A general election was held in the

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 ...

on Saturday 13 August 1977. Though the election was won by the incumbent

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), the party lost five of its seven executive members. Surprisingly, one of the casualties was Majority Leader

Goff Letts Godfrey Alan "Goff" Letts (born 18 January 1928) is the former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, Majority Leader of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1974 to 1977. Born in Donald, Victoria, Letts attended Melbourne Grammar Sc ...

—one of the few instances where a major-party leader at any level in Australia lost his own seat. The election also marked the emergence of the Labor Party as a parliamentary force: Labor took six seats in the new assembly. The Progress Party contested the elections, winning 9.76% of the primary vote across the territory, but failed to secure any assembly seats. The Country Liberals chose

Paul Everingham Paul Anthony Edward Everingham (born 4 February 1943) is a former Australian politician who was the head of government of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1977 to 1984, serving as the second and last Majority Leader (1977–1978) and ...

to succeed Letts as Majority Leader. Everingham appointed a new Executive, which included future Chief Ministers

Marshall Perron Marshall Bruce Perron (born 5 February 1942) is a former Australian politician, who was a Country Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Territory from the formation of the Assembly in 1974 until his resignation in 1995 ...

and

Ian Tuxworth Ian Lindsay Tuxworth (18 June 1942 – 21 January 2020) was an Australian politician, who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory of Australia from 17 October 1984 until his resignation on 10 May 1986. Early life Tuxworth was born on 18 J ...

. The following year, the Territory attained self-government. Everingham became Chief Minister, while his Executive became a Ministry with greatly expanded powers. Independent Dawn Lawrie retained her seat of

Nightcliff Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. History Although the origin of the name Nightcliff has always been surrounded by conjecture and controversy, the naming can be tracked back to 8 September ...

at this election, while Ron Withnall lost his seat of

Port Darwin Port Darwin is the port in Darwin, Northern Territory, in northern Australia. The port has operated in a number of locations, including Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay and East Arm Wharf. In 2015, a 99-year lease was granted to the Chinese-owned ...

to the CLP.

Retiring MPs

CLP

Eric Manuell George Eric Manuell (born 28 April 1941) is a former Australian politician. He was the Country Liberal Party member for Alice Springs in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the ...

MLA ( Alice Springs) * Hyacinth Tungutalum MLA ( Tiwi)

Results

Candidates

Sitting members are listed in bold. Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. Where there is possible confusion, an asterisk is used.

Retiring MPs

CLP

Results

Candidates

Seats changing hands

References

See also