‘We didn’t stand tall enough’: Price doubles down on Coalition values after historic election loss
NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says the Coalition campaign was not good enough, but has stood by the party’s values: ‘If anything, we lost because we didn’t stand tall enough’.
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Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has condemned the Coalition’s campaign amid its historic election loss, but said “our values and principals are not the problem”.
In a newsletter to her followers on Sunday, Ms Price said that, if anything, the Coalition’s defeat was because it did not go far enough with some of its messaging.
“The Coalition campaign wasn’t good enough, and we lacked a clear agenda that could inspire Australians to back us,” Ms Price wrote.
“We didn’t articulate the vision, and the real solutions Australians wanted.
“There’s no hiding from that fact, and we must take a long, hard look at ourselves to understand exactly what went wrong and where we go from here.
“But let me tell you one thing I’m absolutely sure of, we didn’t lose because of the values you and I share.
“We didn’t lose because we stood up for mainstream Australians like you and me. If anything, we lost because we didn’t stand tall enough.
“Our values and principles are not the problem, they are our greatest strength.
“I’m not going to change who I am because of this result.
“My resolve to fight hard for what you and I believe in has only grown … we’ll regroup, listen and learn.”
Ms Price furiously rejected suggestions made by the ABC on election night that she may have played a role in the Coalition loss due to links drawn between herself and US President Donald Trump.
During the campaign a picture ripped from her personal social media surfaced of Ms Price wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap – something she characterised as a Christmas “joke” with her husband.
Ms Price was also picked to lead the Coalition’s new government efficiency portfolio, a position with parallels to Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Ms Price was the only Country Liberal candidate re-elected in the Territory on election night, Labor’s Malarndirri McCarthy holding the other senate spot.
Labor also won both of the lower house seats, despite a close race in Solomon.
The CLP’s campaign in the Territory focused on law and order, promising to work closely with the NT government to deliver its tough on crime agenda.
If elected, Ms Price would have led the Coalition’s plan to audit federal spending on First Nations programs, and also pledged to launch a royal commission into the sexual abuse of Aboriginal children.
Labor’s campaign in contrast focused on health, education, and a strong mandate for the bush – on housing, remote jobs and food security.
Senator McCarthy said Labor’s decisive win showed Australian’s had chosen unity over division when it came to First Nations people.
“Tonight the people of the Northern Territory have joined with all Australians to say, ‘We love our country, we do not want to see division in this country, especially with our First Nations people’,” she said at a Labor election night party in Darwin.
“We have been given a mandate tonight to find and persevere through a better way for all Australians, especially the First Nations people of Australia.”
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Originally published as ‘We didn’t stand tall enough’: Price doubles down on Coalition values after historic election loss
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