Labor defeated by Rural Liberal Party after eight years in power following surprise swings in Northern Territory election

Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler has admitted defeat for Labor and in her own riding of Drysdale after surprise massive swings to the Rural Liberal Party in the Top End.

Fighting back tears, Ms Lawler told the party faithful shortly after 9pm on Saturday that after a “tough, difficult fight in this campaign… unfortunately we have not managed to get across the line tonight”.

“It has been an absolute privilege to be the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory. It has also been an absolute privilege to be the MP for Drysdale,” Ms Lawler said.

‘Tonight is a difficult night for the Labour Party, a really difficult night for the Labour Party. It wasn’t the result we wanted to see, but I think some of those votes, some of those decisions, were taken a long time ago.

“I know that people in the Territory wanted change. We heard that loud and clear… I think we’ve left the Northern Territory in a much better position than we were before.”

Ms Lawler said she had congratulated Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro and that Labor would not “denigrate the Northern Territory” in opposition and would “be constructive”.

Lawler, who replaced Natasha Fyles, was seeking to extend Labor’s eight-year dominance at the top end, with 25 seats up for grabs when official counting began at 6 p.m.

But, shortly after 8pm, ABC chief election analyst Antony Green declared the election for the CLP shortly after 8pm with a 13.7 per cent swing to the party.

An hour later, the count was 15 seats for the CLP.

Former First Minister Natasha Fyles told the ABC the result so far, with the CLP on 10 seats and Labor on four, shortly after 8.30pm according to the ABC, was “extremely disappointing”.

This comes after former Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles admitted that allowing alcohol restrictions in remote Aboriginal communities to lapse was a mistake.

Ms Lawler has criticised her predecessor’s decision to let alcohol restrictions lapse in mid-2022, legalising alcohol in dozens of Aboriginal communities for the first time in 15 years.

Asked if the move was a mistake by the ABC on election night, Ms Fyles said “the short answer is yes”, before adding that “hindsight is a wonderful thing” and that alcohol was “a legal product”.

“We know the harm it causes, but at the same time allowing people the option to opt out of being a community that could have alcohol, rather than making communities dry and then having to go through a process to be allowed to have alcohol… So it’s incredibly complex,” Ms Fyles told the ABC.

“We know that compulsory treatment for alcoholism doesn’t work. It’s very expensive. But these are policies that the PLC has said it will eliminate, something that health professionals around the world have applauded here in the territory.”

Despite the criticism, Ms Fyles defended her successor as the first votes began to be counted, saying she “certainly hasn’t held back” and was respected for her work ahead of the election.

By 8pm, Ms Fyles was already discussing the possibility of Labor coming “second or third” as the CLP took a significant early lead with six seats compared to Labor’s two, according to the ABC.

Both Labor and the Rural Liberal Party have campaigned on a tough-on-crime platform, with persistently high crime rates and disadvantage, and curfews in Alice Springs, as central points.

In the week before the election, Ms Lawler said Labor would introduce a “common-sense plan to reduce crime” and improve community safety, including a $570 million boost to the Northern Territory Police.

Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro told a live debate on SkyNews earlier this week that the CLP’s plan on crime was instead to strengthen bail laws and lower the age of criminal responsibility.

The NT’s ailing economy, high living costs and stagnant population growth are also in the CLP’s firing line as it tries to show change is needed after eight years of Labor rule.

The election also opened the door for a number of independents, including self-proclaimed laksa queen Amye Un, who said “Labor had to go… Only Amye Un can clean up.”

The Northern Territory has been in the news in recent years due to high crime rates, including the imposition of nightly curfews in the Northern Territory, including after two off-duty police officers were allegedly attacked in July.

The election also comes ahead of a contested by-election in Queensland later this year, where Labor will again defend its record, as well as a looming federal election due next year.