‘Beyond party lines’: ALP and Coalition fight to save Federal NT seats
FEDERAL Labor and Coalition MPs have joined forces in a bid to protect the NT’s two lower house seats as they come under threat due to population changes, with talk of breaking from party lines if required.
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FEDERAL Labor and Coalition MPs have joined forces in a bid to protect the NT’s two lower house seats as they come under threat due to population changes, with talk of breaking from party lines if required.
The Territory is set to have the nation’s single largest federal seat, spanning 1.4 million sqkm and taking in two faraway islands, unless changes instigated by Federal Labor are enshrined into law.
A recently released parliamentary services research paper into a scheduled electoral redistribution exercise found the NT is set to lose one of its two seats, leaving the jurisdiction with just one MP and two Senators.
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To stop this happening, Federal Labor will put forward a private senators Bill at the June sitting of parliament.
Labor doesn’t have the numbers in the Senate to secure a majority on its own, but the NT News understands the Bill is likely to have support of some, if not all, government members, including CLP Senator Sam McMahon.
The NT News understands a number of Queensland Coalition politicians are also geared to cross the floor if needed.
“I not only support the principle of it, I am a great proponent of it,” Senator McMahon said.
“Trying to cover (the NT) as one person, and which as a Senator I do, is incredibly difficult. To provide effective representation to the NT, it’s very difficult to do.
“I will take direction from my party and if they tell me to cross the floor I will … but it’s not something that I believe will be necessary.”
Townsville-based Herbert LNP MP Phillip Thompson, who like Solomon MP Luke Gosling is an ex-serviceman, said he would be “talking to his colleagues” about the NT’s need for two members considering its size, particularly when compared to Tasmania, which has 12 Senators and five MPs.
There is no indication of which NT seat, Darwin-Palmerston based Solomon or Lingiari, would cease to exist if the redistribution does occur.
Mr Thompson, who described Mr Gosling as “a good local member”, said the issue of representation went beyond party lines.
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Mr Gosling said the NT was too large and diverse for a single MP.
“Tasmania with a population of 535,000 is guaranteed five House of Representative seats, regardless of size,” he said.
“All sides of politics should support a legislated guarantee of two seats for the Northern Territory.
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