How Darwin lord mayor candidate Leah Potter plans to tackle homelessness, crime if elected

“The truth is: I will lose by about 20,000 votes. But I will still go out every night on the streets and feed people out of my own pocket while Kon Vatskalis will be sitting there enjoying his election night victory party,” says this Darwin lord mayor candidate. Read about her policies here.

Leah Potter speaking at the Cairns Chamber of Commerce's mayoral election debate lunch. Picture: Brendan Radke

Leah Potter, 56, admitted almost immediately that she did not think she could win the race to become Darwin’s next Lord Mayor, but she said that wouldn’t stop her from trying.

The Darwin-born neurodivergent comedian grew up watching the town rebuild after Cyclone Tracy in 1974.

She also raised her five children in Darwin and founded the Sunset Soup Kitchen in 2018.

Ms Potter ran as an independent for the seat of Port Darwin in the 2020 and 2024 Northern Territory elections; in 2021 she ran for lord mayor of Darwin; in 2022 she contested Brent Potter in the Fannie Bay by-election; and in 2024 she ran in the Cairns mayoral race.

Although she acknowledged that there is only so much she could do as Lord Mayor, Ms Potter said that finding solutions to reduce crime and homelessness were the most important to her in the upcoming election on August 23.

Leah Potter will run for Lord Mayor of Darwin in the 2025 Northern Territory local government elections. Picture: Facebook

Ms Potter said she would establish a “Lord Mayor’s Homelessness Taskforce” that would bring together current service providers, First Nations leaders, community advocates and people with lived experience to develop solutions to tackle homelessness.

She also said she wanted to advocate for a “clear and consistent” distinction between homelessness and crime, as well as fighting for “culturally safe spaces” for those living in poverty – whether that be through Indigenous-led youth centres, rest zones, or “public sanitation facilities”.

More than 13,000 are left searching for a safe place to sleep each night in the Northern Territory, which has a homelessness rate 12 times higher than the national average.

“Homelessness is not a crime,” she said.

“Instead of calling the cops for the ‘heinous crime’ of sleeping in the dirt, we should actually do something about homelessness.”

With the rates of homelessness in mind, Ms Potter said it was “obscene” to see the City of Darwin spend $77 million on a new civic centre rather than on youth centres or homeless shelters.

Leah Potter says homelessness isn’t a crime. Picture: Facebook

The $77 million investment by City of Darwin is comprised of $47 million from reserves which can only be used for public carparking or for development of a new civic centre, as well as $30 million in external borrowings.

Ultimately it was this disregard for those who are most vulnerable, Ms Potter said, that inspired her to put her hand up for politics again.

“My promises are the exact same as they were in my first election; I want to make this town a great place for everybody to live, visit and run their businesses in,” she said.

“The truth is: I will lose by about 20,000 votes. But I will still go out every night on the streets and feed people out of my own pocket while [Lord Mayor] Kon Vatskalis will be sitting there enjoying his election night victory party.

“How’s that for heartbreaking?”

For more details about Ms Potter, visit her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/leahpotterpoliticalagitator

Originally published as How Darwin lord mayor candidate Leah Potter plans to tackle homelessness, crime if elected