NewsBite

Territory Alliance to formally review disastrous 2020 election campaign following debrief

FLEDGLING political party Territory Alliance will undertake a formal review of its campaign

NT election a lesson for Qld Premier Palaszczuk

FLEDGLING political party Territory Alliance will undertake a formal review of its campaign after a bruising election.

The decision was made following a weekend meeting of candidates.

Beyond the leadership stumbles outlined in the immediate aftermath, the Sunday Territorian understands that Territory Alliance candidates also believe the party released too many policies, reminiscent of federal Labor’s 2019 election missteps.

MORE ELECTION NEWS

Boothby pulls ahead in Brennan after six days of vote counting

Ex-Labor backbencher Scott McConnell issues warning to Labor newbies

Long-term Blain MLA Terry Mills last NT politician to receive parliamentary pension

As the initial shock and anger of the election aftermath subsided, the party is viewing its 12 per cent vote share as a fair effort considering it has been around for less than a year.

But with two of its three MLAs down and out for the count, with Robyn Lambley hanging on by her teeth in Araluen, the party will also undergo a restructure on how it operates.

At this stage, former Blain MLA Terry Mills’ successor as the leader of the party is unclear, even if Ms Lambley wins her Alice Springs seat.

Territory Alliance's Terry Mills, Robyn Lambley, Jeff Collins and candidates after the announcement to stop Fracking if elected. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.
Territory Alliance's Terry Mills, Robyn Lambley, Jeff Collins and candidates after the announcement to stop Fracking if elected. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.

The likely outcome is the management committee of the party, and less so its MLAs, wielding most of the decision-making powers.

But the party is moving quickly to figure this out in case Ms Lambley holds her seat, and once these machinations are in place will move to begin a formal review process of what went wrong at last week’s election.

Territory Alliance party members who spoke to the Sunday Territorian also slammed Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro for calling the party a “wrecking ball” that helped Labor return to power, considering the math did not appear to stack up.

ABC election analyst Antony Green, who initially expected 70 per cent of Territory Alliance voter preferences to go to the CLP and the rest to Labor, found after crunching the numbers that electors tended to express a protest vote with the party before falling back to their traditional loyalty or whomever was the sitting member.

LIMITED TIME: New NT News subscription offer: $1 a week for the first 12 weeks

Overall, the party’s preferences varied depending on the seat, with an estimated 38 per cent heading to Labor in Blain while 52 per cent headed to Labor in Sanderson.

Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/politics/territory-alliance-to-formally-review-disastrous-2020-election-campaign-following-debrief/news-story/eef1f843ae4a50a259ab460d98b89434