August 24th 2024.
Today, voters in the Northern Territory are heading to the ballot boxes to cast their votes and determine the next government. It's shaping up to be a close race, with thousands of people already having their say. The current Chief Minister, Labor's Eva Lawler, is being challenged by Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro, of the Country Liberals party.
One of the key issues in this election is the territory's crime rates, with both parties making promises to tackle the surge. Lawler has taken a tough stance, implementing snap curfews in Alice Springs, while Finocchiaro has criticized her rival for only offering temporary solutions. The NT Treasury has assessed the pre-election commitments of each party and predicts that Labor's measures will increase net debt to $220 million by 2027-28, while the Country Liberals' plan will result in a debt of $96 million in the same timeframe.
Labor has held the government in the Northern Territory for the past eight years, starting with Michael Gunner, who stepped down during the pandemic. His successor, Natasha Fyles, resigned after just 18 months in office when it was revealed that she had undisclosed shares in a mining company. Lawler, a former school principal and current Drysdale MP, then took over as leader of the party.
The Country Liberals are campaigning for a change, hoping to win over voters with their slogan "it's time." The party previously held power for an impressive 23 years after the territory gained self-governance in 1978, but were voted out in 2001. They were then re-elected in 2012, only to suffer a shocking defeat in 2016, which saw them reduced to just two seats. However, they have since regained strength and are gaining momentum in this election, which Finocchiaro believes will be a turning point for the territory.
All votes will be counted starting at 6:30 tonight, and the results of this tight race will soon be revealed.
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