Labor’s Lingiari could fall into Coalition hands as Labor candidate fights to replace Snowden

Pastoralist Sarah Cook thinks of herself as a swing voter with progressive values. But at this election, she’s likely to back Coalition candidate Damien Ryan.

Craig and Sarah Cook from Aileron Station in the NT. Picture: Supplied

Labor’s candidate for the vast outback seat of Lingiari believes police should not carry guns in remote Aboriginal communities and officers with military backgrounds should face psychological testing before entering the force.

As she campaigns through the vast Northern Territory electorate, which includes Yuendumu – the site of the shooting of Kumanjayi Walker – among its townships, Marion Scrymgour says she holds parents responsible for the youth crime problems blighting Northern Territory towns and outback settlements, and wants Aboriginal people to be more “honest” in confronting ­substance abuse and violence.

But the ALP candidate, who is Aboriginal, has told The Australian her past statements apparently supporting police officers going armed in the communities were “misinterpreted”.

Ms Scrymgour, a former health worker, NT minister and Northern Land Council boss, is in the fight of her life for a seat Labor has held for more than 20 years. The Coalition believes it is in with a chance in Lingiari and crime has become a dominant theme of the local campaign.

The retiring Labor member, Warren Snowdon, proved indomitable at the ballot box, even if it was often hard to find people who liked him in between. Perhaps because of that, the less attentive on both sides of politics assume Lingiari will again fall to Labor.

Lingiari is a diverse electorate covering all of the NT except Darwin. It includes urban and suburban areas as well as pastoral properties and dozens of remote communities. But a significant portion of the electorate consists of areas that often vote conservative at NT polls, and Mr Snowdon’s margin was only 5.5 per cent,

Scott Morrison has spent more time than would be usual for a federal leader in Lingiari this campaign and focused on crime prevention during his trips.

Yuendumu residents called for a ban on police guns in the bush after the fatal shooting of Walker by police constable Zachary Rolfe. “I don’t support police walking around communities with guns,” Ms Scrymgour said. “Until that relationship is recognised, I don’t think that there’s a place for guns in our communities.”

Ms Scrymgour’s revised position puts her at odds with NT Labor Chief Minister Michael Gunner, who has said police “have to have the kit they need”. She was “shocked” by the not-guilty verdict in Constable Rolfe’s murder trial and hopes he is “an unusual occurrence” in the NT Police Force. She rejects allegations of police racism but says there are “probably issues with ­ignorance”.

“Some of our police officers come from the military. Have those people got PTSD or other issues that could cause issues?” she asked. “If they are from the military, I think that they should have psychological testing in case they have been exposed to past trauma; there has also been a different level of training if they’ve been in the military as opposed to the police.”

She wants to see parents made accountable for errant youngsters’ behaviour but also believes the age of criminal responsibility should be raised, so 10- and 11-year-olds don’t go to jail. “We’ve got to stop pussy-footing around this and start making parents of young people responsible for the actions of the few in our community,” she said. “Aboriginal people have got to take responsibility here – it can’t always be whitefellas taking responsibility.”

Mr Ryan, a former camera shop owner and Alice Springs mayor, says he’s seeking office because the people of Lingiari “don’t feel they are being represented”.

“I turn up, and I deliver,” Mr Ryan said. “The federal government gives so much money to the Territory government, and it’s being wasted.” The Coalition has pledged $14m to tackle rising crime in Alice Springs, which Labor will match.

Pastoralist Sarah Cook thinks of herself as a swing voter with progressive values. At this election, she’s likely to back Mr Ryan. She runs Aileron Station about 135km north of Alice Springs with husband Craig. She advocates for remote education and believes in looking after the less fortunate.

But after decades of the vast, outback seat of Lingiari being in Labor hands, Ms Cook feels it might be time for a change. “I personally admire Damien’s aptitude for work,” she says. “I think he has his heart in the right place … I think he’s always demonstrated that through the way he did his job as (Alice Springs) major.”

Ms Cook praises Ms Scrymgour, but describes her as “more of a party person”.

Geoffrey Barnes, a traditional owner in the remote community of Lajamanu, about 870km south of Darwin, is also concerned about underdevelopment and social problems, but he weighs the election differently. “I will be voting for Marion,” he says. “She knows our problems from the grassroots level … our parents, elders, grandparents always voted Labor.”

Mr Barnes says he would consider voting Country Liberal “if they had Yapa (Aboriginal people) running, someone we knew, and we could work with them”.

Alongside “truth-telling” about settlement, Ms Scrymgour argues for honesty among Aboriginal people in tackling the causes of welfare dependency, such as the “gambling, drugs, violence and alcohol issues … we’ve been talking about … for the last 20 years”.