2022 Fannie Bay by-election

2022 Fannie Bay by-election
← 2020 20 August 2022 (2022-08-20) 2024 →
The division of Fannie Bay in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
  First party Second party Third party
 
Candidate Brent Potter Ben Hosking Jonathan Parry
Party Labor Country Liberal Greens
Popular vote 1,139 1,451 699
Percentage 32.5% 41.4% 19.9%
Swing Decrease 15.7pp Increase 6.6pp Increase 9.7pp
TPP 52.6% 47.4%
TPP swing Decrease 7.0pp Increase 7.0pp
Map of the electoral division of Fannie Bay in the Darwin/Palmerston area
MLA before election

Michael Gunner
Labor

Elected MLA

Brent Potter
Labor

A by-election in the seat of Fannie Bay in the Northern Territory was held on 20 August 2022, following the resignation of Michael Gunner, the MLA for Fannie Bay and former chief minister, on 27 July 2022.[1] Early voting started on Monday 8 August.[2]

Candidates

[edit]
Candidates in ballot paper order[3]
Party Candidate Background
  Labor Brent Potter Former political staffer and defence force veteran[4]
  Independent George Mamouzellos
  Independent Raj Samson Rajwin
  Greens Jonathan Parry Legal Aid Lawyer
  Independent Leah Potter Founder of the Sunset Soup Kitchen
  Country Liberal Ben Hosking Small business owner and former police officer[5]

Brent Potter, a senior policy advisor to Chief Minister Natasha Fyles and defence force veteran, contested the by-election for the Labor Party.[6] Potter was reported to have been personally selected as a "captain's pick" by Fyles,[7] and is married to the sister of Gabrielle Mappas, Fyles' chief of staff.[8] Potter has been a resident of the Northern Territory since 2009.[9] Potter currently lives outside of the electorate, in the Palmerston suburb of Bellamack, but has pledged to move to the electorate of Fannie Bay if elected.[10] The length of Potter's employment as an advisor for the chief minister is unclear as Potter's LinkedIn account was deactivated.[11] Screenshots Potter's now deactivated LinkedIn page taken the month before his nomination show he had previously worked for the CEO of an aerospace company, which he had helped secure $10 million in public funds from the government.[12] On 9 August 2022, during a radio interview on Mix 104.9, host Katie Wolf raised allegations of pork barrelling around with a new Parap preschool with Potter, which he had been involved in announcing. Potter responded that the funding for the new primary school was in the government's infrastructure plan and would "be included in next year's budget".[13]

Ben Hosking, a local small business owner and former police officer contested the by-election for the Country Liberal Party.[14] Hosking was born in Darwin and grew up in the electorate of Fannie Bay, living in Ludmilla and attending school in Parap.[15] In 2016, Hosking unsuccessfully contested Drysdale (based in Palmerston) electorate for the CLP.[16] During this election, Hosking courted controversy for releasing a factually inaccurate and misleading advertisement in which he was holding an assault rifle.[17] Hosking also previously attempted to run as a candidate for the federal seat of Solomon but failed to succeed at the pre-selection stage.[18] Shortly after being announced as candidate, Hosking was filmed out the front of Michael Gunner's electoral office, which had recently been vandalised.[19]

Jonathan Parry, a legal aid lawyer, contested the by-election for the Northern Territory Greens.[20] Parry is a resident of the electorate[21] and is the party's national secretary.[22] Jonathan Parry is the only candidate who lives in the electorate, living in and owning a property in Parap.[23]

Leah Potter is the founder of the Sunset Soup Kitchen and contested the election as an independent candidate. She contested the 2020 general election as an independent candidate for the seat of Port Darwin.[24]

Results

[edit]
2022 Fannie Bay by-election[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Country Liberal Ben Hosking 1,451 41.4 +6.6
Labor Brent Potter 1,139 32.5 −15.7
Greens Jonathan Parry 699 19.9 +9.7
Independent Leah Potter 103 2.9 +2.9
Independent Raj Samson Rajwin 84 2.4 +2.4
Independent George Mamouzellos 30 0.9 +0.9
Total formal votes 3,506 97.9 −0.2
Informal votes 76 2.1 +0.2
Turnout 3,582 65.9 −15.1
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Brent Potter 1,844 52.6 −7.0
Country Liberal Ben Hosking 1,662 47.4 +7.0
Labor hold Swing −7.0

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Former Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner resigns from politics". ABC News. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  2. ^ NTEC (28 July 2022). "Early voting". NTEC. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  3. ^ "List of candidates". NTEC. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Labor announces candidate for Fannie Bay by-election". ABC News. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  5. ^ "CLP chooses its candidate for Fannie Bay by-election". The New Daily. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Labor announces candidate for Fannie Bay by-election". ABC News. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  7. ^ Walsh, Christopher. "Natasha Fyles' captain's pick powerplay: Fifth floor staffer named as Labor candidate". NT Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  8. ^ Walsh, Christopher. "Natasha Fyles' captain's pick powerplay: Fifth floor staffer named as Labor candidate". NT Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Labor announces candidate for Fannie Bay by-election". ABC News. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Labor announces candidate for Fannie Bay by-election". ABC News. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  11. ^ Walsh, Christopher. "Labor candidate's LinkedIn profile deactivated hours before nomination made official, raising suspicions". NT Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  12. ^ Walsh, Christopher. "REVEALED: Here's what Labor is hiding about Fannie Bay candidate and fifth floor staffer Brent Potter". NT Independent. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Find out more about the Labor's candidate for Fannie Bay Brent Potter". www.mix1049.com.au. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Home". Country Liberal Party. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  15. ^ "CLP preselects Ben Hosking for Fannie Bay by-election". NT Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  16. ^ Smith, Camden (2 August 2022). "CLP preselects Ben Hosking as Fannie Bay candidate". The NTNews. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  17. ^ "CLP candidate's law and order stance criticised in wake of Four Corners report". ABC News. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  18. ^ Emeck, Natasha (4 June 2021). "Former NT cop Ben Hosking emerges as frontrunner for CLP preselection in Solomon". The NT News. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  19. ^ Walls, Jason (2 August 2022). "CLP candidate Ben Hosking spotted using vandalised Michael Gunner's office as campaign backdrop". The NT News. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Jonathan Parry". NT Greens. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Jonathan Parry". NT Greens. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Office bearers honour roll". Australian Greens. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Find out more about the Green's candidate for Fannie Bay Jonathan Parry". www.mix1049.com.au. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  24. ^ "Port Darwin - NT Election 2020". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  25. ^ "Division of Fannie Bay results". Northern Territory Electoral Commission. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2022_Fannie_Bay_by-election&oldid=1186886658"