Chief Minister Michael Gunner needs to get rid of the mullet

If Michael Gunner is going to represent the Territory at a national and international level, having a haircut from the 1980s cannot continue, writes PHILLIPPA BUTT

GLANCING at the front page of the NT News on Tuesday, you could be forgiven for thinking some bloke from Humpty Doo had stormed a press conference.

Side-eyeing someone off to his left, wispy bits of hair curl around from behind his ears, and what is probably quite a nice shirt starts to appear like a flannie.

But no, it wasn’t someone who spends his lunchtimes downing pints at the Winnellie.

It was Chief Minister Michael Gunner and his mullet.

It began in September last year. In an effort to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute — a very worthy cause — the Territory’s fearless leader vowed to grow a mullet and keep it for one month per every $5000 raised.

September was seven months ago. You’d expect the Chief to have raised upwards of $35,000.

But according to his fundraising page, he’s only just topped $13,000.

The mullet should have faced the clippers before Christmas.

What the Chief Minister appears not to understand is the mullet, while having a resurgence in 2020 due to hairdressers being closed across much of the locked down world — it should be noted the Territory was only locked down for six weeks — is not a way to look “cool” or “hip” for a younger generation of voters.

In an article for Vice Media, the mullet-wearing teenagers interviewed all described getting the haircut as a joke, with one stating “There’s an irony to the mullet haircut. It’s this disgustingly gross haircut, which means it’s definitely worn in an ironic way”.

But that “ironic way” has been lost on the Chief Minister, who now attends National Cabinet sporting a haircut that didn’t look good in the height of its popularity in the 80s.

The mullet hairstyle is just the latest in Mr Gunner’s attempts to appeal to and reach a wider audience.

At the beginning of 2020, he looked very likely to be a one-term Chief Minister.

Approval ratings were down, crime was up and Territorians were angry.

Enter Covid-19 and the Chief — and his team — saw an opportunity. The Michael Gunner (or Territory Chief) Facebook page began to fire.

Daily updates went on the page.

Livestreams of press conference — no matter who was giving them — went on the page.

Media releases were no longer released to the media, instead being posted to the politician’s page.

While in other jurisdictions around the nation and the world, the public was being urged to check health websites for the latest information, in the Territory we were being directed to Michael Gunner’s Facebook page.

And intermingled throughout those Covid updates, those announcements of lockdowns and lock outs and mask mandates, there were political posts full of spin about how great the NT Labor Government was.

In between announcing who was allowed to go to work and who wasn’t, during the Territory’s only and biggest Covid-19 outbreak, were multiple posts about Michael Gunner’s mullet.

The Black Dog Institute is a fantastic cause, aimed to create a world where mental illness is treated with the same level of concern, immediacy and seriousness as physical illness.

But there are ways to raise thousands of dollars without a political leader perpetuating the one-horse-town, bogan stereotype the Northern Territory is fighting hard to break.

The Territory is trying to attract international investment, to promote itself to tourists not as the wild outback scenes of Crocodile Dundee but a place with festivals, good coffee and incredible landscapes.

We’re trying to be taken seriously. And part of that is dressing appropriately and looking the part.

Seven months into his mullet and the fundraising target is $22,000 short.

Mr Gunner, its time to either top up the kitty or head to the barber.