Karama 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 1987, and derives its name from the suburb of the same name. It is an urban electorate, covering 8 km² and taking in the Darwin suburbs of Karama and Malak, as well as parts of

Berrimah Berrimah may refer to: * Berrimah, Northern Territory Berrimah is an Eastern Suburb in the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. History Berrimah is on unceded lands of the Larrakia peoples. Before World War II, the Milit ...

and

Marrara Marrara is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. History Shown on Goyder's original surveys of Darwin in 1869 was the swamp between the suburb and the Darwin International Airport, but like Leanyer, the nam ...

. There were 5,482 people enrolled within the electorate as of August 2020. 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 ...

's Mick Palmer won the seat in 1987, and as the incumbent member during the height of the CLP's dominance of Territory politics, had little trouble holding the seat through the next three elections. Until the 2000s, it was almost unheard of for a sitting member to be defeated, so few thought Palmer would face much difficulty gaining a fourth term at the 2001 election. However, the Labor Party swept through the northern suburbs of Darwin and Palmer was unexpectedly defeated by the ALP candidate,

Delia Lawrie Delia Phoebe Lawrie (born 30 July 1966) is an Australian politician. She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2016, representing the electorate of Karama. She was a Labor member from 2001 to 2015, and served ...

, the daughter of former long-serving independent MP

Dawn Lawrie Alline Dawn Lawrie (born 3 November 1938) is an Australian former politician. She was the independent member for Nightcliff in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1983; in the First Assembly, she and fellow independent Ro ...

. Lawrie's victory created the first mother-daughter political dynasty in Australian politics, and she soon established herself in the electorate. She was easily re-elected at the 2005 election, significantly increasing her majority. Lawrie was disendorsed by the Labor Party in October 2015, and she resigned from the party a few days later. She nominated as an independent candidate for Karama at the 2016 election, against the preselected Labor candidate, Ngaree Ah Kit. Ah Kit defeated Lawrie at said election and has held the seat ever since.

Members for Karama

Election results

References

External links

Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission
{{coord, 12, 24, 03.85, S, 130, 55, 00.80, E, display=title Karama