Poll shock: Labor massive battle to hold power at next year’s Territory election

LABOR faces a massive battle to hold power at next year’s Territory election, with new polling showing the Gunner Government is severely on the nose with voters

The poll showed satisfaction with Labor’s Chief Minister Michael Gunner, left, is at a new low. But it’s not all good news for the CLP either with party leader Gary Higgins, right, (20 per cent) trailing Mr Gunner (30 per cent) as preferred chief minister but they both trail former CLP leader-turned-independent Terry Mills, centre, (38 per cent)

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LABOR faces a massive battle to hold power at next year’s Territory election, with new polling showing the Gunner Government is severely on the nose with voters.

The Media Reach poll of 645 people shows Labor’s primary vote has slipped to just 29 per cent less than a year out from the election, with the CLP on 39 per cent.

Twenty-two per cent of respondents said they would vote for an independent.

The high support for independent candidates makes it difficult to determine a two-party preferred vote, but the numbers will concern Labor, with its primary vote falling 13 points since the 2016 election.

Satisfaction with Chief Minister Michael Gunner is at a new low with 70 per cent of respondents saying they are dissatisfied with Mr Gunner’s performance.

Just 23 per cent say they are satisfied with the Chief Minister, leaving Mr Gunner a net satisfaction rating of negative 47 per cent.

But it’s not all good news for the CLP. After its disastrous previous term in Government, just 23 per cent of voters said they believed the CLP was ready to govern while 39 per cent said they were not ready.

Thirty-three per cent of respondents said “maybe” when asked this question.

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CLP leader Gary Higgins (20 per cent) also trails Mr Gunner (30 per cent) as preferred chief minister, but they both trail former CLP leader-turned-independent Terry Mills (38 per cent).

Mr Mills this week announced his intention to form a new party called the Territory Alliance.

The poll was commissioned by conservative Darwin businessman Owen Pike and conducted by Media Reach, a company run by Mr Mills’ former chief-of-staff James Lantry.

Respondents were polled by landline and mobile telephone in the Federal seat of Solomon, taking in all of Darwin and parts of Palmerston.

The poll has a margin of error of 4 per cent.

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Media Reach has accurately predicted the outcome in the seat of Solomon at the past two federal elections and its poll ahead of the 2016 Territory election predicted the Labor landslide that followed.

Mr Pike said he had commissioned the poll for the good of the Territory.

“My parents started their business here in the Territory with my dad operating out of the back of a ute. We now employ 200 people. We have every dollar we have ever made invested here in the Territory,” he said.

He said the results showed Territorians were desperate for something different from Labor and the CLP and called for the federal Liberal or National party to come to the Territory.

“Although this polling did cost a significant amount of money somebody had to stand up and do what’s right to get the stats and stand up and show the people, show the Liberal and National parties what they’ve got to do,” he said.

The poll showed 39 per cent of voters were willing to support another major party if it came to the NT, while 28 per cent answered “maybe” to that question.

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