Brennan is an electoral division of the
Legislative Assembly in Australia's
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
. It was first created in 1990 as a replacement for the abolished seat of
Ludmilla, and derives its name from
Harold "Tiger" Brennan, a former member of the
Legislative Council and
Mayor of Darwin. Brennan includes both rural and urban areas, covering an area of 5 km
2 and encompassing the
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...
suburbs of
Bakewell,
Gunn Gunn may refer to:
Places
* Gunn City, Missouri, a village
* Gunn, Northern Territory, outer suburb of Darwin
* Gunn, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet
* Gunn Valley, a mountain valley in British Columbia, Canada
* Gun Lake (British Columbia), a Canad ...
,
Farrar, as well as part of
Rosebery. There were 5,746 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2020.
Palmerston has long been one of the heartlands of the
Country Liberal Party
The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP) is a centre-right political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In local politics it operates in a two-party system with the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It also contests federal ...
. Indeed, until 2005, the
Labor Party had never come close to winning a Palmerston-based seat in the history of the Assembly. However, Brennan is located in what had long been reckoned as a particularly conservative area even by Palmerston standards, and it was the CLP's safest seat after the
2001 election.
Denis Burke, who served as
Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier.
When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government was ...
from 1999 to 2001 and had just been reelected as
Opposition Leader
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
a few months before the election, was not expected to have any difficulty holding the seat in the foreseeable future. However, in a shock result that had not been predicted by any prominent commentator, much less either candidate, Brennan fell to the ALP candidate,
James Burke, at the
2005 election—only the second time that a major-party leader in the Northern Territory had been toppled in his own electorate.
Burke's victory was short-lived, as
Peter Chandler regained the seat for the CLP at the
2008 election. Chandler picked up a massive swing in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, seemingly reverting Brennan to its traditional status as a safe CLP seat. However, Chandler was swept out four years later by Labor's
Tony Sievers
Anthony John Sievers is an Australian politician. He is a Labor member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2016, representing the electorate of Brennan.
Early life and career
Sievers moved to the Northern Territory in 1988. He ...
amid the CLP's collapse in Palmerston. Sievers in turn narrowly lost his seat to the CLP's
Marie-Clare Boothby
Marie-Clare Boothby (born 20 February 1977) is an Australian politician in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.
Boothby was born and raised in Darwin, and has since moved to live in Palmerston where she lives with her husband and ...
in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
.
Members for Brennan
Election results
References
External links
Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission
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Brennan