Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au

Aaron Bunch
Gunner won’t deal as NT goes to polls

On election day, Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner has ruled out his Labor party forming a minority government.

August 22, 2020

Incumbent chief minister Michael Gunner has ruled out Labor’s involvement in a minority government as the Northern Territory goes to the polls.

His party is tipped to retain power at Saturday’s election but there’s a chance his numbers in parliament could slip.

“No deals. Stability and certainty, no deals,” Mr Gunner told reporters on Saturday when asked of his willingness to form a minority government.

“Know that we have that stability and certainty when it comes to government, particularly during a public health emergency.”

Mr Gunner refused to say if he would step down as leader if Labor loses and conceded it was a close contest against the Country Liberal Party and newcomers Territory Alliance.

Labor has campaigned on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying they are the party to see the NT through the crisis.

“We are asking them to choose between secure borders or open borders. We are asking them to choose between jobs not cuts,” he said.

Despite its success protecting Territorians from COVID-19, Labor has been criticised for its handling of the Territory’s economy – rated as the nation’s worst performer by CommSec for the June quarter.

CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro has repeatedly pointed to the NT’s skyrocketing debt, and said 11,000 jobs had been lost on Labor’s watch.

“For four years we’ve been fighting for Territorians against a bad Labor government,” she said.

Ms Finocchiaro has promised to fast-track major projects and simplify mining taxes to “signal to the world the territory is open for business”.

She has also ruled out doing any deals to secure power, saying she was fighting hard to win a majority in parliament.

It’s a view shared by the Territory Alliance leader Terry Mills who has backed his party to win the election, saying the pollsters and bookies tipping Labor have got it wrong.

“They didn’t predict Morrison. They didn’t predict that change,” he said.

“Expect the unexpected and I think that is what is going to happen here.”

Mr Mills has also promised to reactivate the Top End’s ailing economy but unlike the CLP and Labor, Territory Alliance won’t support onshore gas-fracking projects, which have been touted as a potential saviour for the NT’s financial woes.

Plans to frack in the Beetaloo Basin have caused concern among many voters, with fears it could jeopardise groundwater and Australia’s efforts to meet the Paris emissions reduction target.

It has led to the NT Greens running nine candidates and activist group GetUp reportedly handing out how-to-vote cards in six seats, including two exceptionally marginal Labor electorates.

Mr Mills, a former CLP chief minister and architect of the year-old Alliance party, said hydraulic fracturing doesn’t have social licence to operate in the NT and if Territorians support it, they can “vote for the other two parties”.

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