Fannie Bay by-election winner says ‘lessons to be learned’ from narrow Labor victory

The new member for Fannie Bay says there are lessons to be learned from Labor’s narrow victory in his first interview after Saturday’s by-election.

THE newest member of the Territory Labor government has promised to hit the ground running to deliver on promises made to voters who put their faith in him in Saturday’s by-election.

But newly elected Member for Fannie Bay, Brent Potter, also acknowledged there were lessons to be learned from the narrow victory which saw Labor scrape home by just 148 votes in the two party preferred stakes after losing the popular vote.

In his first interview after the photo finish win, Mr Potter said it was “very surreal” feeling, but he was “extremely grateful” to be filling the seat once occupied by former chief minister Michael Gunner.

“You work really hard for this moment and to come home for the win and to get the support of the constituents to get there, I’m eternally grateful for that,” he said.

“This is a by-election, two years out from a general election, there’s some things we need to take away from this and run in, we change that and I think we’re in a really good position come 2024.”

Mr Potter said he would waste no time in delivering on the commitments made to residents while door knocking in the electorate over the past three weeks.

“First and foremost I want to deliver on the commitments that I’ve made to everyone on the doors, there are some smaller local commitments that I’ve made in particular streets which I’ll work on,” he said.

“(Also) I think cost of living, we all know that, I’ve got four kids, feel it every day, with the 17-year-old who’s driving as well, paying for fuel.

“So I’m going to work really hard to get the voice of the constituents into government to find ways that we can reduce cost of living, I think we can do that with a couple of our mechanisms and levers.”

Brent Potter with wife Allie and children, Laila, Isabelle, Hudson and Isaac. Picture: Glenn Campbell.

The newly minted back bencher said he would also prioritise building a new Parap preschool and funding private security for the foreshore while trying to ensure local issues were not lost among the government’s broader agenda.

“People that have worked with me before know that I don’t take the status quo, and when I’ve got something I want to get done, I drive really hard to get it done,” he said.

“So I’ve made the commitment to the constituents, they’ll see that I do that, and ultimately, the current caucus and government need to hear what’s important.”

Mr Potter has big shoes to fill in the electorate previously held by chief ministers Marshall Perron, Clare Martin and Mr Gunner, but while not ruling a future tilt at the top job, he said following in their footsteps was far from top of his agenda.

“I’d just love some time to be a local member, connecting with people, see my kids, take them to school, hear family stories from other people, I don’t need the pressure just now,” he said.

“I just need the pressure to be a good local member and the constituents will hold me true to that, so no long term ambitions.

“Who knows how things play out, but at the end of the day, first and foremost, I made a commitment to the constituents and they’ll be front of mind in any decision I make.”

Originally published as Fannie Bay by-election winner says ‘lessons to be learned’ from narrow Labor victory