Labor rule in Northern Territory in doubt as Alison Anderson quits

LABOR'S rule in the Northern Territory is all but over after Indigenous Affairs Minister Alison Anderson resigned this morning.

LABOR'S rule in the Northern Territory is all but over after Indigenous Affairs Minister Alison Anderson resigned from the her cabinet positions and from the party this morning,

Ms Anderson's resignation came during a meeting of cabinet and follows two weeks of crisis within the government over the management of a $672m Aboriginal housing program,

Chief minister Paul Henderson had moved to appease Ms Anderson and her cabinet colleague Karl Hampton after both raised serious concerns that the NT government was creaming millions off the housing program. But it is understood that tensions escalated over the weekend, with Ms Anderson deciding today she could not continue to work with the government.

Ms Anderson, a widely popular MLA who holds the central Australia seat of Macdonnell by a large margin, now has the option of either continuing in parliament as an independent, or she could decide to join the opposition Country Liberals. Either way Labor's chances of holding onto power are small.