Port Darwin is an electoral division

Electoral divisions of the Northern Territory

The Northern Territory Legislative Assembly is made up of 25 single-member electoral divisions. These currently consist of approximately 4500 people, and are the smallest such electorates in Australia, due to the Territory's small population....

 of the Legislative Assembly

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral parliament of the Northern Territory in Australia. It sits in Parliament House, located on State Square, close to the centre of the city of Darwin.-History:...

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

's Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

. It was first created in 1974, and is an entirely urban electorate, covering only 13.65 km² and taking in the Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

 central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

, as well as the suburb of Larrakeyah

Larrakeyah, Northern Territory

Larrakeyah is an inner suburb of Darwin, the capital city of Australia's Northern Territory.-History:Larrakeyah is named after the indigenous language group that occupied the area before European settlement, the Larrakia, who occupied much of the Darwin coastal area.Development of the suburb...

 and part of Stuart Park

Stuart Park, Northern Territory

Stuart Park is an inner suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.-History:This area derived its name as part of Parap after the Army had left in 1946 and a number of Sidney William hutments remained. The Parap Parish Hall between Westralia Street and Charles Street existed in...

. There were 4537 people enrolled in the electorate as of June 2005.

Port Darwin has almost always been a safe seat for the Country Liberal Party

Country Liberal Party

The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...

, although it was one of only two seats the party did not hold in the first parliament

Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, 1974-1977

This is a list of members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1977. This first Assembly only had limited powers, as the Northern Territory was not granted self-government until 1978....

 from 1974 to 1977. It was widely considered as CLP heartland, and was their safest seat in Darwin for many years. After the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 victory at the 2001 election

Northern Territory legislative election, 2001

A general election was held in the Northern Territory, Australia, on 18 August 2001. The centre-left Australian Labor Party , led by Clare Martin, won a surprising victory over the then-majority Country Liberal Party . Before this, the CLP had held 18 out the 25 seats in theNorthern Territory...

, it became the only CLP-held seat west of Palmerston

Palmerston, Northern Territory

Palmerston is a planned satellite city of Darwin, the capital and largest city in Australia's Northern Territory. Palmerston is situated near Darwin Harbour and has an urban population of 23,614 on the 2006 Census night and making it the second largest city in the territory...

, and 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

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory

The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory is appointed by the Administrator, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whatever party holds the majority of seats in the legislature of the territory...

 Shane Stone

Shane Stone

Shane Leslie Stone AC, QC is an Australian political figure. From 26 May 1995 to 8 February 1999 he was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, representing the Country Liberal Party.-Biography:Stone was born in Bendigo, Victoria...

, when a struggling CLP still managed to easily fend off any challenge in the seat. As a result, there were very few signs in the lead-up to the 2005 election

Northern Territory legislative election, 2005

A general election was held in the Northern Territory, Australia, on 18 June 2005. The centre-left Australian Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Clare Martin, won a second term with a landslide victory, winning six of the ten seats held by the opposition Country Liberal Party in the 25-member...

 that sitting member Sue Carter

Sue Carter

Susan Jill Carter is an Australian politician. She was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2005, representing the central Darwin electorate of Port Darwin...

 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

Kerry Sacilotto

Kerry Denise Sacilotto is a former Australian politician. She was the Labor member for Port Darwin in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2008....

, who held the seat until the 2008 election

Northern Territory general election, 2008

General elections were held in the Northern Territory of Australia on 9 August 2008. 23 of the 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly were contested; two safe Labor seats were uncontested...

, when Port Darwin returned to the CLP.

Members for Port Darwin

	Member	Party	Term
	Ron Withnall Ron Withnall Ronald John Withnall 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 of Sydney and later moved to the Northern Territory...	Independent	1974–1977
	Tom Harris Tom Harris (Australian politician) Tom Harris is a former Australian politician. He was the Country Liberal Party member for Port Darwin in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1977 to 1990.-References:...	Country Liberal Country Liberal Party The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...	1977–1990
	Shane Stone Shane Stone Shane Leslie Stone AC, QC is an Australian political figure. From 26 May 1995 to 8 February 1999 he was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, representing the Country Liberal Party.-Biography:Stone was born in Bendigo, Victoria...	Country Liberal Country Liberal Party The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...	1990–2000
	Sue Carter Sue Carter Susan Jill Carter is an Australian politician. She was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2005, representing the central Darwin electorate of Port Darwin...	Country Liberal Country Liberal Party The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...	2000–2005
	Kerry Sacilotto Kerry Sacilotto Kerry Denise Sacilotto is a former Australian politician. She was the Labor member for Port Darwin in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2008....	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	2005–2008
	John Elferink John Elferink Johan Wessel Elferink is an Australian politician.He was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1997 to 2005, representing the rural electorate of MacDonnell...	Country Liberal Country Liberal Party The Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...	2008–present

Election results

External links

• Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission