Katherine – NT 2016

CLP 22.3%

Incumbent MP
Willem Westra van Holthe, since 2008.

Geography
The electorate of Katherine has exactly the same borders as the council of the same name. The seat covers the entire town of Katherine as well as nearby Tindal.

Redistribution
No change.

History
The electorate of Katherine has existed since 1987. The seat has always been held by the CLP.

The first member for Katherine was Mike Reed, elected as the Country Liberal candidate in 1987. He held the seat all through the 1990s, serving as deputy chief minister from 1995 until the CLP’s election defeat in 2001. He resigned from Parliament in 2003.

The 2003 by-election was won by the CLP’s Fay Miller. She was re-elected in 2005, and retired at the 2008 election.

The CLP’s Willem Westra van Holthe has held Katherine since 2008. Westra van Holthe won a second term in 2012 and joined the ministry in the new Country Liberal government.

Westra van Holthe briefly served as deputy chief minister under Terry Mills in early 2013 after a failed leadership coup, but was replaced following a more successful leadership coup soon after.

In early 2015, Westra van Holthe successfully challenged for the leadership of the Country Liberal Party, which should have led to him becoming Chief Minister. Adam Giles refused to resign as chief minister, and a number of CLP members refused to support Westra van Holthe in the Parliament, leading to a risk of the government collapsing. Eventually the party agreed to support Giles with Westra van Holthe becoming deputy chief minister, a role he has filled ever since.

Candidates

• Dean Maxwell David (Independent)
• Sandra Nelson (Labor)
• Willem Westra van Holthe (Country Liberal)
• Leon Cellier (Independent)
• Braedon Earley (1 Territory)
• Chris Righton (Shooters and Fishers)

Assessment
Katherine is the safest CLP seat in the territory on paper, and the record bears that out. The CLP has a sitting incumbent running for re-election with a high profile in the government and relatively untainted by scandal. Katherine stayed with the CLP in their worst result in 2005, and will likely stay with the CLP even if the election goes very badly.

2012 result

2012 two-party-preferred result

Booth breakdown
There are three booths in Katherine: Katherine, Katherine East and Tindal. A large number of votes in Katherine were also cast at pre-poll.

The CLP’s two-party-preferred vote at the ordinary booths in Katherine ranged from 72% at Katherine East to 87% at Tindal, with 73% of the pre-poll vote.

The picture was very different at the one small mobile booth, where the CLP managed only 39% after preferences, with 38% of the primary vote going to an independent.