Terry Mills, Robyn Lambley seek clarification on if their new party can have Opposition status

INDEPENDENT MLAs Terry Mills and Robyn Lambley have sought clarification around the status of Opposition as they seek to form a new political party

Independent MLAs Terry Mills and Robyn Lambley have sought clarification around the status of Opposition as they seek to form a new political party

INDEPENDENT MLAs Terry Mills and Robyn Lambley have sought clarification around the status of Opposition as they seek to form a new political party.

Ms Lambley has sent written questions to Chief Minister Michael Gunner asking if a new party of two members would be given equal status to the CLP, which also has two members.

“Given that the CLP Opposition currently have only two members, how would the Opposition be determined in the case whereby another two crossbenchers form a political party (compliant with the requirements of the NT Electoral Commission and make a bid for Opposition?” Mr Lambley asked.

“Given the Remuneration Tribunal Determination refers to a single ‘Opposition’, would the Chief Minister give consideration to making an interim determination (as available under the Act) to recognise a second party of opposition and adjust the allocated resources in equal shares accordingly?”

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The Government granted the CLP Opposition status after the 2016 election, despite the fact it only held two seats in the NT Parliament.

This brought with it several staff members and extra pay for leader Gary Higgins and Lia Finocchiaro as Opposition Leader and Deputy Opposition Leader.

Mr Mills and Ms Lambley believe they should receive the same resources as the CLP if they form a party with two members.

They have also asked if a “group or alliance of two or more independent members of Parliament (not a political party) with common policies”, can form opposition.

This could open the door for Mr Mills and Ms Lambley to join with Nhulunbuy MLA Yingiya Mark Guyula to claim opposition status and the resources that come with it.

Mr Guyula has ruled out joining a new party but could be convinced to join an alliance with Mr Mills and Mr Lambley.

But Leader of Government Business Natasha Fyles said a number of hurdles would have to be jumped before Mr Mills and Ms Lambley could make a claim for opposition status.

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“It’s not as simple as two people aligning themselves together and saying ‘I’ve got two people, you’ve got two people’, there’s a number of factors,” she said.

“They need to be a viable alternative to government, they need to have a baseline of members but we’ll address those issues if and when they arise.”

Meanwhile, Speaker Kezia Purick has ruled out any suggestion she could be convinced to rejoin the CLP.

“It’s all good speculation, but no, they haven’t asked me and wouldn’t,” she said.

“I would just say absolutely, no.”