Crime, money, health and housing – the issues that will decide the 2024 NT election
It’s market night in Palmerston – a satellite city roughly 20 kilometres south of Darwin which is home to about 38,000 people.
Positioned opposite each other, between stalls selling ice cream and dumplings, is a red tent marked Territory Labor and an orange tent marked Country Liberal Party (CLP).
As election fever builds ahead the NT election on August 24, candidates are seeking to resonate with a diverse population combating complex problems.
Four electorates fall within the City of Palmerston, with one held by Chief Minister Eva Lawler and a second by Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro.
Territory Labor leader Ms Lawler is clinging to her Drysdale seat with a five per cent margin while the CLP’s Ms Finocchiaro is sitting comfortably in the neighbouring seat of Spillett with a margin of 15 per cent.
As polling day edges closer, the ABC spent time speaking to various people in Palmerston about what issues will sway them when they go to cast their vote.
Here’s what they said.
Businesses going bust
Elise Bisset has been a florist in Palmerston for over a decade.
Outside her colourful shop in the town centre, the street is virtually deserted.
The strip used to be a thriving shopping precinct, but over the years, Elise says crime and rising rent has driven small businesses away.
Elise keeps the door to the shop locked when working alone and has painted over the windows but that hasn’t stopped repeated break-ins.
She’s confident crime will be at the forefront of people’s minds when they cast their vote.
“People are losing their cars, having home invasions, you can’t feel safe,” she says.
Violent crime is at an all-time high in the NT and property crime in Palmerston is on the rise.
NT police data shows house break-ins and motor theft have both soared in recent years with break-ins on businesses increasing 10 per cent between 2022 and 2023.
Elise says the community is desperate for immediate measures to improve safety, but wants leaders show more compassion toward young people.
“We’re all victims of circumstance,” she says.
A different perspective
While youth issues are dominating a large chunk of social and political debate, there’s a growing population of senior citizens who feel their needs are being overlooked.
According to a 2019 study conducted by Charles Darwin University’s Northern Institute, the NT is now Australia’s fastest aging population.
People over the age of 50 make up almost 15 per cent of the Palmerston population.
June Roos moved to the NT in 1968 for a six-month visit and never left.
“Once upon a time everyone retired and went back down south where family was, but now they’ve stayed on, married up here, got their own kids,” she says.
June wants to see the future Northern Territory government invest in aged care facilities after her husband spent two years in Palmerston Hospital with dementia.
“[He was] able to go into a nursing home had there been a vacancy but there just wasn’t,” she explains.
Territory Labor has earmarked $12 million under their 2024 budget for planning and early works on a 120-bed aged care facility in Palmerston although no timeline has been set for when the facility could be up and running.
Stuck in a broken system
In her home in Gray, Torres Strait Islander woman Anna Lewin is navigating the challenges of single parenthood while raising a teenage son.
After spending nearly six years on a waitlist for public housing accommodation, housing stability is top of mind.
“I can’t pay my rent, pay power and water, have money for transport, money for school fees, for uniforms, all with Centrelink … so I have to get employment but as soon as I get employment, I’m told I’m no longer eligible for housing,” she explains.
Anna’s struggle isn’t unique. The NT has 12 times the national rate of homelessness — exacerbated by vacancy rates which have declined 46 per cent since 2020.
On top of financial woes, Anna worries for her 14-year-old son.
“I don’t want him to crash and burn … it’s such a vulnerable age, especially for boys,” she says.
Two recent snap curfews in Alice Springs have thrust youth justice into the spotlight as a major election issue.
But data from the Attorney-General’s Department suggests the problem has been worsening for years.
Between 2019 and 2023, the number of violent offences committed by people aged 12 to 17 has risen by nearly 50 per cent.
Having worked at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre for more than three years, Anna says she wants a government that will invest in therapeutic programs to help families break the cycle of violence and addiction.
“When they walk out their front door, they’re leaving their trauma … and that’s what the government needs to understand and recognise,” she says.
Despite the many hurdles facing her family and the wider community, Anna hopes the election could herald positive change.
“I love the territory, I’m here to stay and I want to see it grow,” she says.
SOURCE: ABCNEWS
