The NT election is a lesson for Labor: Govern for the good of people and planet or make way for progressives who will

Growing up in Darwin during the Liberal Howard government meant as a young Larrakia child I witnessed and felt the real life impact of vilification and propaganda by police, media and politicians. 

In 2007, the government sent military tanks into remote Aboriginal communities as the Northern Territory Intervention escalated colonial systems of harm and trauma. While the Liberal government was quickly and quietly taking control of Aboriginal land in the NT, weakening Native Title and opening the door for corporate land grabs, media and mining-aligned politicians fuelled dehumanising narratives about Aboriginal people bringing the NT to a place of palpable racial tension. 

“If this intervention was so good for us, why did you remove the Racial Discrimination Act?” 

– Arrernte and Anmatyerre Elder Rosalie Kunoth-Monks

The swing of a Labor government brought the possibility of redress and reformed approaches, but after a miserable downward spiral into conservative pandering, their eight-year reign has come to an anticlimactic end. This has left communities with minimal social services while having to fight off multinational corporations hungry to excavate land and sea for private profit. 

Now the Country Liberal Party (CLP) have swept back into power which follows a predictable trend. When Labor governments betray the working class (most of us) and bow to conservatives and rightwing lobby groups, they lose elections. It happened in New Zealand, it happened in the NT and it’s what will happen in 2025 if Labor doesn’t change tack and start governing for the good of people and planet. 

How Labor lost votes to independents and the Greens

In Johnston, independent Justine Davis won with promises to “address the underlying drivers of violence” by reducing poverty, creating employment opportunities, fixing unsafe housing, community peacemaking and investing in youth. Davis, a respected conflict mediator, has also been a vocal advocate for the protection of Lee Point, an old-growth bushland in Darwin that is home to over 200 species of birds and sacred Larrakia sites that are at-threat of being destroyed by Defence Housing Australia (DHA) to build houses for the military.

Larrakia people and the Darwin community have worked to protect the beauty and biodiversity of Lee Point for years, seeking conversations and commitments from Labor ministers only for our concerns to be ignored and undermined. A declaration of cultural heritage by Larrakia Elders was denied by Labor minister Tanya Plibersek. Our petition for the return of Lee Point to Larrakia ownership and care was tabled by Senator Lidia Thorpe but the Labor minister responsible for DHA (and therefore the land at Lee Point) Matt Thistlethwaite is yet to respond. Reports have been written, environmental experts have called for Lee Point to be protected, yet the silence of Labor MPs has been loud and clear: Private profit is more important to Labor than people, Country and culture. 

In Nightcliff, Kat McNamara won the Greens their first ever seat in the NT from former chief minister Natasha Fyles who had to stand down from the position after it was made public she had undisclosed shares in mining. McNamara campaigned on a promise to “reject Labor and the CLP’s policy of letting big business trash [the] environment”.

In Fannie Bay, Suki Dorras-Walker won more votes than Labor’s Brent Potter. Dorras-Walker, a teacher, has also been a vocal supporter for Lee Point and campaigned to save Darwin’s Stringybark residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation service which NT Labor closed to build another prison. 

Dorras-Walker, Davis and McNamara are examples of what can happen when people power is coupled with progressive policies. They know people in the NT deserve better than what Labor was offering. 

Labor need to get back to supporting people and planet

Earlier this year, I joined other Larrakia family members, Beetaloo Basin Traditional Owners, doctors, local tourism operators and environmental scientists at the Middle Arm Senate Inquiry to challenge Labor government decisions to prioritise $1.5 billion of public money on a toxic gas hub when there is a desperate need for funding of homeless shelters, youth services, hospitals and schools. We spoke of the health risks to our families and the irreversible damage that would be done to water, land and lifestyle if Middle Arm goes ahead. 

In New Zealand’s most recent election, the NZ Labour Party went from governing with an unprecedented super-majority of 65 MPs to just 34. Like NT Labor, NZ Labour contended with an election discourse fixated on “a crisis of crime” and like NT Labor, they capitulated. NZ Labour back-tracked on a promise to reduce the number of people in prison. NT Labor back-tracked on a promise to close Don Dale. In both circumstances, these decisions made both parties appear unstable, uncertain and unable to govern progressively. 

When Labor fails to listen to, and address, the concerns of everyday people, they lose. When they try to outcompete conservative parties for the “tough-on-crime” vote, they lose. It is that simple. 

If politicians are serious about tackling crime then they have to get serious about tackling poverty, fully funding mental health and social services, redistributing resources to ensure everyone has a home, addressing the open wounds of colonisation through redress, reparation and repair and increasing care for land, water, forests, rivers and wildlife. As Labor looks to rebuild their standing in the NT, new leader Selena Uibo and the nearly all Aboriginal caucus may offer some hope if Labor allows them to lead with the integrity of their cultural responsibilities to people and Country.

For Labor this is the loss of an election. For the Aboriginal families and children in the NT this is far greater. The CLP will criminalise 10 year olds and reintroduce life-threatening spit hoods. Labor’s pandering to corporate greed and conservative fear-mongering has gambled the lives of the NT’s most vulnerable and children and Country will bear the brunt. 

Written by Laniyuk, a Larrakia woman who is working with other Larrakia families to return Lee Point in Darwin to their ownership, protection and care and Te Raukura O’Connell Rapira, a Māori and Pākehā political organiser. You can find out more about the Larrakia-led campaign to return Lee Point here: www.returnleepoint.com