View source for Electoral division of Millner

{{Short description|Former electoral division of the Northern Territory}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

'''Millner''' was an [[electoral divisions of the Northern Territory|electoral division]] of the [[Northern Territory Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly]] in [[Australia]]'s [[Northern Territory]]. One of the Legislative Assembly's original electorates, it was first contested at the first election in 1974. It was named after the suburb of [[Millner, Northern Territory|Millner]], which in turn was named for [[James Millner (doctor)|James Millner]], a doctor and early Australian explorer of the Northern Territory who drowned on the ''[[SS Gothenburg]]'' tragedy. It was abolished in 2008 and replaced with the new electorate of [[electoral division of Fong Lim|Fong Lim]]. Millner was an urban electorate, and at its abolition covered  22.74&nbsp;km², taking in the suburbs of Millner, [[Coconut Grove, Northern Territory|Coconut Grove]], [[Ludmilla, Northern Territory|Ludmilla]] and part of [[Rapid Creek, Northern Territory|Rapid Creek]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=committee |first=augmented redistribution |title=2008 Redistribution of Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Electoral Boundaries (Section 148 of the Electoral Act 2004) |url=https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/462401 |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=2008 Redistribution of Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Electoral Boundaries (Section 148 of the Electoral Act 2004)}}</ref>

Millner was generally a [[Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)|Labor Party]]-held electorate, though it saw more members than almost anywhere else in the Territory. It was initially won by the [[Country Liberal Party]] in 1974, when they dominated the first Assembly, but emerged as an important seat for the ALP after 1977, when [[Jon Isaacs]] and [[Terry Smith (politician)|Terry Smith]] held the seat, both of whom served stints as [[Opposition Leader of the Northern Territory|Opposition Leader]]. [[Ken Parish]] briefly held the seat after Smith's retirement, but was defeated by the CLP's [[Phil Mitchell (Australian politician)|Phil Mitchell]] in 1994, in a result tarred by claims of [[push-polling]] over [[native title]] issues.

Mitchell held the seat for two terms, but was defeated in the closest and most crucial battle of the [[2001 Northern Territory legislative election|2001 election]] by ALP challenger [[Matthew Bonson]].  Despite a massive and unexpected Labor wave that swept through Darwin—particularly the more diverse and Labor-friendly northern portion—the result in Millner was not known for several days.  Due to the close general result, Millner would have the effect of deciding whether there would be a [[hung parliament]], with independents holding the balance of power, or whether the ALP would win government for the first time in Northern Territory history. In the end, Bonson won a very narrow victory, allowing Labor to sweep northern Darwin and form government by one seat.  He was easily re-elected with a much larger majority four years later.

Millner was abolished in the electoral distribution that preceded the [[2008 Northern Territory general election|2008 election]].  While Millner itself was shifted to the neighbouring seat of [[electoral division of Johnston|Johnston]], the remainder of Millner's territory was merged with more conservative-leaning territory near [[Palmerston, Northern Territory|Palmerston]] to form the new seat of [[electoral division of Fong Lim|Fong Lim]].<ref name=":0" /> Bonson contested Fong Lim in the [[2008 Northern Territory general election|2008 election]], as it was still on paper a comfortably safe Labor seat.  However, he was defeated by former federal MP [[Dave Tollner]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008 |title=2008 General Election |url=https://ntec.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/1237992/2008_LA_general_election.pdf |website=Northern Territory Electoral Commission}}</ref>

==Members for Millner==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Member!!Party!!Term
|-
| {{Australian party style|CLP}}|&nbsp;
| [[Roger Ryan (politician)|Roger Ryan]] 
| [[Country Liberal Party|Country Liberal]]
| 1974–1977
|-
| {{Australian party style|Labor}}|&nbsp;
| [[Jon Isaacs]]
| [[Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)|Labor]]
| 1977–1981
|-
| {{Australian party style|Labor}}|&nbsp;
| [[Terry Smith (politician)|Terry Smith]] 
| [[Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)|Labor]]
| 1981–1991
|-
| {{Australian party style|Labor}}|&nbsp;
| [[Ken Parish]] 
| [[Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)|Labor]]
| 1991–1994
|-
| {{Australian party style|CLP}}|&nbsp;
| [[Phil Mitchell (Australian politician)|Phil Mitchell]] 
| [[Country Liberal Party|Country Liberal]]
| 1994–2001
|-
| {{Australian party style|Labor}}|&nbsp;
| [[Matthew Bonson]] 
| [[Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)|Labor]]
| 2001–2008
|}

==Election results==
{{see also|Electoral results for the division of Millner}}
{{Election box begin
|title = [[2005 Northern Territory general election]]: Millner
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party
|party = Labor NT
|candidate = [[Matthew Bonson]]
|votes = 1,888
|percentage = 52.7
|change = +8.5
}}

{{Election box candidate AU party
|party = Independent
|candidate = [[Phil Mitchell (politician)|Phil Mitchell]]
|votes = 758
|percentage = 21.2
|change = +21.2
}}

{{Election box candidate AU party
|party = CLP
|candidate = Paul Mossman
|votes = 598
|percentage = 16.7
|change = -29.3
}}

{{Election box candidate AU party
|party = Greens NT
|candidate = Rob Hoad
|votes = 293
|percentage = 8.2
|change = +8.2
}}

{{Election box candidate AU party
|party = Independent
|candidate = Rob Inder-Smith
|votes = 45
|percentage = 1.3
|change = +1.3
}}

{{Election box formal
|votes = 3,582
|percentage = 97.2
|change = +2.6
}}

{{Election box informal
|votes = 102
|percentage = 2.8
|change = -2.6
}}

{{Election box turnout
|votes = 3,684
|percentage = 83.1
|change =
}}

{{Election box 2pp}}
{{Election box candidate AU party
|party = Labor NT
|candidate = [[Matthew Bonson]]
|votes = 2,429
|percentage = 67.8
|change = +16.7
}}

{{Election box candidate AU party
|party = CLP
|candidate = Paul Mossman
|votes = 1,153
|percentage = 32.2
|change = -16.7
}}

{{Election box 2cp}}
{{Election box candidate AU party
|party = Labor NT
|candidate = [[Matthew Bonson]]
|votes = 2,250
|percentage = 62.8
|change = +11.6
}}

{{Election box candidate AU party
|party = Independent
|candidate = [[Phil Mitchell (politician)|Phil Mitchell]]
|votes = 1,332
|percentage = 37.2
|change = +37.2
}}

{{Election box hold AU party
|winner = Labor NT
|swing = N/A
}}

{{Election box end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://notes.nt.gov.au/nteo/Electorl.nsf/94150a183d04f75f692564e2000ed605/e88c20e32021a8bd6925693600061c28?OpenDocument Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission]

{{Abolished Electoral Divisions of Northern Territory}}

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[[Category:Former electoral divisions of the Northern Territory|Millner]]