Federal election battle for NT seat in Lingiari set to be fought on a knife’s edge

ABC NEWS (Australia)

It is one of Australia’s largest electoral divisions, taking up much of the Northern Territory. The seat of Lingiari has been held by Labor for 24 years, with its margin narrowing at the last election. Poor outcomes in the bush and crimes in the town centre has many residents calling for change.

Transcript

00:00As new houses are built in the Aboriginal community of Amungana near Alice Springs,

00:13community leader Kumali Riley senses a missed opportunity.

00:17We can have a bunch of builders, we can have plumbers, we can do a lot of that if it's the

00:28community's got to have control over that.

00:31Decision making is, you know, it belongs to the community.

00:37In a region weighed down by poverty, the lack of opportunity is front of mind for many.

00:44It's terrible, there's no services sometimes, there's no, there's a breakdown of all communities.

00:53In Lingiari, one in three enrolled voters did not cast a ballot at the last federal election,

00:59making it the lowest voter turnout in the nation.

01:02Many in the bush are questioning whether their vote will make a difference after seeing successive

01:07governments fail to turn the dial on generational disadvantage.

01:11We've got too much of all this alcohol, drugs and, and all this is, have a devastating,

01:20you know, impact on our people, domestic violence and stuff like that.

01:28Held by Labour for over 20 years, Lingiari takes in the top end to the outback and covers

01:34all of the Northern Territory's remote Aboriginal communities.

01:38It's a vast electorate covering 1.3 million square kilometres or 99% of the Northern Territory.

01:46Alice Springs in the centre and Catherine in the north are its two main centres.

01:53The region has had its fair share of crime headlines over the years and attracted a flurry

01:58of politicians to the Red Centre with promises of change.

02:02And delivered in community by community.

02:05And it will lead to a safer environment here in Alice Springs.

02:09A drop in tourists since the COVID pandemic has many small businesses in Alice Springs hanging on.

02:16Many of us are on our knees.

02:19It's critical for many business owners at the moment in terms of if this year doesn't shape up,

02:24you'll probably see some more closed doors come next summer.

02:28On the streets of Alice Springs, there's a push for elected leaders to do more.

02:33It's time to get beyond crime as the one sole issue in Alice Springs,

02:37and it's time to invest in the town again.

02:39Like everyone else in the town, they're mostly sick and tired of them doing nothing.

02:42I think the government's not really listening to what Alice Springs people want.

02:56Labor's Marion Scrimgeour is re-contesting the seat she narrowly won in 2022.

03:02The former NT Deputy Chief Minister and Land Council head acknowledges systemic change is hard fought.

03:09There is something seriously wrong when we scratch our heads and we all say,

03:16well, young people don't want to work, when the system doesn't allow that to happen.

03:21And we need to change that.

03:25Her main opponent is former Federal Police Officer Lisa Siebert,

03:29who's running for the country Liberal Party on a platform of change.

03:34If we have an idea, we need to show results.

03:36And we need to show that there are practical solutions and outcomes that are delivered in the policies that we have.

03:42And if we don't, if we can't execute on those, then we've actually failed in our commitment.

03:52In the bush, where the greatest need exists, leaders are tired of false hope and broken promises.

03:59They forget all that, their sweet promises, and then we're back on square one.

04:04Nothing's, nothing's changing.

04:07A huge electorate with equally huge social challenges for whichever party wins.

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