[Northern Territory]: 2004 Northern Territory General Election

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28 August 2004​

All 25 seats in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly 13 seats needed for a majority​

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Leader:	Clare Martin	Terry Mills
Party:	Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)	Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory
Policies:	Social Democracy Democratic Socialism	Liberal Conservatism Economic Liberalism
Leader Since:	16 April 1996	8 February 1999
Leader's Seat:	Fannie Bay	Blain
Last Election (seats):	8 seats	17 seats
Last Election (TPP percentage):	41.7%	58.3%
Seats Won:	8 seats	16 seats
Seat Change:	--	-1
TPP Popular Vote:	37,018	49,270
TPP Percentage:	42.9%	57.1%
TPP Swing:	+1.2%	-1.2%

Pre-Election Pendulum (Country Liberal)​

Seat:	Member:	Party:	Percentage:
Braitling	Peter Harvey	Country Liberal Party	0.8% vs. Independent
Karama	Mick Palmer	Country Liberal Party	2.6%
Casuarina	Peter Adamson	Country Liberal Party	2.8%
Sanderson	Peter Poniris	Country Liberal Party	3.3%
Johnston	Steve Balch	Country Liberal Party	3.4%
Millner	Phil Mitchell	Country Liberal Party	5.1%
Nelson	Chris Lugg	Country Liberal Party	5.2% vs. Independent
Araluen	Jodeen Carney	Country Liberal Party	8.3%
Port Darwin	Sue Carter	Country Liberal Party	13.6%
MacDonnell	John Elferink	Country Liberal Party	14.8%
Greatorex	Richard Lim	Country Liberal Party	15.3%
Daly	Tim Baldwin	Country Liberal Party	15.8%
Goyder	Peter Maley	Country Liberal Party	21.1%
Katherine	Fay Miller	Country Liberal Party	21.6%
Drysdale	Stephen Dunham	Country Liberal Party	22.0%
Blain	Terry Mills	Country Liberal Party	23.0%
Brennan	Denis Burke	Country Liberal Party	25.3%

Pre-Election Pendulum (Labor)​

Seat:	Member:	Party:	Percentage:
Nightcliff	Jane Aagaard	Australian Labor Party	0.8%
Wanguri	Paul Henderson	Australian Labor Party	0.9%
Arafura	Marion Scrymgour	Australian Labor Party	2.6%
Fannie Bay	Clare Martin	Australian Labor Party	3.5%
Arnhem	Jack Ah Kit	Australian Labor Party	5.1%
Barkly	Elliot McAdam	Australian Labor Party	7.1%
Nhulunbuy	Syd Stirling	Australian Labor Party	9.8%
Stuart	Peter Toyne	Australian Labor Party	11.5%

 

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While there had been a form of unofficial campaign going on for some months, 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 Terry Mills' 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 Clare Martin's fortunes to those of less popular federal Labor leader Julia Gillard, and has suggested that she is being overly influenced by the federal party.

The CLP has also suffered due to a damaging row between Terry Mills and former Minister Peter Maley, culminating in Maley's expulsion from the party on 19 May 2004. 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 2004 election. Maley had reportedly not told Mills 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), Mills 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.

Chief Minister Terry Mills addressing the media on the campaign trail


Shadow Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs Mal Brough on the campaign trail in Central Australia


Opposition Leader Clare Martin addressing the media on the campaign trail​

 

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Post-Election Pendulum (Country Liberal)​

Seat:	Member:	Party:	Percentage:
Karama	Trevor Sellick	Country Liberal Party	1.4%
Casuarina	Wendy Green	Country Liberal Party	1.6%
Sanderson	Peter Styles	Country Liberal Party	2.1%
Johnston	Ross Connolly	Country Liberal Party	2.2%
Millner	Paul Mossman	Country Liberal Party	3.9%
Nelson	Chris Lugg	Country Liberal Party	4.0% vs. Independent
Araluen	Jodeen Carney	Country Liberal Party	7.1%
Port Darwin	Sue Carter	Country Liberal Party	12.4%
MacDonnell	John Elferink	Country Liberal Party	13.6%
Greatorex	Richard Lim	Country Liberal Party	14.1%
Daly	Debbi Aloisi	Country Liberal Party	14.6%
Goyder	Keith Phasey	Country Liberal Party	19.9%
Katherine	Fay Miller	Country Liberal Party	20.4%
Drysdale	Stephen Dunham	Country Liberal Party	20.8%
Blain	Terry Mills	Country Liberal Party	21.8%
Brennan	Denis Burke	Country Liberal Party	24.1%

Post-Election Pendulum (Labor)​

Seat:	Member:	Party:	Percentage:
Nightcliff	Jane Aagaard	Australian Labor Party	2.0%
Wanguri	Paul Henderson	Australian Labor Party	2.1%
Arafura	Marion Scrymgour	Australian Labor Party	3.8%
Fannie Bay	Clare Martin	Australian Labor Party	4.7%
Arnhem	Malarndirri McCarthy	Australian Labor Party	6.3%
Barkly	Elliot McAdam	Australian Labor Party	8.3%
Nhulunbuy	Syd Stirling	Australian Labor Party	11.1%
Stuart	Peter Toyne	Australian Labor Party	12.7%

Post-Election Pendulum (Independent)​

Seat:	Member:	Party:	Percentage:
Braitling	Loraine Braham	Independent	0.4%

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