Leaders of the Northern Territory’s main political parties have held a heated debate over the Top End’s coronavirus response and its ailing economy.

August 19, 2020

The Northern Territory’s coronavirus response and an ailing economy have dominated a fiery leaders’ debate in Darwin.

The NT goes to the polls on Saturday, with Labor tipped to reclaim power in a tight three-way race against the Country Liberal Party and newcomers Territory Alliance.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner told a small audience on the Darwin Waterfront there was only one issue on voters’ minds – the coronavirus crisis.

“How we survive. How we rebound,” he said on Wednesday.

Mr Gunner said Territory Labor had acted fast and early when COVID-19 threatened the NT.

“That’s why we were the first to reopen and get back to business and get jobs going,” he said.

The Gunner government has attempted to turn the territory election into a referendum on its management of the virus.

However, Labor has been repeatedly criticised during the campaign for its handling of the Territory’s debt-laden economy – rated as the nation’s worst performer by CommSec for the June quarter.

Mr Gunner said the coronavirus and economics are intertwined and the virus has to be controlled to enable economic growth.

“We have got jobs coming … There is hope,” he said.

CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro said the Gunner government had trashed the economy with more than $6 billion of debt accrued since they came to office in 2016.

“You’ve taken no responsibility and sought to blame everybody else,” she said.

“Our debt is now at $8.2 billion and that’s an unsustainable burden on our children.

“Territorians have had enough and they know this government has squandered its opportunity to make people’s lives better.”

Ms Finocchiaro said she would help the economy recover by supporting business and “backing people to have a go”.

But Mr Gunner said the CLP couldn’t be trusted because it had failed a “fundamental leadership test” when it recommended the NT’s borders be reopened in June.

Ms Finocchiaro hit back, telling the Labor leader his statement was “disgusting” as the pair bickered over the issue.

“You’re rewriting history and using this as a political weapon because you’re trying to save your own skin,” she said.

Territory Alliance leader Terry Mills said NTpolitics needed reform.

“A vacuum has formed at the heart of Territory politics,” he said.

“I can hear a desire for change … in the way we deal with matters that are important to Territorians.”

Mr Mills, who has previously served as NT chief minister for the CLP, said he would unlock the Top End’s “great potential” if elected.

“We’ve got a bigger story here. We’re going somewhere and we’ve got to manage the next stage of this and that’s what we’re about,” he said.