A
by-election in the seat of
Fannie Bay
Fannie Bay is a middle/inner suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
Situated in the suburb is the Fannie Bay Gaol museum, Fannie Bay Race Track, Fannie Bay Oval the home of the Port Darwin FC and a monument to Ross Smith ...
in the Northern Territory was held on 20 August 2022, following the resignation of
Michael Gunner
Michael Patrick Francis Gunner (born 6 January 1976) is an Australian politician and was the 11th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2016 to 2022. He is a Labor member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, having held his se ...
, the MLA for Fannie Bay and former chief minister, on 27 July 2022.
Early voting started on Monday 8 August.
Candidates
Brent Potter, a senior policy advisor to
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles and defence force veteran, contested the by-election for the Labor Party. Potter was reported to have been personally selected as a "captain's pick" by Fyles, and is married to the sister of Gabrielle Mappas, Fyles' chief of staff. Potter has been a resident of the Northern Territory since 2009. 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. The length of Potter's employment as an advisor for the chief minister is unclear as Potter's LinkedIn account was deactivated. 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. On 9 August 2022, during a radio interview on
Mix 104.9
Mix 104.9 (call sign: 8MIX) is a radio station in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It started broadcasting in 1997 - at the time, sister station Hot 100 was the only commercial radio station in Darwin - and has a relay in the remote town ...
, 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".
Ben Hosking, a local small business owner and former police officer contested the by-election for the
Country Liberal Party. Hosking was born in Darwin and grew up in the electorate of Fannie Bay, living in Ludmilla and attending school in Parap. In 2016, Hosking unsuccessfully contested Drysdale (based in Palmerston) electorate for the CLP. During this election, Hosking courted controversy for releasing a factually inaccurate and misleading advertisement in which he was holding an assault rifle. Hosking also previously attempted to run as a candidate for the federal seat of Solomon but failed to succeed at the pre-selection stage. Shortly after being announced as candidate, Hosking was filmed out the front of Michael Gunner's electoral office, which had recently been vandalised.
Jonathan Parry, a legal aid lawyer, contested the by-election for the
Northern Territory Greens. Parry is a resident of the electorate and is the party's national secretary.
Jonathan Parry is the only candidate who lives in the electorate, living in and owning a property in Parap.
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.
Results
See also
*
List of Northern Territory by-elections
*
Electoral results for the division of Fannie Bay
This is a list of electoral results for the Electoral division of Fannie Bay in Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, ...
References
{{reflist
External links
2022 Division of Fannie Bay by-election (Northern Territory Electoral Commission)
Northern Territory by-elections
Fannie Bay
Fannie Bay is a middle/inner suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
Situated in the suburb is the Fannie Bay Gaol museum, Fannie Bay Race Track, Fannie Bay Oval the home of the Port Darwin FC and a monument to Ross Smith ...
2020s in the Northern Territory