Scott Lindsley McConnell is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory of Australia. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member electorates for four-year terms. The voting method fo ...

since 2016, representing the electorate of Stuart. Elected as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP, he was one of three MPs excluded from the Labor caucus on 21 December 2018 over criticism of the government; he then resigned from the party on 19 February 2019.

Early life and career

McConnell was born in Alice Springs while his parents were based at

Willowra Station Willowra Station is a pastoral property in the Northern Territory of Australia located about north west of Alice Springs. This station straddles the Lander River and is adjacent to the Tanami Desert. History This station was formerly establ ...

in the Northern Territory. He spent his childhood at

Napperby Station Napperby Station, also known as Napperby, is a pastoral lease used as a cattle station in the Northern Territory of Australia. History The station was established on Anmatyerre tribal land. The Chisholm family have owned Napperby Station "on ...

. McConnell was a park ranger with the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission, and then worked in Aboriginal enterprises Ikuntji Community Council in Amata. He then became CEO of the Ingkerreke and Ngurratjuta/Pmara Ntjarra Aboriginal Corporation.

Politics

In 2016, McConnell won the Labor nomination in the remote seat of Stuart, held by

Bess Price Bess Nungarrayi Price (born 22 October 1960) is an Aboriginal Australian activist and politician. She was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2016, representing the electorate of Stuart, an ...

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 ...

. During the campaign, McConnell travelled over 60,000 km while husting in the vast electorate, which stretches from northeastern

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 ...

all the way to the

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

border. He was endorsed by

Alison Anderson Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson (born 28 January 1958) is an Australian politician. She was member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly between 2005 and 2016, representing the electorate of Namatijra (known as MacDonnell until 2012). Cu ...

, the retiring independent MP for neighbouring Namatjira and a prominent indigenous activist. MacDonnell won the seat on a swing of almost 31 percent on 75 percent of the two-party vote, the largest swing of the election—enough to revert Stuart to its traditional status as a comfortably safe Labor seat in one stroke. He actually won 67 percent of the primary vote, more than enough to win without the need for preferences. On 3 February 2018, McConnell announced he would not contest the next election, saying he had made a "huge error of judgement" in thinking he could influence government policy in remote areas. He resigned from the Labor Party to sit as an independent on 19 February 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McConnell, Scott Living people Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians Year of birth missing (living people)