Will Michael Gunner’s resignation come too late for federal Labor?

Michael Gunner’s final act as chief minister was the the 2022 budget. Picture: Glenn Campbell

There is a crucial federal election element to Michael Gunner’s surprise resignation as Labor’s Northern Territory Chief Minister and that is the threat of his poor personal standing handing the Coalition one if not two seats on May 21.

The question is whether it’s come too late to help Labor’s vote in the federal seats.

There has been speculation Gunner was going to resign and had been considering his future for some time but the shock resignation coming after delivering the NT Budget took most by surprise - perhaps even his mother.

‘My head and heart are no long here...they are at home’: Gunner told parliament as a way of explaining his resignation. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Gunner has declared he resigned to spend more time with his family and denied he was the subject of any corruption investigations so the most interesting aspect of the resignation is the timing.

Gunner has been “on the nose” in the NT for some time over law and order issues, despite his against-the-odds re-election during the Covid pandemic, and has been the centre of CLP advertising in the Top End’s two House of Representative seats - Lingiari, most of the land area of the NT and twice the size of Texas, and the Darwin-based Solomon.

For months both sides have conceded that Lingiari, after being held by retiring Labor MP, Warren Snowdon, for more than 20 years, is at risk for Labor with a popular Alice Springs-based former mayor, Damien Ryan, running for the CLP.

Scott Morrison, Anthony Albanese and Barnaby Joyce have all campaigned in Lingiari because of the potential change of hands. But, there is also a risk that Gunner was dragging down Labor’s vote in the city seat of Solomon and threatening to provide crucial gains to the Prime Minister.

Certainly,in 2019, Bill Shorten’s campaign was seen to be weighed down by Gunner although Labor retained both seats.

For months both sides have conceded that Lingiari, after being held by retiring Labor MP Warren Snowdon for more than 20 years, is at risk. Picture: Emma Murray

But after re-election and another 18 months of government Gunner is proving once again to be a weight on Labor’s federal chances.

Joyce, as Nationals’ leader has campaigned in the Territory, believes that if the resignation of Gunner is meant to help federal Labor “it’s too late”.

“Throughout the Territory people are desperate about law and order and Gunner’s lack of capacity to deal with it,” Joyce told The Australian online.

“It’s too late for his resignation to help federal Labor,” Joyce said.