Electoral division of Karama

Karama is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's 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 and Marrara. There were 5,482 people enrolled within the electorate as of August 2020.

Karama
Northern TerritoryLegislative Assembly
Location of Karama in the Darwin/Palmerston area
TerritoryNorthern Territory
Created1987
MPNgaree Ah Kit
PartyLabor Party
NamesakeKarama
Electors5,482 (2020)
Area8 km2 (3.1 sq mi)
DemographicUrban

The Country Liberal Party'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, the daughter of former long-serving independent MP Dawn Lawrie. 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.

Members for Karama

MemberPartyTerm
  Mick Palmer Country Liberal 1987–2001
  Delia Lawrie Labor 2001–2015
  Independent 2015–2016
  Ngaree Ah Kit Labor 2016–present

Election results

2020 Northern Territory general election: Karama[1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Ngaree Ah Kit 2,129 51.1 +17.2
Country Liberal Brian O'Gallagher 1,166 28.0 +4.4
Territory Alliance Caleb Cardno 874 21.0 +21.0
Total formal votes 4,169 97.1 N/A
Informal votes 124 2.9 N/A
Turnout 4,293 78.3 N/A
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Ngaree Ah Kit 2,491 59.8 −2.5
Country Liberal Brian O'Gallagher 1,678 40.2 +2.5
Labor hold Swing−2.5

References

  1. "Electorate summary: Karama". NTEC. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  2. "Karama". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 September 2020.

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