CLP 2.3%
Incumbent MP
Jo Hersey, since 2020.
Geography
The seat of Katherine covers most of the Katherine council area, including the town of Katherine itself.
History
The electorate of Katherine has existed since 1987. The seat had always been held by the CLP up until the last election.
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 filled until the 2016 election.
van Holthe lost Katherine to Labor’s Sandra Nelson at the 2016 election, with a swing of over 22%. Nelson held Katherine for just one term, and retired in 2020.
The CLP’s Jo Hersey won Katherine in 2020.
- Sam Phelan (Independent)
- Nick Lovering (Labor)
- Jo Hersey (Country Liberal)
Assessment
Katherine has traditionally gone with the CLP – Labor only won the seat in 2016 at a low point for the CLP and by a very slim margin.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Kate Ganley | Labor | 1,281 | 33.0 | +2.1 |
| Jo Hersey | Country Liberal | 1,264 | 32.5 | -1.7 |
| Melanie Usher | Territory Alliance | 1,132 | 29.1 | +29.1 |
| Clinton Booth | Independent | 209 | 5.4 | +5.4 |
| Informal | 151 | 3.7 |
2020 two-candidate-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Jo Hersey | Country Liberal | 2,033 | 52.3 | +4.1 |
| Kate Ganley | Labor | 1,853 | 47.7 | -4.1 |
Booth breakdown
There were two ordinary polling places in Katherine in 2020.
The CLP won 52% of the two-party-preferred vote in Katherine East, and 55.7% in Katherine.
Over three quarters of the vote was cast via pre-poll, and the CLP polled 52.4% of the pre-poll vote.
| Voter group | CLP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| Pre-poll | 52.4 | 3,042 | 75.4 |
| Other votes | 50.2 | 501 | 12.4 |
| Katherine | 55.7 | 200 | 5.0 |
| Katherine East | 52.0 | 188 | 4.7 |
| Mobile | 53.8 | 106 | 2.6 |
Polling places surrounding Katherine at the 2020 NT election
CLP retain. This is usually quite safe for the CLP and I suspect that it will return to that level.
I actually think the swing here will be at least 12%. It will go back to being a safe seat.
While that is possible – Labor are running a popular local school Principal. Don’t discount an upset.
@TET a principal? Not enough to beat the CLP in their heartland.
It’s important to note the Territory Alliance polled very good in this seat in 2020. They’re now gone, so I think much of their vote will flow back to the CLP. Youth crime is a serious issue here, and the CLP traditionally have a bastion within Katherine.