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 Au ...

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—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 19 ...

and Ian Tuxworth. 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 at this election, while

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 ...

lost his seat of Port Darwin to the CLP.

Retiring MPs

CLP

* Eric Manuell MLA (

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 ...

) *

Hyacinth Tungutalum Hyacinth Gabriel Tungutalum (14 August 1946 – 7 April 2009) was an Australian politician and the first Indigenous Australian to be elected to a state or territory parliament. A traditional owner on the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin, Tung ...

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