Former NT Labor leader Delia Lawrie set to run as an independent at next election

FORMER Labor leader Delia Lawrie is set to stand as an ­independent at next year’s Territory election

Former NT Labor leader Delia Lawrie is set to stand as an ­independent at next year’s Territory election

FORMER Labor leader Delia Lawrie is set to stand as an ­independent at next year’s Territory election.

Senior union sources told the NT News Ms Lawrie was a “near certainty” to contest her old seat of Karama in August 2020, in a move that would deal a further blow to Labor’s chances of holding on to ­majority government.

But they dismissed rumours the former deputy chief minister would go toe to toe with Chief Minister Michael Gunner in his seat of Fannie Bay.

“She won’t be running in Fannie Bay, she’s not a Fannie Bay person,” one source close to Ms Lawrie said.

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“The only reason she would run there is for shits and giggles, that’s not what she’s about, but she’s definitely planning to run in Karama.”

Ms Lawrie held Karama for 15 years — the first 14 of them for Labor — after winning it from the CLP in 2001.

She was challenged for the Labor leadership by Mr Gunner in April 2015 and later ­resigned after the Supreme Court dismissed her claims that an ­inquiry into the gifting of the Stella Maris site near the Darwin Waterfront to Unions NT had lacked procedural fairness. She quit the Labor Party six months later when it disendorsed her and preselected Ngaree Ah Kit to run in Karama.

The wounds caused by that move are still raw and were on show last week in leaked messages sent between four Labor backbenchers, two of whom have since been sacked from the ALP caucus.

Fong Lim MLA Jeff Collins remarked that tensions still ­existed between Sanderson MLA Kate Worden and dumped Labor minister Ken Vowles over Mr Vowles’ role in Ms Lawrie’s exit.

“(Kate) ranted about how Ken had undermined Delia and I was thinking to myself it was Gunner’s mob who were doing all the undermining of Delia,” Mr Collins wrote.

Katherine MLA Sandra Nelson then remarked that it had been Mr Gunner who had instigated Ms Lawrie’s dumping in Karama, with support from senior Labor figures ­including his now chief of staff Alf Leonardi, deputy chief of staff Kieran Phillips, Mr Gunner’s brother-in-law Ryan Neve, former ALP secretary Kent Rowe and former president Syd Stirling.

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Ms Lawrie went within a whisker of holding Karama as an independent, winning 32.6 per cent of the primary vote to Ms Ah Kit’s 34 per cent, and falling just 28 votes short on a two-party preferred basis.

But pundits say she’d be certain to make up that margin if she runs again, particularly if the Left unions don’t actively campaign for Ms Ah Kit, as ­occurred in 2016.

“I would have thought she would have a big show,” former Labor MLA turned political commentator Ken Parish said.

“I think I would almost have money on her.”

Ms Lawrie did not return calls on Thursday.