CLP reveal Matthew Kerle, Clinton Howe as Blain, Drysdale candidates
The Country Liberal Party has revealed its candidates for two seats, as well as a new party president, ten months out from the Territory election.
Northern Territory
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The opposition has revealed two candidates it hopes will help win the Country Liberal Party government in next year’s election.
Matthew Kerle is set to recontest Blain while army veteran and business owner Clinton Howe will run for Drysdale.
It comes after a CLP conference in Darwin on Saturday where former chief minister Shane Stone was elected as president, replacing Sean Heenan.
“I have the pleasure to announce the CLP candidates for Blain and Drysdale to take up the fight to Labor in Palmerston,” Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro said on Sunday.
“Clinton Howe is an army veteran, a small business operator, a proud husband and father.
“Matthew Kerle is a proud born and bred Territorian who has seen his local community of Blain suffer under Labor.
“Our team is ready, and it’s growing.
“We are ready to take the fight to Labor in August 2024, and to deliver a safe, strong Territory.”
Mr Kerle ran for Blain in the 2020 election where he fell short by just 13 votes in the two-candidate preferred count to Labor’s Mark Turner, who has since been dumped from the party.
Mr Howe, who manages his family business Master Air Technicians, is understood to have not run for politics before.
The candidates will be gunning to take seats from Mr Turner and Labor’s Eva Lawler, should both incumbents recontest.
Mr Stone’s election as president also indicates the party is narrowing down on its strategy to win government in August 2024.
The political figure was the Northern Territory chief minister between 1995 and 1999, before being the Liberal Party of Australia president over the following six years.
Mr Stone was also the National Recovery and Resilience Agency co-ordinator-general until August last year.
In May it was revealed Kris Civitarese would again run as the CLP’s Daly candidate.
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