The time has come for Michael Gunner to seriously consider his future as Chief Minister

THE time has arrived for Michael Gunner to seriously consider his future as Chief Minister

The time has arrived for Michael Gunner to seriously consider his future as Chief Minister. Picture Kym Smith

• Gunner refuses to resign over Turf Club grandstand emails scandal

THE time has arrived for Michael Gunner to seriously consider his future as Chief Minister.

Perhaps now is the right time for him to stand aside.

Friday’s revelations that his former chief of staff, Alf Leonardi, helped the Darwin Turf Club secure a $12 million government grant signalled further warning bells about his leadership capabilities.

Mr Gunner himself said he felt like an idiot because he had no idea what Mr Leonardi was doing behind the scenes in telling Turf Club chairman Brett Dixon the best way to apply for government money.

It has been a brutal chief ministership for Mr Gunner who came into government with a declining economy along with a youth crime and justice crisis firmly at his feet.

Neither have improved in his nearly four years in office and they remain our two biggest issues only six months out from an election.

Everything you hear about election polling is that Mr Gunner is Labor’s biggest problem.

The Johnston by-election on February 29 will be a defining day for his party.

If Joel Bowden fails to win the seat for Labor, Mr Gunner has no choice but to stand down and hand the baton to someone else – most likely Nicole Manison or Natasha Fyles.

There are now too many missteps under Mr Gunner’s leadership to ignore and the Labor Party knows it’s a huge risk keeping him on as leader.

It’s now only a matter of whether or not Mr Gunner sees himself as the Labor Party’s biggest problem.