The 2024 Northern Territory general election was held on 24 August 2024 to elect all 25 members of the Legislative Assembly in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament. Members were elected through full preferential instant-runoff voting in single-member electorates. The election was conducted by the Northern Territory Electoral Commission (NTEC).
The incumbent centre-left Labor majority government, led by Chief Minister Eva Lawler since December 2023, sought to win a third consecutive four-year term of government. They were defeated by the centre-right Country Liberal Party (CLP) opposition, led by Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro, in a landslide.
The election saw the second-worst defeat of a sitting government in the Territory's history. From 14 seats at dissolution, Labor fell to four seats, its smallest presence in the Legislative Assembly since it entered the chamber in 1977; it won no seats at the first ever Northern Territory election in 1974. Labor also tallied its lowest primary vote in the Territory and suffered a complete wipeout in the urban areas of Darwin and Palmerston. The CLP swelled to 17 seats, up from seven at dissolution, giving the party a four-seat majority. There was a large swing to the CLP across Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs, as well as in the surrounding rural areas and in Katherine. The CLP swept the city of Palmerston and won all but two seats in Darwin and all but one seat in Alice Springs. The swing led to Eva Lawler losing her seat of Drysdale to CLP candidate Clinton Howe. She became the third Chief Minister and the first Labor Chief Minister to lose her seat at an election.
Of the four remaining seats, three were won by independents and one by left-wing minor party the Greens, whose candidate Kat McNamara defeated former Chief Minister Natasha Fyles in the seat of Nightcliff. This marked the first time the Greens entered the Legislative Assembly in the history of the Northern Territory.
For the first time in Northern Territory history, both major parties at the election were led by female leaders. Additionally, both leaders were from the city of Palmerston; indeed, before her move to the then-new seat of Spillett in 2016, Finocchiaro was the member for Drysdale (the seat Lawler won in 2016 after Finocchiaro transferred to Spillett). Voter turnout dropped in remote Aboriginal communities, which the NTEC attributed to voter fatigue and apathy; others suggested the rejection of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament at the 2023 referendum contributed to low turnout among Indigenous voters.
With the Northern Territory election results, Labor lost its first mainland state or territory since the 2018 South Australian election. Background This was the first election for the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly where both major political parties were led by women, and the third in any Australian state or territory, after the 1995 ACT election and 2020 Queensland election.
Additionally, both leaders were from the city of Palmerston. Before her move to the then-new seat of Spillett in 2016, Finocchiaro was the member for Drysdale, the seat Lawler won in that election.
Previous election At the 2020 election, the Labor government led by Chief Minister Michael Gunner was re-elected with a reduced majority, winning 14 of the 25 seats in the parliament. The Country Liberals (CLP) won 8 seats, whilst the Territory Alliance party won 1 seat and a further 2 seats were won by independents.
Parliamentary composition Robyn Lambley, the Territory Alliance's sole representative in the parliament, left the party in October 2020 to sit as an independent. Labor MLA Mark Turner was expelled from the party-room caucus in February 2021 due to what he acknowledged as an "inappropriate relationship" with a Labor Party staffer, though he remained a Labor-designated member in the assembly.
A by-election was held for the seat of Daly on 11 September 2021, caused by the resignation of CLP member Ian Sloan due to health and personal issues. Labor candidate Dheran Young won the seat, the first time that an incumbent government has won a seat from the opposition in the history of the Legislative Assembly.
On 10 May 2022, Chief Minister and Labor leader Michael Gunner announced his immediate resignation from both positions, citing his desire to spend more time with his family following the birth of his and his wife's second son on 29 April. Following a party-room meeting on 13 May, Labor minister Natasha Fyles was elected unopposed to the leadership, and was sworn in as the new Chief Minister later that day. Gunner resigned from the seat of Fannie Bay on 27 July and a by-election was held on 20 August 2022. Labor retained the seat at the by-election, with Labor candidate Brent Potter retaining the seat despite a 7 per cent swing against the party.
On 17 December 2022, Labor MP for Arafura Lawrence Costa died. This triggered a by-election which was held on 18 March 2023. Manuel Brown retained the seat for Labor with a 15.6% swing towards the party on the two-party-preferred result.
In December 2023, it was revealed that Fyles holds 754 undeclared shares in South32, a company that owns a manganese mine on Groote Eylandt. Fyles faced further conflict of interest allegations and calls to resign, due to her decision earlier in 2023 to not investigate health impacts from the Groote Eylandt mine, with Leader of the Opposition Lia Finocchiaro calling her actions a 'profound betrayal of public trust'. Due to the controversy, Fyles resigned on 19 December 2023.
Three independents were elected at the 2020 election, the crossbench then increased to 4 when Mark Turner was expelled from the Labor Party.
Redistribution
A redistribution took place in preparation for the 2024 election, largely due to the rapid population growth of Palmerston, but minor changes were also made to electorates outside the town.
The first redistribution proposal was published on 23 May 2023.
Election date The Legislative Assembly has fixed four-year terms, with elections to be held on the fourth Saturday of August every four years.
Pendulum Pre-election pendulum Government seats (14)MarginalPort DarwinPaul KirbyALP1.9Fong LimMark MonaghanALP2.2ArafuraManuel BrownALP3.6DrysdaleEva LawlerALP5.4Fairly safeDalyDheran YoungALP6.1KaramaNgaree Ah KitALP8.3SafeFannie BayBrent PotterALP10.9ArnhemSelena UiboALP15.9CasuarinaLauren MossALP16.0GwojaChansey PaechALP16.2JohnstonJoel BowdenALP16.0WanguriNicole ManisonALP17.3SandersonKate WordenALP18.8NightcliffNatasha FylesALP24.1 Opposition seats (7)MarginalBarklySteve EdgingtonCLP0.1NamatjiraBill YanCLP0.3BraitlingJoshua BurgoyneCLP1.3KatherineJo HerseyCLP2.5BrennanMarie-Clare BoothbyCLP3.0Fairly safeNelsonGerard MaleyCLP9.2 v INDSafeSpillettLia FinocchiaroCLP13.5Crossbench seats (4)AraluenRobyn LambleyIND0.5 v CLPBlainMark TurnerIND1.3 (ALP v CLP)MulkaYingiya Mark GuyulaIND5.1 v ALPGoyderKezia PurickIND6.8 v CLP
Notes This pre-election pendulum is based on post-redistribution estimates of margins calculated by ABC election analyst Antony Green. Members listed in italics are retiring at the 2024 election.
Post-election pendulum Government seats (17)MarginalFannie BayLaurie ZioCLP0.39 v GRNCasuarinaKhoda PatelCLP0.70BlainMatthew KerleCLP1.92 v INDBarklySteve EdgingtonCLP1.93SandersonJinson CharlsCLP2.20BraitlingJoshua BurgoyneCLP3.85 v GRNFairly safeFong LimTanzil RahmanCLP7.46WanguriOly CarlsonCLP8.99SafeKaramaBrian O'GallagherCLP11.33NamatjiraBill YanCLP11.46Port DarwinRobyn CahillCLP11.73KatherineJo HerseyCLP12.16 v INDGoyderAndrew MackayCLP12.66 v INDDrysdaleClinton HoweCLP14.96BrennanMarie-Clare BoothbyCLP23.90NelsonGerard MaleyCLP25.0 v INDSpillettLia FinocchiaroCLP29.58 Opposition seats (4)MarginalDalyDheran YoungALP2.29SafeArnhemSelena UiboALP14.26GwojaChansey PaechALP15.84ArafuraManuel BrownALP19.68Crossbench seats (4)NightcliffKat McNamaraGRN0.40 v ALPJohnstonJustine DavisIND7.64 v CLPAraluenRobyn LambleyIND14.73 v CLPMulkaYingiya Mark GuyulaIND25.20 v CLP
Registered parties At the close of nominations for the election, five parties were registered with the Northern Territory Electoral Commission (NTEC).
Animal Justice Party Australian Labor Party Country Liberal Party
Federation Party Greens
Candidates and retiring MLAs
Retiring MLAs The following members announced that they were not contesting the 2024 election:
Labor
Paul Kirby (Port Darwin) – announced retirement on 25 January 2024 Nicole Manison (Wanguri) – announced retirement 12 January 2024
Independent
Kezia Purick (Goyder) – announced retirement 15 February 2024
Candidates Finocchiaro announced the first CLP candidates in May 2023.
Labor confirmed they would not contest the seat of Mulka on 1 August 2024, with Chief Minister Eva Lawler citing her party's "good relationship with and respect for" incumbent MLA Yingiya Mark Guyula.
Nominations closed on 8 August 2024 and the ballot draws were conducted the same day. In total, 80 candidates nominated for election, down from 111 at the previous election.
This is the first election since the 2008 election where the only parties to field candidates were ALP, CLP, and the Greens.
Sitting members are listed in bold. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. Where there is possible confusion, an asterisk is used.
Seat Held byALP candidateCLP candidateGreens candidateIndependent candidates Arafura ALP Manuel BrownYanja Thompson Araluen Independent Gagandeep SodhiSean HeenanHugo WellsRobyn Lambley*Wayne WrightArnhem ALP Selena Uibo Ian Mongunu Gumbula Barkly CLP Lizzie Hogan Steve EdgingtonBlain Independent Danielle EveleighMatthew KerleMark Turner Braitling CLP Allison Bitar Joshua BurgoyneAsta HillBrennan CLP Tony SieversMarie-Clare Boothby Casuarina ALP Lauren MossKhoda Patel Pamela McCalman Martin JacksonDaly ALP Dheran Young Kris Civitarese Drysdale ALP Eva LawlerClinton Howe Cindy Mebbingarri RobertsFannie Bay ALP Brent PotterLaurie ZioSuki Dorras-WalkerLeonard MayFong Lim ALP Mark Monaghan Tanzil Rahman Simon Niblock Amye UnGoyder Independent Sandy Griffin Andrew Mackay Belinda KolstadMathew SalterTrevor JenkinsGwoja ALP Chansey Paech Jarrod Jupurula Williams Johnston ALP Joel Bowden Gary Strachan Billie BartonJustine DavisKarama ALP Ngaree Ah KitBrian O'Gallagher Andy Rowan Justine GloverKatherine CLP Nick LoveringJo Hersey Sam PhelanMulka Independent Allen Fanning Yingiya Mark GuyulaNamatjira CLP Sheralee Taylor Bill Yan Blair McFarlandNelson CLP Anthony Venes Gerard Maley Beverley RatahiNightcliff ALP Natasha FylesHelen SecretaryKat McNamara George MamouzellosMililma MayPort Darwin ALP Brian Manning Robyn CahillGreg DicksonJaney DaviesLeah PotterSanderson ALP Kate WordenJinson Charls Spillett CLP Caleb Burke Lia Finocchiaro Wanguri ALP Shlok SharmaOly Carlson Andrew Coates Graeme Sawyer
Disendorsed candidates Party Candidate Seat Disendorsed Reason for disendorsement Greens Peltherre Chris Tomlins Araluen 8 March 2024 Disendorsed over a Facebook post expressing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Opinion polling Voting intention DateFirmPrimary voteTPP 2024 election28.8%48.9%14.2%8.1% − −42.6% 57.4% May 2024Freshwater Strategy 29% 39% 22% 9% − − 46% 54% 16–18 November 2023Redbridge 19.7% 40.6% 14% 13.1% 9.4% 2.4% 43.5% 56.5%2020 election39.4%31.3%10.7%4.5%N/A14.1%53.3%46.7%
Campaign issues The most prominent issue in the campaign was crime. Other issues included cost of living and pet crocodiles.
The Country Liberal Party (CLP) had a policy to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10 years old, reversing the Gunner government's 2022 increase.
Results
Results summary