2014 Blain by-election

March 2022 May 2023 Northern Territory parliamentary no 12 April 2014 Nathan Barrett Country Liberal Party 150x150px 1,768 45.5% 16.0pp Geoff Bahnert Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch) 150x150px 1,448 37.3% 3.7pp TPP TPP swing 53.2% 10.0pp 46.8% 10.0pp MP Terry Mills Country Liberal Party Nathan Barrett Country Liberal Party A by-election for the seat of Blain in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was held on 12 April 2014. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Country Liberal Party (CLP) member and former Northern Territory Chief Minister Terry Mills. Mills resigned in reaction to being removed as CLP leader and Chief Minister in March 2013 in a party room coup by Adam Giles. The CLP margin in the Palmerston-based seat was 13.2 points.2014 Blain by-election: Antony Green ABC On 3 April 2014, a week after the writ was issued for the by-election, three indigenous CLP MPs resigned from the party and moved to the crossbench. Had the CLP failed to hold Blain, it would have been reduced to a minority government and would have needed the support of at least one of the four independents to stay in office. Although Blain was a comfortably safe CLP seat on paper, the average swing against governments at by-elections in greater Darwin/Palmerston was 12 per cent. Candidates The five candidates in ballot paper order were: Candidate nominations Party Candidate Background  Citizens Electoral Council Peter Flynn Navy officer, Earth moving contractor. Contested Lingiari at the 2010 and 2013 federal elections.  Labor Party Geoff Bahnert Professional sportsman, business operator, Police Senior Sergeant. Contested Blain at the 2012 election.  Country Liberal Party Nathan Barrett Teacher, business operator, port worker.  Independent Matthew Cranitch Northern Territory Australian Education Union President.  NT Greens Sue McKinnon City of Palmerston Councillor. Contested Blain at the 2005 election. Results Blain by-election, 2014Legislative Assembly By-Election - Blain https://web.archive.org/web/20140413141034/http://www.ntec.nt.gov.au/LegislativeAssemblyByElection_Blain/DivisionOfBlain/Results/Pages/default.aspx 2014-04-13 , Northern Territory Electoral Commission, 13 April 2014.2014 Blain by-election results, ABC, 13 April 2014. CLP Nathan Barrett 1,768 45.5 −16.0 Labor NT Geoff Bahnert 1,448 37.3 +3.7 Independent Matthew Cranitch 336 8.7 +8.7 Greens NT Sue McKinnon 275 7.1 +7.1 CEC Peter Flynn 56 1.4 +1.4 3,883 95.5 −1.1 184 4.5 +1.1 4,067 68.8 −14.4 CLP Nathan Barrett 2,067 53.2 −10.0 Labor NT Geoff Bahnert 1,816 46.8 +10.0 CLP −10.0 A recheck of all election night counts was conducted on Sunday 13 April, and early distribution of preferences was carried out on Tuesday 15 April. Final vote figures were published by NTEC on the evening of 22 April—the deadline for arrival of postal votes. The CLP claimed victory on election night, with the night's count indicating they had retained the seat by a 3.2 per cent margin on a two-party-preferred basis, with a 10 per cent swing against them.Blain by-election: Country Liberals claim victory in Blain by-election and a return to majority government http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-12/voters-head-to-the-polls-for-blain-by-election/5385960 13 April 2014 ABC News 12 April 2014 The official declaration of the poll took place on the morning of Wednesday 16 April 2014. Despite coming close to winning the seat, Bahnert was not again the ALP candidate for Blain at the 2016 election. Opinion polling Date Firm Samplesize Primary vote2PP vote white Country Liberal Party CLP white Territory Labor Party ALP white Independent politicians in Australia IND OTH Other white Country Liberal Party CLP white Territory Labor Party ALP 12 Apr 2014 2014 by-election 45.5% 37.3% 8.7% 8.5% 53.2% 46.8% 11 Apr 2014 NT NewsSmee Ben Exclusive poll shows CLP slightly ahead of Labor 51-49 on two-party preferred basis in Blain https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/northern-territory/exclusive-poll-shows-clp-slightly-ahead-of-labor-5149-on-twoparty-preferred-basis-in-blain/news-story/03fdc92cd233017c60838fe1149efde5 The Daily Telegraph NT News 20 November 2025 https://archive.today/20251120173429/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/northern-territory/exclusive-poll-shows-clp-slightly-ahead-of-labor-5149-on-twoparty-preferred-basis-in-blain/news-story/03fdc92cd233017c60838fe1149efde5 20 November 2025 11 April 2014 200 40.8% 39.2% 12.5% 7.5% 51% 49% 7 Apr 2014 Matthew CranitchJones Ruby Country Liberals deny pork-barrelling seat of Blain with $57 million for new schools https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-07/clp-denies-pork-barrelling-blain-with-new-school-money/5371556 ABC News 20 November 2025 https://archive.today/20251120174205/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-07/clp-denies-pork-barrelling-blain-with-new-school-money/5371556 20 November 2025 7 April 2014 150 31% 35% 23% 10% 25 Aug 2012 2012 election 61.6% 33.6% — 4.9% 63.2% 36.8% See also List of Northern Territory by-elections References External links 2014 Blain by-election: Antony Green ABC 2014 Blain by-election: NTEC Category:2014 elections in Australia Category:Northern Territory by-elections Category:2010s in the Northern Territory