Northern Territory general election, 1987

Northern Territory general election, 1987

7 March 1987

All 25 seats of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly   First party Second party   Leader Stephen Hatton Terry Smith Party Country Liberal Labor Leader since 14 May 1986 19 August 1986 Leader's seat Nightcliff Millner Last election 19 seats 6 seats Seats won 16 seats 6 seats Seat change 3 0 Percentage 39.4% 36.0% Swing 18.8 0.4

Chief Minister before election Stephen Hatton Country Liberal Elected Chief Minister Stephen Hatton Country Liberal

A general election was held in the Northern Territory, Australia on Saturday 7 March 1987. Although the incumbent Country Liberal Party (CLP) won a majority under new leader Stephen Hatton, the party's vote was down almost 20 percentage points.

At the 1987 election, the CLP faced a challenge from the Northern Territory Nationals, a rebel conservative party led by former CLP Chief Minister Ian Tuxworth that was aligned with then-Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, but not affiliated with the federal National Party of Australia. The NT Nationals took 17.79% of the primary vote, mostly from the CLP, but finished with only one member in the assembly. Hatton, despite a loss of three seats, retained a working majority.

Labor's vote remained virtually unchanged. As in 1983, its assembly tally was six.

Two former-CLP independents were re-elected in their seats. Noel Padgham-Purich was re-elected to Koolpinyah, while Denis Collins was re-elected to Sadadeen as an independent. Former Chief Minister Ian Tuxworth was also re-elected as a member of the NT Nationals.

Results

Northern Territory general election, 7 March 1987[1] Legislative Assembly << 1983 — 1990 >>
Enrolled voters		74,633
Votes cast		53,127		Turnout	71.2%	–10.4%
Informal votes		2,199		Informal	4.1%	+1.1%
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Country Liberal	20,074	39.4%	–18.8%	16	– 3
	Labor	18,307	36.0%	+0.4%	6	± 0
	NT Nationals	9,058	17.8%	+17.8%	1	+ 1
	Independent	3,489	6.9%	+2.5%	2	+ 2
Total		50,928			25
Two-party-preferred
	Country Liberal		57.3%
	Labor		42.7%

Retiring MPs

Labor

• Bob Collins MLA (Arafura)

Country Liberal

• Roger Steele MLA (Elsey)

Candidates

Sitting members are in bold. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour.

Electorate	Held by	Labor candidate	CLP candidate	Nationals candidates	Independent candidates
Arafura	Labor	Stan Tipiloura	Dorothy Fox	Peter Watton
Araluen	CLP	Di Shanahan	Eric Poole	Enzo Floreani
Arnhem	Labor	Wes Lanhupuy	John Hancock	Brian Dalliston	Bruce Foley
Barkly	CLP	Keith Hallett	Gary Smith	Ian Tuxworth	Maggie Hickey
Braitling	CLP	Mike Alsop	Roger Vale	Max Stewart
Casuarina	CLP	John Reeves	Nick Dondas	Giuseppe Nicolosi
Fannie Bay	CLP	John Waters	Marshall Perron	Stephen Marshall	Edward Osgood Strider
Flynn	CLP	John Omond	Ray Hanrahan	Jacqueline Anderson
Jingili	CLP	Bob Wharton	Rick Setter	Harry Maschke
Karama	CLP	Robyn Crompton	Mick Palmer	Lionel Preston
Katherine	CLP	Phil Maynard	Mike Reed	Jim Forscutt
Koolpinyah	CLP	Peter Ivinson	Pat Loftus	David Loveridge	Noel Padgham-Purich
Leanyer	CLP	David Lamb-Jenkins	Fred Finch	David Wane
Ludmilla	CLP	Chris McMah	Col Firmin	Brian Thomas	Sydney Cross
MacDonnell	Labor	Neil Bell	J. Davis	Ron Liddle
Millner	Labor	Terry Smith	John Baban	Michael Foley
Nhulunbuy	Labor	Dan Leo	Pam Steele-Wareham	Deane Crowhurst	Pat Ellis
Nightcliff	CLP	John Rowell	Stephen Hatton	Brian Brent
Palmerston	CLP	Tony Henry	Barry Coulter	Michael Ting
Port Darwin	CLP	Russell Kearney	Tom Harris	James Maclean
Sadadeen	Independent	Meredith Campbell	Shane Stone	Lynne Peterkin	Denis Collins
Sanderson	CLP	Peter McQueen	Daryl Manzie	Lawrence Armstrong
Stuart	Labor	Brian Ede	Jim Sinclair	Ian Drennan	Vince Forrester
Victoria River	CLP	Leon White	Terry McCarthy	Ronald Wright	Lance Lawrence
Wanguri	CLP	Peter McNab	Don Dale	Graeme Bevis

References

1. Wade-Marshall, Dean Jaensch, Deborah (1994). Point of order! : the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory 1974-1994. Darwin: Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory. ISBN 0731520769.