Just to follow up on today’s story, Northern Territory Labor defector Alison Anderson has announced she will become an independent and support a new Country Liberal government. This will be the first mid-term change of government, that I can think of, since John Curtin took office during the Second World War. The Assembly will begin sitting next Tuesday, and it appears the CLP will call a vote of no-confidence as soon as possible. They will then have 8 days to present a new government with majority support to the Administrator. I’m not sure of how this plays out constitutionally, but we should see a Country Liberal government by the end of August.
More from Ms Anderson:
The newly independent Member for MacDonnell, Alison Anderson, says next Tuesday’s Parliamentary session will be the greatest day in Northern Territory history.
Ms Anderson was the Territory’s Indigenous policy minister until earlier this week, when she quit in fury over a housing program and a newspaper article she thought was derogatory.
In my mind, the CLP are all Wilson Tuckey. I don’t doubt the NT government needs a kick in the pants but wouldn’t minority government do the trick?
I’ve been wondering for a while whether an Australian equivalent of the Maori Party could exist in Australia. If it’s going to work anywhere, it’s going to be the NT. Imagine a cross-bench held by Indigenous Australians; something might actually get done with regards to improving their conditions.
Disgraceful treachery. Even worse than the WA MP who defected to the Nats.
How she can justify supporting a Government that her voters voted against, I don’t know.
There have been some other more recent mid-term changes of government. The ACT government changed twice during their first term under self-government between 1989 and 1992 (but that’s easy to miss, I just found it now by looking this up to see if I could prove you wrong). The other one, which I’d forgotten as well, was in Qld in 1996 when the Goss government lost office after the Mundingburra by-election, but arguably that’s a different situation since it was caused by a by-election arising from a disputed result at the previous general election.
Yeah, I’d forgotten about those. So it’s not so incredible, but still pretty rare.
This one can still be called incredible since it’s been caused by a defection from a major party rather than existing cross-benchers switching sides, or by-elections.
Alison Anderson reflects the frustration the majority of territorians feel with an untruthful, weak, ineffective labor government that has failed to effectively address a wide range of social issues in the nt.
In their 2.5 terms they have made no discernable changes in the health housing and education portfolios. The indigenous MLA’s have failed to come together and force change, stiffled by the tricky ALP party machine.
The change of reform from within, nil, or it would have happened. Yes it is a tradgedy that Territory Labor will go this way, but it is entirely of their own doing. I wish there were more Alison Andersons.
Hamish Coffee, strong words re Alison Anderson! I personally will be putting Labor LAST in the next South Australian and National election. Kevin Rudd is a DISASTER. NO DIFFERENCE TO HOWARD! STILL WARING! STILL HOMOPHOBIC! STILL DESTROYING THE PLANET! I DESPISE KEVIE AND THE EVER SMILING ‘THERSE’ LEAVING THEIR CHURCH OF HATE ON SUNDAY MORNINGS AND DENYING MY RIGHT TO MARRY MY PARTNER OF 25 YEARS!!!!!!! Labor has to be Punished ‘BIGTIME’ I DESPISE THEM!!!!!!!
“How she can justify supporting a Government that her voters voted against”
In the NT I imagine a fair chunk of her vote is personal, not ALP. NT electorates are only a few thousand voters.
I didn’t think she actually had any voters as she stood unopposed… And I don’t think I’d be wishing for more Alison Andersons – didn’t she back the intervention? Or at least criticise those who were against it?
Unopposed is a fair point to an extent, but her personal vote was still with the knowledge that she would support the Labor Government.
When you run for parliament aligned to a party, you are pledging to your voters that you will support that party to achieve Government. If you quit and becomee an independent/green and still supports the Government as far as voting for them to form Government, fine, but to switch to the other side is a huge betrayal, a broken election promise if you will.
Brenton, what? While Labor is not as good as the Greens on many policies, I think it is undeniable that they are better than the Lib/Nats – Kyoto, apology et al. To put the Libs before Labor would just be self-defeating.
The development of Darwin’s remaining mangroves and green inner city parkland in Fannie Bay, Kulaluk aboriginal community and no doubt more will be the end result of the CLP return to power, not improved living conditions for aboriginal people or any Territorians living under the salary threshold of 100 thousand a year.What will the CLP do for the increasing numbers of homeless people turfed out of hostels and boarding houses razed to the ground to make way for the hideous box apartments going up all over the city? Most Darwinites have the destruction of the art deco Hotel Darwin on Christmas eve by then CLP leader Shane Stone’s approval as their last memory of the CLP’s contribution to NT life.
In 1956 a Labor MHA in Tasmania defected to the Liberals giving them a majority but the Labor Premier persuaded the Governor to grant an early election which Labor won.
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