2024 NT election live updates: Voting for the Northern Territory ...

Antony Green: Early results show swing to the CLP

8 minutes agoSat 24 Aug 2024 at 10:03am

First votes counted in NT election

17 minutes agoSat 24 Aug 2024 at 9:54am

One-third of enrolled Territorians did not vote

51 minutes agoSat 24 Aug 2024 at 9:20am

Key Event

8m agoSat 24 Aug 2024 at 10:03am

ABC elections analyst Antony Green says early results show a two-party preferred swing to the Country Liberal Party of 13.7 per cent.

"At this stage these results are disastrous for the Labor party," he says.

"The Labor party result is just under 30 per cent, the CLP is just under 50 per cent, the Greens on 11 [per cent] and others on 11 [per cent]."

Key Event

17m agoSat 24 Aug 2024 at 9:54am

We’ve had some very early voting totals come in, with under 10 per cent of the vote counted in some electorates.

The early indications show a swing to the CLP, as ABC elections analyst Antony Green explains: 

"We will go first to Brennan ... the swing is 13.3 per cent to the CLP in that electorate.

In Spillett, Lia Finocchiaro's seat ... look at those figures. That is a 13.5 per cent swing to the CLP, so that is two big swings we have seen."

Here’s what we know so far:

Braitling

Joshua Burgoyne (CLP) – 236 votes

Asta Hill (Greens) – 136 votes

Allison Bitar (Labor – 38 votes

Fannie Bay

Suku Dorras-Walker (Greens) – 300 votes

Laurie Zio (CLP) – 255 votes

Brent Potter (Labor) – 234 votes

Karama

Brian O'Gallagher (CLP) – 447 votes

Ngaree Ah Kit (Labor) – 255 votes

Justine Glover (independent) – 157 votes

Andy Rowan (Greens) – 67 votes

Brennan

Marie-Clare Boothby (CLP) – 252 votes

Tony Sievers (Labor) – 88 votes

Namatjira

Bill Yan (CLP) – 68 votes

Blair McFarland (Greens) – 26 votes

Sheralee Taylor (Labor) – 23 votes

Spillett

Lia Finocchiaro (CLP) – 278 votes

Caleb Burke (Labor) – 96 votes

Gwoja

Chansey Paech (Labor) – 247 votes

Jarrod Jupurula Williams (CLP) – 118 votes

Nelson

Gerard Maley (CLP) – 306 votes

Beverley Ratahi (independent) – 74 votes

Anthony Venes (Labor) – 49 votes

Sanderson

Kate Worden (Labor) – 262 votes

Jinson Charls (CLP) – 242 votes

Reporter Charmayne Allison has provided an update outside Labor's headquarters in Alice Springs, where she says there's an air of "cautious optimism" among party members.

"There are two seats in particular that they have their eyes on. These are Barkly and Namatjira which are both held by very slim margins by the CLP," she said.

Barkly won by just five votes at the last election while Namatjira was won by 22 votes at the last election.

"[Labor is] hopeful they've campaigned enough in the recent weeks to hopefully nab them back for their party," she said.

"Both of these seats take in many remote Aboriginal communities which often poll strongly with Labor, but they also have quite low voter turn-outs."

Were you hoping to see a few results by now?

Us too!

ABC election analyst Antony Green says he's still waiting for official numbers to come through from the NT Electoral Commission. 

Green says he called the NTEC to check everything was OK, but they just haven't "had anything come through".

He says scrutineers are working through the ballot papers and have a "legal obligation to be accurate".

"Normally I would have expected something by now," Green said.

"It's been a couple of years since I've done the Northern Territory election and there are fewer small polling places nowadays."

Hi Jack, absolutely.

The ABC's election analyst Antony Green is here in Darwin and will be calling results as they become clear tonight.

You can tune into our live TV broadcast on the ABC 24 News channel (or watch at the top of this blog).

We'll also be posting the results here as they come through.

One of the seats to watch this election is the inner-city seat of Port Darwin.

It's currently held by Labor MLA Paul Kirby, who is retiring after this election.

The Country Liberal Party's Robyn Cahill is hoping to pick it up for her party tonight.

Long-serving Labor Member for Nightcliff Natasha Fyles said it would be a tight race.

"We only hold Port Darwin by less than 100 votes," she said.

"So if 100 people change their minds  it changes the seat."

Key Event

51m agoSat 24 Aug 2024 at 9:20am

Early voting data shows about one-third of enrolled Territorians did not vote in this election.

Speaking from the Eaton scrutiny centre in Darwin's northern suburbs, the NT Electoral Commissioner Kirsten Kelly said about 23,000 people cast their ballot today.

That joins the 82,000-plus early, mobile and postal votes issued during pre-polling.

"At the moment we're looking at a participation rate … of around over 65 per cent," Ms Kelly said.

"In 2020 the voter turnout was just under 75 per cent.

"It is a lesser number, but we have more people on the electoral roll, over 12,000 more people on the electoral roll than we did in 2020."

Ex-deputy chief minister and Labor member for Wanguri Nicole Manison told the Sky News election panel she thinks the count will be a “very, very tight contest" .

She also says the party was “under no illusions there would be a swing against Labor”.

“This has been one of the strangest elections that I have been involved in ... because there are different dynamics in different seats," she said.

"This truly is a really interesting play, and it’s right across the Northern Territory."

Deputy opposition leader Gerard Maley says the CLP isn't taking the regional seat of Katherine for granted.

The party won the seat at the last election in 2020 with a margin of 2.5 per cent, represented by MLA Jo Hersey.

"Everyone is cautious and everyone is a threat," he told the ABC.

"We know we have low numbers, but I believe Jo [Hersey] has done the hard work and she is committed."

There are two challengers vying to claim the relatively safe CLP seat of Katherine, held by Jo Hersey.

Labor candidate Nick Lovering, the principal of the local public high school, as well as prominent independent Sam Phelan are fighting hard to win the regional electorate, which has often gone overlooked in the major parties' campaigns.

Our Katherine reporter James Elton spoke to all three candidates outside the polling booth this week:

Labor Member for Sanderson Kate Worden says she's not taking her seat for granted as polls close.

Ms Worden's own seat is considered to be a safe Labor one, but the MLA says there's "no such thing".

"There is no such a thing as a safe Labor seat or safe Liberal seat here in the Northern Territory," she said.

"We have seen Liberal members hold [Sanderson] and Labor members hold it.

"I have worked incredibly hard over the last eight years in Sanderson, and I hope the people of Sanderson appreciate that.

"But this is what happens every four years and it is a popularity contest and an ideological contest."

Thanks for the question, JG. It all depends how close it is.

Electoral teams have started counting and they'll continue until 10:30pm ACST at the latest.

The ABC's election analyst Antony Green will call results in certain seats when there's a clear winner, while other seats may be too close to determine tonight.

Vote counting will then resume at 10am tomorrow.

Key Event

1h agoSat 24 Aug 2024 at 8:35am

The countdown is officially over and it's time for the real fun to begin.

Voting centres across the NT have closed and the votes are now being counted.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.

Independent candidates are poised to draw more votes than ever at this NT election, and many are tipped to run close in their electorates.

Six of these candidates have drawn a total of more than $50,000 in donations from a single entity called Represent NT.

Represent NT has links to the ‘Voices’ and community independents movement, more popularly known as ‘teal’ independents.

The organisation says it has “raised more than $75,000 from over 100 donors from across the community” during the campaign.

We don’t know who is donating the money to Represent NT, but the organisation says it comes from “everyday people ... tired of the two-party monopoly".

Throwing that kind of money around, it looks like Represent NT has a bit of clout to decide who it supports, writing on its website:

“We believe these candidates meet our rigorous criteria for what it takes to best and truly represent their electorates.”

These are the candidates who Represent NT have donated money to this election:

Money has poured in for the Country Liberal Party in the lead up to the election, with the party outraising Labor by nearly $500,000 in political donations.

The Northern Territory Electoral Commission has released updated financial disclosures data, with the CLP increasing its donations war chest to more than $1.3 million.

That’s nearly double what the party raised for the 2020 election, when Labor won the donations battle with $852,000.

Gas company Tamboran Resources, which has a stake in the Beetaloo Basin gas field, is Labor’s biggest private donor, tipping in $78,000, as well as $60,000 to the CLP.

While the CLP’s largest single donation made so far has been made by Ray Bail Investments Pty Ltd, a concrete construction company in Darwin, which donated $199,000.

You can read more about how political donations work in the territory here:

ABC elections analyst Antony Green says mobile polling turnout in remote areas has been lower overall compared to 2020.

Our reporter Roxanne Fitzgerald went to Palmerston, where both the Territory Labor leader and the Country Liberals leader hold their electorates.

We asked people what their key concerns were headed into the booth.

Maria Flor said crime and cost of living were her main priorities.

She wanted "all Australians to have their own homes".

Emma McGregor was also worried about crime — a common theme in the NT.

"Continued growth of the NT population, schooling options and crime," she said.

"I think there's a lot of good candidates so I'm interested to see what they bring and that they can continue with their promises."

Reporting by Roxanne Fitzgerald

It’s an election night in Australia, which means ABC elections guru Antony Green is prepping to do what he does best: decipher all the numbers and results live as they funnel through from the polling booths.

Here’s a peek behind the scenes at the ABC’s election night studio from political reporter Thomas Morgan, where an expert panel will be bringing you all the action from 6pm ACST on ABC News.

Great question, Curious! 

The major parties will be hoping to win at least 13 seats to be able to form a majority government.

Without that, whichever party comes out on top will need the support of independents to be able to pass laws.

A hung parliament is a strong possibility this election as experts question whether a predicted swing to the CLP will be strong enough for the party to claim 13 seats.

Labor has governed with just 14 seats in the current term while the CLP has had seven.

Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt says the "feeling is good" about the party's chances of securing its first seat in the NT Parliament.

"They're running a bigger campaign than they've ever done before, they've knocked on more doors than have ever been knocked on before," he said.

"The feeling is really good and now it's over to the voters."