NT election 2024: Labor preselect city councillor, union organiser and ex-MLA for Palmerston ticket
Territory Labor has announced a trio of candidates who will contest the three Palmerston-based seats at the upcoming election – and they are likely to be familiar faces for locals.
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Territory Labor has unveiled a former Member of the Legislative Assembly who lost his seat in 2020, a city councillor, and a union organiser as its candidates for the upcoming election in the three Palmerston-based seats.
The party made the announcement on Monday that Australian Workers’ Union organiser Caleb Burke, ex-Brennan MLA Tony Sievers, and City of Palmerston Councillor Dani Eveleigh had been preselected for the seats of Spillett, Brennan and Blain respectively.
Mr Burke, an Australian Defence Force veteran who became involved in championing better working conditions and safety when working at the Darwin LNG Project, spent his early years in Yulara and is now raising a family in Palmerston.
“Palmerston is a great place to raise a family and build a life and locals deserve a local member who is focused on them,” he said.
“My local community of Spillett is filled with young families who deserve the best local schools, more healthcare professionals in our local hospital, more police on our streets and a government focused on getting the Territory working.”
Mr Sievers, the Brennan candidate, previously represented the seat from 2016–20.
After voters turned their back on him, he became the chief executive of MotorSports NT.
“Improving community safety in Brennan is a key focus and I’ll be working to deliver youth boot camps and more support services to help young people who are struggling to get off the roundabout of substance misuse,” he said.
Mr Sievers, a Palmerston resident of three decades, was involved in delivering Palmerston Regional Hospital, Zuccoli Primary School, Palmerston Police Station and lobbied hard for Bakewell Primary School’s Kiss and Go, Territory Labor said in a statement.
Ms Eveleigh, who is contesting Blain after previously nominating for Drysdale as an independent in 2020, was elected to the Palmerston council in 2021.
A local of more than two decades, Ms Eveleigh is also the volunteer co-ordinator for Walking Off The War Within, an annual event that raises awareness of servicemen and women who have taken their own lives.
Inspired by her special needs child, Ms Eveleigh is committed to ensuring that access to healthcare services are streamlined to make it easier for parents to get the support they need, Territory Labor said in its statement.
Ms Eveleigh said Blain parents “need to be supported so our community is strengthened, our kids are ready for work and locals can access critical health and mental health services”.
Chief Minister Eva Lawler expressed confidence in her party’s Palmerston ticket.
“The three Territory Labor candidates have decades of local experience in Palmerston and have devoted themselves to issues that matter to Territorians,” she said.
“Every member of Territory Labor’s Palmerston team will work hard everyday from now until the election to show the community what can be achieved with a strong and united team.
The election will be held in August.
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