Psephos - Adam Carr's Election Archive

Adam Carr's Election Archive

Australian federal election, 2022
Division of Lingiari, Northern Territory

Named for: Vincent Lingiari (1908-88), NT Indigenous leader and land rights campaigner


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Outback Northern Territory: Alice Springs, Humpty Doo, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek
Territory seats: All of Araluen, Barkly, Braitling, Daly, Gwoja, Katherine, Namatjira, Mulka and Nelson, parts of Brennan
Local government areas: All of Alice Springs, Barkly, Belyuen, Central Desert, Coomalie, East Arnhem, Katherine, Litchfield, Macdonnell, Roper Gulf, Tiwi Islands, Victoria-Daly, Wagait, West Arnhem and West Daly, parts of Palmerston
Borders with: Durack, Grey, Kennedy, Leichhardt, Maranoa, O'Connor and Solomon
Enrolment at 2019 election: 69,994
Enrolment at 2022 election: 74,050 (+05.8)

2018 same-sex marriage survey: Yes 54.5


Sitting member: Hon Warren Snowdon (Labor): Elected (Northern Territory) 1987, 1990, 1993. Defeated 1996. Elected 1998, (Lingiari) 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019. Retiring 2022

2007 Labor majority over Country Liberal: 11.2%
2010 Labor majority over Country Liberal: 3.7%
2013 Labor majority over Country Liberal: 0.9%
2016 Labor majority over Country Liberal: 8.4%
2019 Labor majority over Country Liberal: 5.5%

Nationals two-party vote 1983-2019

Status: Marginal Labor

Best Labor booths, two-party vote: Casuarina PPVC (57.7), Wagait Beach (56.3), Alice Springs (54.5), Katherine East (54.3), Alice Springs PPVC (49.8) *
Best Country Liberal booths, two-party vote: Bees Creek (67.2), Palmerston PPVC (63.7), Tindal (63.3), Arumbera (63.1), Berry Springs (58.8)

* Most of the Labor vote in Lingiari is cast at Remote Mobile Polling Places.


  • 2019 results
  • Statistics and history

  • Candidates in ballot-paper order:

    1. Damien Ryan
    Country Liberal Party
    2. Blair McFarland
    Australian Greens
    3. Thong Sum Lee
    Citizens Party
    4. Allan McLeod
    United Australia Party
    5. Marion Scrymgour
    Australian Labor Party
    6. Michael Gravener
    Independent
    7. Imelda Adamson Agars
    Independent
    8. Tim Gallard
    Pauline Hanson's One Nation
    9. George Kasparek
    Liberal Democrats

    Candidate websites:

    Imelda Adamson Agars
    Tim Gallard
    Michael Gravener
    George Kasparek
    Thong Sum Lee
    Allan McLeod
    Damien Ryan
    Marion Scrymgour

    Division of Lingiari

    Lingiari was created 2001 when the old seat of Northern Territory was divided in two. It covers the whole of the Northern Territory except the city of Darwin. Despite its large Indigenous population, it has an above-average median income level, mainly due to the high wages paid in the mining industry. It has very low proportion of university graduates and of people in professional occupations. It also has a very young population, with the lowest proportion of over-65s of any electorate, reflecting the high birth-rate and lower life expectancy of its Indigenous population.

    The dominant political fact in Lingiari is that it has the largest Indigenous population (41.7%) of any federal electorate, and that until recently Indigenous voters voted almost unanimously Labor, although they have a lower turnout than white voters. This meant that Labor needed only about 35% of the white vote in Lingiari to win the seat, and Warren Snowdon, who has represented outback NT for 30 years, has had enough appeal to white voters to be able to get at least that.

    In recent years, however, Labor's support among Indigenous voters has fluctuated, as was shown most spectacularly at the 2012 NT election. This partly explains the swings against Snowdon in 2010 and 2013. Labor still wins most of the remote mobile booths, polling over 80% of the two-party vote in some of them. The Country Liberals win most of the white-majority town booths.

    Warren Snowdon, MP for Northern Territory 1987-96 and 1998-2001 and for Lingiari since 2001, was a Parliamentary Secretary in the Keating Government and a minister in the Rudd-Gillard Government. Now 68, he is the longest-serving member of the current Labor Caucus.* Before entering politics, he was a teacher and senior project officer with the Central Land Council in Alice Springs. In 2013 Snowdon won with a two-party majority of 0.9%, but in 2016 he bounced back with a 7.5% swing to Labor. He is retiring in 2022.

    Labor has endorsed a prominent Indigenous woman, Marion Scrymgour, as its new candidate. Scrymgour was MLA for Arafura from 2001 to 2012, and was a minister in the Martin government. More recently she has been Chairperson of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory and CEO of the Northern Land Council. The loss of Snowdon's personal vote, particularly among white voters, means that Lingairi's 5.5% majority is more apparent than real, and Labor will not be able to take this seat for granted in 2022. The CLP candidate is Damien Ryan, the Mayor of Alice Springs.

    * But because he was out of Parliament between 1996 and 1998, he is not officially the longest-serving member.

    Demographics:

    Median weekly household income: $1,705 (Australia $1,438)
    People over 65: 6.7% (Australia 15.8%)
    Indigenous: 41.7% (Australia 2.8%)
    Non-English-speaking households: 24.5% (Australia 22.2%)
    Catholics 17.5% (Australia 22.6%)
    No religion 25.9% (Australia 29.6%)
    University graduates: 11.4% (Australia 22.0%)
    Professional and managerial employment: 31.4% (Australia 35.2%)
    Employed in manufacturing and construction: 17.7% (Australia 22.9%)
    Employed in agriculture: 4.8% (Australia 3.3%)
    Paying a mortgage: 25.3% (Australia 34.5%)
    Renting: 52.9% (Australia 30.9%)
    Traditional families: 39.5% (Australia 32.8%)



    Gallery of Members for Lingiari



    Boundaries following most recent redistribution:



    See full-size map of this Division



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