Hale Marie-Clare Boothby Gregory Knowles (Ind) Terry Mills* (Ind)Braitling CLP Dale Wakefield Adam Giles Dalton Dupuy Jane Clark (Ind) Alfred Gould (Ind) Eli Melky (Ind) Phil Walcott (Ind)Brennan CLP Tony Sievers Peter Chandler Dorothy Fox Casuarina Labor Lauren Moss Giovanna Webb Daly CLP Anthony Venes Gary Higgins Joan Growden Ian Barry (CEC) Thong Sum Lee (Ind) Regina McCarthy (Ind) Allan McKay (Ind) Kevin Wanganeen (Ind)Drysdale CLP Eva Lawler Ben Hosking Hayden Bray David Cartwright Margy Kerle (Ind) Lyle Mackay (Ind)Fannie Bay Labor Michael Gunner Karen Brown Greg Strettles Fong Lim CLP Jeff Collins Tim Dixon Sue Fraser-Adams Ilana Eldridge (Ind)Goyder CLP Mick Taylor Carolyn Reynolds Billee McGinley Peter Flynn (CEC) Kezia Purick* (Ind)Johnston Labor Ken Vowles Steven Klose Melanie Ross Karama Labor Ngaree Ah Kit Jarred Ilett Edward Solo Jimmy Gimini (Ind) Sonja Jebbink (Ind) Trevor Jenkins (-) Delia Lawrie (Ind)Katherine CLP Sandra Nelson Willem Westra van Holthe Braedon Earley Leon Cellier (Ind) Dean David (Ind) Chris Righton (SFP)Namatjira CLP Chansey Paech Heidi Williams Vincent Forrester Alan Keeling (Ind)Nelson Independent Kirsty Hunt Gerard Maley Brigid McCullough (CEC) Marty Reinhold (SFP) Gerry Wood* (Ind)Nhulunbuy Labor Lynne Walker Charles Yunupingu Jackson Anni (Ind) Yingiya Mark Guyula* (Ind)Nightcliff Labor Natasha Fyles Ted Dunstan Matt Haubrick Port Darwin CLP Paul Kirby Rohan Kelly David Cameron Matthew Baker (Ind) Carol Phayer (Ind) Kenneth Wu (Ind)Sanderson CLP Kate Worden Peter Styles Trudi Andersson Andrew Arthur (Ind) Thomas Lynch (Ind)Spillett CLP Phil Tilbrook Lia Finocchiaro Jeff Norton Trudy Campbell (CEC) Sonia Mackay (Ind) Richard Smith (Ind)Stuart CLP Scott McConnell Bess Price Andi Bracey Maurie Ryan (Ind)Wanguri Labor Nicole Manison Steven Doherty Shauna Mounsey (Ind) Jan Pile (Ind)

Opinion polling