A general election was held in the 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...

, 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...

, on 18 August 2001. The centre-left 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...

 (ALP), led by Clare Martin

Clare Martin

Clare Majella Martin is a former Australian politician. She is the current CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service . A former journalist, she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995...

, won a surprising victory over the then-majority 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...

 (CLP). Before this, the CLP had held 18 out the 25 seats in the
Northern Territory 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:...

 to the ALP's 7. After this election, the ALP held the majority with 13 seats to the CLP's 10. This gave Clare Martin

Clare Martin

Clare Majella Martin is a former Australian politician. She is the current CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service . A former journalist, she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995...

 the Chief Ministership

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...

 over the incumbent Denis Burke.

Two independents won seats at this election. Former CLP member Loraine Braham

Loraine Braham

Loraine Margaret Braham is an Australian politician. She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1994 to 2008, representing the electorate of Braitling...

 won the seat of Braitling

Electoral division of Braitling

Braitling is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was created in 1983, when the electorate of Alice Springs was abolished as part of an enlargement of the Assembly. Braitling is an almost entirely urban electorate, covering 31.6 km² in...

 and Gerry Wood

Gerry Wood

Gerard Vincent "Gerry" Wood is an Australian politician. A former mayor of the Northern Territory shire of Litchfield, he has been an independent member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2001, representing the electorate of Nelson....

 won the seat of Nelson

Electoral division of Nelson (Northern Territory)

Nelson is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1990, and was named after Harold Nelson, the first member for the federal Northern Territory electorate...

.

External links

• Northern Territory Election 2001 Department of the Parliamentary Library