Territory Alliance $100k in debt to polling firm, annual political disclosure reports show

FLEDGLING political party Territory Alliance is more than $100,000 in debt to the polling company whose research suggested the outfit could win seven seats at the NT election.

FLEDGLING political party Territory Alliance is more than $100,000 in debt to the polling company whose research suggested the outfit could win seven seats at the election.

The annual reports of the NT’s political parties, published on the NT Electoral Commission’s website, revealed Territory Alliance incurred a debt of $110,418 in 2019-20, with a bulk of that ($104,600) owed to a company called Telereach.

During the same period the party received $128,062 in donations.

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Telereach is owned and run by James Lantry, Territory Alliance’s campaign director during the election and former staffer to toppled Blain MLA Terry Mills.

The company and Mr Lantry are based in Victoria.

Polling commissioned by Territory Alliance and undertaken by Mr Lantry’s company predicted that a hung parliament would be the most likely outcome at the recent election, and that Labor could be wiped out in the key battlegrounds of Palmerston and Alice Springs, with Territory Alliance the party most likely to pick up those seats.

Labor did lose frontbencher Dale Wakefield in Alice Springs, but historically won the Palmerston seat of Blain, retained the seat of Drysdale, and lost the seat of Brennan to the CLP.

Territory Alliance secretary Danial Kelly, who declined to go into the specifics of what made up the debt to Telereach, said he had “no doubt” any outstanding invoices would be paid.

Dr Kelly declined to say whether Territory Alliance had incurred more debt from the end of the financial year until now.

Territory Alliance also owed $5808 to the Palmerston-based printing ­company Rise Sign and Print.

NT Labor incurred a debt of $254,740 and had received $461,016 in donations.

Its largest debtor was Westpac, from which it had borrowed $135,000.

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NT Labor also owed $65,803 to advertising company Campaign Edge’s Brisbane office, $36,987 to Zip Print and $6238 to Australian Super Quicksuper.

“These are standard ­invoices from our successful election campaign, as well as a bank loan, all of which are being repaid,” a Labor spokesman said.

The CLP, by the end of the financial year, had incurred no debt.