NT politics now just a bidding war for the votes of well-off public servants, writes MATT CUNNINGHAM

NT politics is no longer a right-left battle but a bidding war for the vote of public servants. Who can blame bush electors for opting out?

FOR more than two decades, the Labor Party occupied the opposition benches in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.

Loyal true believers worked hard to try to wrest control from the domin­ant Country Liberal Party, but to no avail.

The voters, particularly in the crucial­ seats in Darwin’s northern suburbs, were almost programmed on autopilot to vote for the CLP.

Fast-forward to 2020 and the reverse­ has occurred.

Labor has now been in power for all but four of the past 19 years.

During its only election loss this century, Labor still held on to most of its Darwin seats. The voters in those same suburbs now appear programmed to tick the Labor box.

The ALP would no doubt see this as a triumph.

The leaders of the Territory’s three major political parties: From right, Chief Minister Michael Gunner, Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro and Territory Alliance leader Terry Mills. Picture : Che Chorley

But in gaining this electoral domin­ance, has it sold out on its own values?

There’s a strong argument the Labor Party has replicated the success of the CLP by becoming just like it.

As voters go to the polls on Saturday, there’s little to no difference between­ the major parties in most policy areas.

Progressives hoping Labor would do more to advance the cause of hopelessly disadvantaged Aboriginal people would be disappointed with what it has delivered.

Much remote infrastructure remains­ at Third-World levels while no carpark or water park is deemed too extravagant for the city.

Promises to abolish mandatory sentencing, paperless arrest laws or taking a more therapeutic approach to youth justice have been sidelined in favour of CLP-style tough-on-crime policies in the lead-up to the election.

Likewise, fiscal conservatives who believe the rapid growth of the Territ­ory’s debt is unsustainable would derive­ no comfort from the CLP’s election platform, which has offered few measures to reduce spending.

The CLP has adopted the ALP’s 50 per cent renewable energy target, despite the Utilities Commissioner labelling it “unrealistic” and “expensive”, has promised not to sell any public­ assets, and has vowed it won’t reduce the size of the ballooning public­ service.

Rather than being a battle between right and left, politics in the Territory has become a bidding war for the votes of those public servants.

This month, during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression­, thousands of those public servants pocketed a 2.5 per cent pay rise.

“They’ve never worked harder,” the government says.

And, despite arguing relentlessly about financial mismanagement, the opposition failed to utter a word in protest.

As the debt continues to grow, so does the discrepancy between public and private sector wages.

According to the Australian Burea­u of Statistics’ latest figures, from November last year, the average adult weekly ordinary time earnings in the NT were $1834.70 for the public sector and $1692.70 for the private sector.

That’s a difference of $142 a week, or 8.4 per cent.

It will only get worse post-coronavirus.

But as the pandemic allowed an already blown budget to be ignored, stimulus measures were targeted at these same people whose jobs have never been more secure, or better paid.

From sports vouchers to home improve­ment schemes, there’s a growing pool of middle-class welfare that goes straight into the pockets of those who need it the least.

Little wonder Aboriginal voters have tuned out.

In 2012, those voters sent Labor a message, installing a CLP government on the back of a bush revolt.

Four years later, they punished the CLP for failing to deliver on its promises­.

This year, many are refusing to vote for anyone.

It’s hard to blame them.

This problem was probably inevit­able. Political parties don’t exist to lose.

And to win in the Northern Territ­ory you need to win in the northern suburbs and Palmerston, where most of the seats are.

But that’s created a system that is making the gap in living standards between­ Darwin and the bush keep widening, rather than closing it.

The day of reckoning, however, could be approaching.

Our record $8.2bn debt is unsustainable, yet no party has released any serious plan ahead of this poll to tackle that problem.

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Commonwealth intervention might be the only solution, but that will come with serious strings attached­.

One should be that Territory government­s spend their money where it’s needed, not where it’s going to win them votes.