The first general election for the
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was held in the
Northern Territory on Saturday 19 October 1974, and was won by the
Country Liberal Party (CLP), formed a few months earlier from the merger of the territorial
Country and
Liberal parties.
The CLP won 49.01% of the vote, the
Labor Party won 30.46% and independent candidates won 20.54%. The Country Liberals took 17 of the 19 assembly seats. The other two were held by independents;
Dawn Lawrie won the seat of
Nightcliff, and
Ron Withnall
Ronald John Withnall (9 December 1914 – 16 September 1990) was an Australian politician and lawyer.
Withnall was born in Townsville, Queensland, but attended school at Canterbury High School in Sydney. He studied law at the University ...
won the seat of
Port Darwin. Despite finishing second in the vote count, Labor failed to win any seats. Its support was spread out across the Territory, and was not concentrated in enough areas to translate into seats.
As the territory was still being prepared for self-government, Country Liberal Leader
Goff Letts took the post of Majority Leader–equivalent to a
state premier
The premiers and chief ministers of the Australian states and territories are the head of government, heads of the executive governments in the six states and two self-governing territories of Australia. They perform the same function at the s ...
. Instead of a cabinet, a seven-person "executive" managed internal affairs.
Results
Candidates
Successful candidates are highlighted in the relevant colour. Where there is possible confusion, an asterisk is used.
References
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See also
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First Letts Executive
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Second Letts Executive
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Third Letts Executive
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Fourth Letts Executive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Territory General Election, 1974
Elections in the Northern Territory
1974 elections in Australia
1970s in the Northern Territory
October 1974 events in Australia