The Squiz 

There’s a reason Antony Green’s an election expert… As he predicted/we mentioned on Friday, the Country Liberal Party (CLP) has swept into power in the Northern Territory, winning 16 out of 25 seats in Saturday’s election. It’s a huge turnaround for the Coalition-aligned party after 8 years in opposition and being left with 2 seats in 2016’s crushing election defeat. Former lawyer/CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro will become the territory’s 14th Chief Minister. She says her victory marks a “new chapter” with tackling crime the top priority and she’s promised to “do whatever it takes to restore community safety”.

That sounds like quite the result…

Yep, a landslide… Labor’s been left with 4 seats, with many on their frontbench – including now-former Chief Minister Eva Lawler – losing their spots in parliament. But that doesn’t mean the CLP will have an easy ride… Along with tackling crime, dealing with around $11 billion of government debt is a big problem. The NT Government’s dire financial situation is due to several factors, including a big/expensive public service, rebuilding after several natural disasters, and a fall in mining royalties from projects impacted by those disasters. But the Coalition is taking the win as a good sign ahead of next year’s federal election… Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley says it’s “not just an indictment” on Labor in the NT, but also PM Anthony Albanese “for leaving the people of the Territory behind”.

Any other changes in our politics to know about?

Yep… There’s been a political shakeup in Tassie after the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) evicted 2 of its state MPs on Saturday for their “cosy relationship” with the Liberal government there. A statement said Bass’s Rebekah Pentland and Braddon’s Miriam Beswick “no longer represent” the JLN’s “values of accountability, transparency and integrity”. The pair – elected 5 months ago – say they became frustrated with Senator Lambie’s interference. Reports say they are set to sign a deal with Premier Jeremy Rockliff this week, which is notable because he’s running a minority government and needs their ongoing support. A week is a long time in politics…