Shane Stone slams feds for billions of unspent dollars in the Territory

Prime Minister Albanese has been called out for billions of dollars in broken Territory promises. Read what they are.

Former Northern Territory chief minister and federal Liberal Party president Shane Stone said external factors determined the Territory’s federal election outcome, which saw federal Labor retain its two local seats.

Solomon MP Luke Gosling looked last year as if he would struggle to retain his Top End seat after the CLP swept to power at the August Territory election.

But despite a 7.4 per cent swing against him on the two-candidate preferred vote, Mr Gosling retained with a 2 per cent buffer against the CLP’s Lisa Bayliss.

In Lingiari, which takes up 99.8 per cent of the Territory’s land mass, Labor’s Marion Scrymgour recorded a 7 per cent swing to the government against the CLP’s Lisa Siebert.

“I congratulate him on holding his seat for an unprecedented fourth term but in terms of the performance of the CLP candidates, I thought Lisa Bayliss put in a bloody good effort and got a significant swing,” Mr Stone said.

Resilience Agency coordinator Shane Stone at Simsha in Townsville. Picture: Evan Morgan

“But there’s no second prize in politics. It’s a shame because she would have been a very effective federal member in Solomon and she probably would have made a difference on the law and order front.

“The overall result was very much determined by factors external to the Territory.”

Mr Stone also congratulated Lingiari candidate Lisa Siebert for taking on experienced former NT deputy chief minister Marion Scrymgour.

“I congratulate her. She was up against a very hard campaign.”

Mr Stone said while the Labor Party had lately been referencing gas as part of its four-pronged energy policy mix of renewables, gas, hydro and batteries, the issue for Territorians was non-delivery.

CLP Solomon candidate Lisa Bayliss. Picture: Darcy Fitzgerald

“The problem with the Albanese government’s promises is they don’t materialise,” he said.

“All that money for law and order down in Alice Springs. It just doesn’t materialise. Where are all the extra houses? Have our electricity bills come down? No they haven’t.”

The federal government contributed $250 million to the Alice Springs community to fight crime in January 2023, although an acquittal process to determine how much of that has been spent has not been undertaken.

Mr Stone said other Commonwealth allocations in the Territory that had never been spent included $10 billion for remote public housing, $1.9 billion for development at Middle Arm, $1.2 billion committed to Arafura Rare Earths and $450 million to regional logistics hubs.

Earlier, Mr Stone told Nine Newspapers that he backed Sussan Ley to take over the Liberal Party's leadership.

Federal Liberal Party leadership contender Sussan Ley. (Photo by Dan Peled/Getty Images)

Mr Stone, who was party president when the Country Liberal Party leader returned to government in August 2024, also said the CLP could provide a model to the Federal Coalition about returning to power.

Mr Stone said Ms Ley would be the best choice to lead a rebound for the federal coalition, which was brutally rejected by voters at Saturday’s federal poll.

“I think there is a great opportunity here,” Mr Stone said.

“Whether it can be achieved in one term or two will depend on a lot of unknowns,” Mr Stone said.

Mr Stone pointed to the disastrous 2016 Territory election which saw the CLP left bereft with just two electorates, one of which was held by future party leader and chief minister Lia Finocchiaro.

“If I was a young person of a conservative bent and wanted parliamentary career, now is the time to get involved because a number of these Labor members will be oncers,” he said.

“It always works out that way. I think Sussan Ley has had a very good parliamentary career and I would have liked to have seen more of her in the campaign.

“I think that she’s a standout. I stand firmly with her, but I don’t have a vote on this.”

Originally published as Shane Stone slams feds for billions of unspent dollars in the Territory