Dysfunction that led to the Coalition dividing on display in NT during election campaign

The NT experienced first-hand the directionless dysfunction of the federal Coalition’s election campaign, that saw the two parties split. Read what happened.

The disorganisation and dysfunction that afflicted the Coalition’s federal election campaign - and saw the two parties officially part ways on Tuesday - made it all the way to the Northern Territory.

The Territory’s two conservative House of Representative candidates were caught-up in the confusion, with an economic development policy shelved during the election campaign without explanation.

On April 21, the Coalition had scheduled two announcements by Nationals Leader David Littleproud for the Northern Territory.

In Alice Springs, Mr Littleproud and then Nationals Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price announced a regional health workforce measure around funding Angel Flight Australia and later that day in Darwin Mr Littleproud, Senator Price and Senator Susan McDonald were set to announce the formation of a Northern Australia Economic Zone.

Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price with CLP Lingiari candidate Lisa Siebert in Alice Springs. Picture: Gera Kazakov.

The zone, according to the pre-prepared Coalition press release, would “unlock economic growth in Northern Australia” through “targeted investment and incentives”.

“A Coalition Government will immediately move to elevate the Office of Northern Australia into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet,” it said.

“The Office would take a central co-ordination role in developing the economic zone

framework in conjunction with the Attorney-General’s Department and Treasury; and have

oversight of the commissioning of appropriate economic, financial and constitutional advice.”

With just two federal electorates, the announcement would have put the NT at the heart of the Coalition’s northern Australian ambitions.

But the announcement disappeared without trace, with Mr Littleproud instead travelling back to New South Wales from Alice Springs instead of into Darwin.

An explanation for dumping the policy entirely was never forthcoming but subsequent events, including Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s defection from the National Party to the Liberal Party and the coalition splitting-up, point to significant systemic dysfunction.

Charles Darwin University adjunct professor Rolf Gerritsen, who has observed multiple election campaigns over decades, said the Coalition’s 2025 campaign effort was “the worst I’ve seen in my life”.

CDU adjunct professor Rolf Gerritsen.

“They’d make an announcement one day, two days later they’d withdraw that annoncement and make another announcement,” he said.

“Obviously somebody’s not talking to somebody.

“There’s a report the campaign office wasn’t talking to the team travelling with Peter Dutton, and that’s a fundamental flaw because the temptation is for the politician to make policy on the fly.

“There was no coherency to the campaign. They saw DOGE in the United States sacking thousands of public servants and the Opposition thought that sounded like a good idea because it was hairy-chested and muscular.

“They should have run on the standard of living not going up and they didn’t. They weren’t policy statements, they were media releases.”

Originally published as Dysfunction that led to the Coalition dividing on display in NT during election campaign