Araluen is an

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. It was first created in 1983, replacing the electorate of

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

, which had been abolished as part of the enlargement of the Assembly. The electorate covers a area to the south and west of

, including the Alice Springs CBD, the suburb of Araluen, and some surrounding rural areas. There were 5,742 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2020. The current member for Araluen is

Robyn Lambley Robyn Jane Lambley (born 26 January 1965) is an Australian politician. She is an independent member representing the division of Araluen in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, having been first elected in a 2010 by-election as a memb ...

, who has held the seat since 2010. She was originally elected as a member 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 ...

(CLP), but resigned from the party in 2015 and was re-elected as an independent at the 2016 election. In 2020 she joined the

Territory Alliance Territory Alliance is an Australian political party based in the Northern Territory. It was founded in 2019 by Terry Mills (Australian politician), Terry Mills, an incumbent member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and former Chief Mi ...

, but left the party the same year.

History

The city of Alice Springs has traditionally been a strong support base for the conservative

, and for most of its first 33 years Araluen was one of the CLP's safest seats. In the first three decades of Araluen's existence, the CLP's hold on the seat was only seriously threatened once. In 2001, the retirement of veteran Cabinet minister Eric Poole and two prominent independent candidacies nearly delivered the seat to Labor. New CLP candidate

Jodeen Carney Jodeen Terese Carney (born 9 December 1965) is an Australian politician. She was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from September 2001 to September 2010, representing the Alice Springs-based electora ...

only held the seat by 134 votes, making Araluen the CLP's most marginal seat. Carney proved to be a popular local member, and was one of only four CLP members to be returned amidst the Labor landslide at the 2005 election. She proved to be in the least danger of the CLP's elected members; indeed, she was the only one to actually pick up a swing in her favour. She subsequently served as the territory's

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 ...

after the election from 2005 until January 2008. Carney was re-elected with nearly 70 per cent of the primary vote at the 2008 election, reverting Araluen to its traditional status as a comfortably safe CLP seat. Carney resigned on 3 September 2010; a by-election to replace her was held on 9 October 2010 which saw

retain the seat for the CLP. Lambley resigned from the CLP on 18 June 2015 to sit as an independent. She easily retained the seat at the 2016 election. In 2020 she joined the newly created centrist

. Lambley was narrowly reelected at the 2020 election as the only TA member to win their seat. In 2011, as part of a redistribution, it was proposed to rename the seat to Perkins, in honour of

Hetty Perkins Hetty Perkins ( – 8 December 1979) was an elder of the Eastern Arrernte people, an Aboriginal group from Central Australia. Several of her descendants have had prominent careers in various fields, both in the Northern Territory and in other ...

, an

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...

elder. However, the proposal was later abandoned after local opposition.

Antony Green Antony John Green (born 2 March 1960) is an Australian psephologist and commentator. He is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's chief election analyst. Early years and background Born in Warrington, Lancashire, in northern England, Gree ...

Northern Territory votes: Araluen
– ABC News. Retrieved 5 August 2015.

Members for Araluen

Election results

Notes

References

External links

Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission
{{coord, 23, 42, 8, S, 133, 50, 59, E, display=title Araluen