Electoral division of Port Darwin

Electoral division of the Northern Territory, Australia

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Australian electorate

Port Darwin
Northern Territory—Legislative Assembly

Interactive map of boundaries as of the 2024 election

Territory| Northern Territory
Created| 1974
MP| Robyn Cahill
Party| Country Liberal
Namesake| Port Darwin
Electors| 5,699 (2020)
Area| 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi)
Demographic| Urban
| Electorates around Port Darwin:

Timor Sea | Fannie Bay | Fong Lim
Timor Sea | Port Darwin | Darwin Harbour
Timor Sea | Darwin Harbour | Darwin Harbour

Port Darwin is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Territory of Australia. It was first created in 1974. It is an entirely urban electorate, covering only 5 km² and taking in the Darwin central business district, as well as the suburb of Larrakeyah and part of Stuart Park. There were 5,699 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2020.

Unlike most state and territory electorates based on CBDs, Port Darwin historically tilted conservative. For most of the first four decades of its existence, Port Darwin was a safe seat for the Country Liberal Party. While it was one of only two seats the party did not hold in the first parliament from 1974 to 1977, the CLP easily took the seat at the Territory's second election and held it without serious difficulty for over a quarter century. It was widely considered as CLP heartland, and was their safest seat in Darwin for many years.

The strength of the CLP vote in the seat was seen at the 2000 by-election caused by the resignation of controversial former Chief Minister Shane Stone. While the by-election was called at a very bad time for the CLP, Sue Carter managed to easily fend off any challenge in the seat.

Carter retained her seat even as Territory Labor won its first victory at the 2001 election. She suffered a swing of just over 10 percent, making Port Darwin marginal for the first time in almost a quarter century. Large Labor gains in the Darwin area left Carter as the only CLP member west of Palmerston, and the only one in the capital. Despite this, there were very few signs in the lead-up to the 2005 election that she was in danger, with most commentators expecting her to win another term. However, on election day, there was a surprise significant and unprecedented swing to the ALP across the Territory. Though the result was so close that it was not known for several days after the election, Carter was ultimately defeated by Labor opponent Kerry Sacilotto by 73 votes. Sacilotto actually won just enough primary votes to take the seat without the need for preferences. She held the seat for only one term, until when John Elferink regained the seat for the CLP at the 2008 election.

Elferink seemingly consolidated his hold on the seat in 2012. However, he retired ahead of the 2016 election. At that election, the CLP lost over 12.9 percent of its primary vote amid its collapse in the Darwin/Palmerston area, allowing Paul Kirby to become only the second Labor member to win it. Kirby successfully retained the seat four years later. He retired in 2024, and Robyn Cahill easily reclaimed the seat for the CLP on a swing large enough to make it a safe CLP seat in one stroke.

## Members for Port Darwin

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Member  | Party  | Term

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| Ron Withnall | Independent | 1974–1977
| Tom Harris | Country Liberal | 1977–1990
| Shane Stone | Country Liberal | 1990–2000
| Sue Carter | Country Liberal | 2000–2005
| Kerry Sacilotto | Labor | 2005–2008
| John Elferink | Country Liberal | 2008–2016
| Paul Kirby | Labor | 2016–2024
| Robyn Cahill | Country Liberal | 2024–present

## Election results

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See also: Electoral results for the division of Port Darwin

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 Northern Territory general election § Port Darwin.[edit]

2024 Northern Territory general election: Port Darwin  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Country Liberal | Robyn Cahill | 2,149  | 52.2  | +14.4
| Labor | Brian Manning  | 972  | 23.6  | −13.9
| Greens | Greg Dickson  | 681  | 16.5  | +9.2
| Independent | Leah Potter  | 234  | 5.7  | +0.8
| Independent | Janey Davies  | 83  | 2.0  | +2.0
Total formal votes  | 4,119  | 97.1  | −0.4
Informal votes  | 121  | 2.9  | +0.4
Turnout | 4,240  | 74.0  |
Two-party-preferred result
| Country Liberal | Robyn Cahill | 2,543  | 61.7  | +13.7
| Labor | Brian Manning  | 1,576  | 38.3  | −13.7
| Country Liberal gain from Labor | Swing | +13.7 |

## References

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## External links

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* Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission

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* t
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Electoral divisions of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly

Country Liberal (17)|

* Barkly
* Blain
* Braitling
* Brennan
* Casuarina
* Drysdale
* Fannie Bay
* Fong Lim
* Goyder
* Karama
* Katherine
* Namatjira
* Nelson
* Port Darwin
* Sanderson
* Spillett
* Wanguri

Labor (4)|

* Arafura
* Arnhem
* Daly
* Gwoja

Independent (3)|

* Araluen
* Johnston
* Mulka

Greens (1)|

* Nightcliff

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