NT Labor amasses six-figure election campaign warchest, as Territory Alliance pips the CLP

The NT Labor Party has amassed a six-figure campaign election war chest, with new data revealing the party has received four times more money than the CLP and Territory Alliance

Chief Minister Michael Gunner and NT Labors Joel Bowden when the latter won the seat of Johnston on February 29, weeks before shaking hands was outlawed due to coronavirus. Picture GLENN CAMPBELL

THE NT Labor Party has amassed a six-figure campaign election war chest, with new donation disclosure data revealing the party has received four times more money than the CLP and Territory Alliance.

The Territory Alliance, led by Blain MLA Terry Mills, managed to raise about $2000 more in donations than the two-MLA strong CLP, though the latter still retains the glory of being the NT Government’s official opposition.

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CLP Leader of the Opposition Lia Finocciaro. Picture GLENN CAMPBELL

The latest disclosure returns, released by the Northern Territory Commission on Friday, does not specifically outline how much each political party spent in the lead up to the Johnston by-election or what was received after the February 29 polling day.

But it does reveal Territory Alliance candidate Steven Klose, who received 47 per cent of the vote after preferences, donated $12,550 to his own campaign while Labor’s Joel Bowden MLA gifted himself $10,000.

Mr Bowden’s also received $3000 from Bowden McCormack Lawyers, a firm co-founded by his older brother Sean.

Territory Alliance candidate for the seat of Johnston, Steven Klose (centre), pictured with leader Terry Mills (left) and former Labor turned independent MLA Jeff Collins, all out campaigning for TA in Jingili in Darwin, back in a time when being close to people was legal.

NT Labor’s largest donor in this disclosure period, which is between July 1 2019 and March 30 this year, was Darwin-based Yap Property Investments, which donated $22,200.

The party also received multiple smaller donations from gambling companies including Tabcorp, BetEasy and Betfair.

The CLP disclosed a total of $44,645 in donations, nearly a quarter of that given to them by Gaymark Investments Pty Ltd.

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Territory Alliance raised $46,954. Its largest donation came from Mr Klose, followed by a $10,000 gift from a Melbourne-based entity named AJ Myers Campaign.

Entities associated with the CLP and Labor NT, CLP Gifts and Legacies Pty Ltd and the Northern Territory ALP Investment Trust respectively, did not receive any donations.