Culture

Labor Absolutely Crushed The Country Liberal Party In Yesterday’s NT Election

It's the worst ever result for the Country Liberal Party.

by Osman Faruqi  28 August 2016

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

Labor has scored a massive election win in the Northern Territory overnight, defeating the incumbent Country Liberal Party (CLP) in a landslide. On current projections Labor is expected to win 18 of the 25 seats in the NT parliament with the CLP reduced to just three.

It’s an absolutely crushing defeat for the sitting CLP government and outgoing Chief Minister Adam Giles. Giles himself is locked in a tight battle for his own seat against Labor challenger Dale Wakefield. “Tonight, no doubt, is a landslide, it’s a thumping,” Giles told party supporters last night.

The outgoing CLP government had been plagued by scandal after scandal throughout its four years in office. In 2013 Chief Minister Terry Mills was deposed by Giles while on a business trip to Japan. In 2014 three government MPs quit the CLP and joined Palmer United Party. In 2015 Giles was himself the target of a leadership coup, but despite lacking support within his own party he refused to resign and held on to his position.

In 2016 a minister was forced to resign after sending two videos he had recorded of himself masturbating in Parliament House to a constituent.

More recently the Don Dale prisoner abuse scandal attracted international headlines and was widely regarded as the final nail in the coffin for the CLP.

The new NT Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, said last night that, “Tonight is extraordinary. Territorians have spoken. They have rejected the chaos of the last four years and they have chosen to place their trust in Labor.”

The election result is the worst ever for the CLP. While they suffered a massive 20 percent swing against them, most of that vote went to independents, with the Labor party only picking up 6 percent. On current projections it is expected there will be at least four independent MPs in the NT Parliament, more than the number of CLP MPs.

–

Feature image via James Oaten.