The Federal Government has been jolted by a cliffhanger election in the Northern Territory that has come close to ending Labor's monopoly on power in all states and territories.
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, acknowledged yesterday that the big swing against the Territory Government at the weekend poll sounded a warning to federal Labor, while the Coalition was buoyed by the surprise swing.
Mr Rudd, who campaigned briefly in the election, said: "The Northern Territory election is a reminder to all of us in politics that the Australian people will hold us accountable. This is an important lesson for all of us in politics, particularly those of us who are currently in government."
The Country Liberal Party secured a territory-wide swing of 9.2pc in the two-party preferred vote and looks to have picked up an extra seven seats in the 25-seat Legislative Assembly.
The result will be determined by counting in the inner Darwin electorate of Fannie Bay, where Labor was 57 votes in front of the Country Liberals yesterday.
If Labor holds the seat it will scrape back into government with a one-seat majority.
If the Country Liberals pick up Fannie Bay an independent will hold the balance of power.
While the election was fought predominantly on local law and order issues, Labor strategists are worried about the decision of the Chief Minister, Paul Henderson, to go to the polls early.
They are concerned the West Australian Premier, Alan Carpenter, might suffer a similar backlash after calling a snap state election last week for September 6 to capitalise on the state Liberal Party's leadership instability.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, expected a "tough and tight" election in Western Australia, his home state, but said: "I don't know that I'd say generally the tide is turning against Labor; these are always case-by-case."
The Federal Opposition's Deputy Leader, Julie Bishop, said: "Kevin Rudd promised to end the so-called blame game and this has exposed the incompetence of Labor governments across Australia, and voters have reacted by delivering large swings against Labor at every opportunity.
"This sends a message to the Rudd Government that it must start to make difficult decisions to protect Australia's prosperity and it will not be able to spend its entire first term focused on populist stunts and media grabs."
The Leader of the Federal Opposition, Brendan Nelson, will use the Territory result to push for more discipline in the Coalition. He will argue that it shows Labor can be defeated.
The independent election analyst Antony Green said: "No one in the NT believed Mr Henderson's reasons for calling an early election and everyone in WA can see through the reasons Mr Carpenter called an early election."
The Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, who must go to the polls by December next year, said she would not call an early election.
"My strong view is that governments are elected to serve their term and that's my intention."
Labor's collapse in the territory follows a 6.1pc swing against it at the federal byelection in Gippsland in June.
It is avoiding similar tests by not contesting federal byelections on September 6 in the seats of Lyne, on the Mid-North Coast, and Mayo, on the outskirts of Adelaide.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff