Territory Labor pre-selection battle looms as candidates stand up

Territory Labor will next week pre-select candidates for the August election. Read how Paul Kirby’s curve-ball threw the process into dissaray.

Territory Labor’s left and right factions will go head-to-head in the battle to secure a candidate for retiring former deputy chief minister Nicole Manison’s Wanguri electorate.

Union boss Shlok Sharma from the party’s right faction looks set for a head-to-head clash with real-estate agent Andrea Moriarty, who is aligned with Labor’s left.

The legislative assembly seat became available when Ms Manison announced her retirement from Territory politics this month.

Expressions of interest for Territory Labor preselections close on Monday afternoon, with the process thrown into dissaray by the snap resignation of Port Darwin MLA Paul Kirby on Thursday morning.

Shlok Sharma

The NT News has been told the need to pre-select a candidate for a third electorate that Labor held after the 2020 poll has energised would-be politicians battling to secure pre-selection to one of those coveted seats.

Independent Mark Turner won Blain for Labor in 2020, but was dumped by the party within weeks after claims he misled then chief minister Michael Gunner.

Andrea Moriarty

City of Palmerston councillor Danielle Eveleigh is understood to have her eye on Blain.

Mr Sharma is director of the NT’s Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, a right-faction aligned union with strong connections to current Labor leader Eva Lawler and Ms Manison.

It’s understood Ms Manison is backing Mr Sharma’s pre-selection bid.

Despite strong links with Labor through the SDA, Mr Sharma has shown a willingness to stand-up to the government when it comes to the rights of the union’s often low-paid membership.

Danielle Eveleigh

When former chief minister Natasha Fyles unilaterally reduced bottleshop trading hours in the Top End just weeks before Christmas, Mr Sharma described the decision as a “kick in the guts” for low paid workers.

A likely rival for Mr Sharma is long-time Territorian, business owner Andrea Moriarty.

A local whose three children attended Wanguri Primary School, Ms Moriarty was the Territory’s 2016 Telstra corporate businesswoman of the year and is president of Master Builders NT.

Meanwhile, a resident of Driver for almost 20 years, Ms Eveleigh has a background in human resources and industrial relations and was elected to City of Palmerston in 2021.

She is believed to be factionally unaligned.

It is unclear when the party will announce its candidates, although it could be as early as this week.

Party president Anthony Venes appears not to return calls to reporters.

The Country Liberal Party is expected to preselect candidates during its quarterly Central Council meeting in Mataranka on February 22.