With preparations for the Northern Territory election in full swing, the two women vying for the top job have their electorates in the sprawling satellite city of Palmerston. How to almost 40-thousand people, it is a crucial region for both major parties. Stateline NT hits the streets to hear from the residents about the issues shaping how they will vote.
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00:00Market season is kicking off in the Northern Territory and so too is election fever.
00:12I'm here in Palmerston, the battleground city for the two women vying to be Chief Minister
00:17in August.
00:18But as polling day edges closer, how are people feeling about the election?
00:23Let's find out.
00:27What is your number one issue in the lead up to the Territory election?
00:30Oh, the youth crime.
00:32I'm a youth worker by what I do and I hate seeing what the kids get up to.
00:37Crime, break-ins, thefts.
00:39The cost of living for sure.
00:41The cost of living is ridiculous.
00:43Cost of living.
00:44Do you agree with that 100%?
00:49As household budgets are squeezed, Palmerston florist owner Elyse Bissett is feeling the
00:53pinch.
00:54Flowers have gone up in price, our margin's gotten smaller and it's more of a fight to
01:01get that pre-COVID money back.
01:05Her business is one of only two still open in this complex in Palmerston CBD.
01:10The florist has been broken into six times as crime drives small businesses away.
01:15Over here at Goyder Square can get really, really violent.
01:19At times, like, really scary.
01:23Elyse locks the front door to stay safe at work.
01:26She's tired of seeing Palmerston fall behind and wants politicians to step up.
01:31I really think that putting their heads together is going to be better for all of us.
01:36If the politicians work together, how would that be?
01:39How awesome would that be?
01:41I'm going to hang up the washing on the street light.
01:48At this local hall in Grey, these seasoned songbirds are part of a growing number of
01:53seniors living in Palmerston.
01:55The territory's shortage of nursing home beds is front of mind.
02:00My husband was hospitalised, he was in Palmerston Hospital for almost two years.
02:05He had dementia and was able to go to a nursing home had there been a vacancy, but there just wasn't.
02:13They're worried about the influence social media is having on their grandchildren, but
02:17having seen the world change over the decades, they're able to lighten up.
02:22Our generation is going to be destroyed by the Beatles as far as I'm concerned.
02:27And don't forget Elvis.
02:31A redistribution of boundary lines has the Chief Minister Eva Lawler holding her seat
02:37of Drysdale at a reduced margin.
02:39Opposition leader Leah Finocchiaro is sitting more comfortably in the nearby seat of Spillet
02:45with a margin of 15 per cent.
02:47Nearly 40,000 people call Palmerston home, most of them families.
02:53And how they vote holds sway for both women aiming for the top job.
02:59Finding security has been a challenge for single mother Anna Lewin.
03:02After waiting six years for government housing, she gave up and calls herself one of the lucky
03:07ones to find a private rental with reasonable rent.
03:11It's just me and my son and it's very hard to manage I guess, yeah.
03:19Anna's concerned about the wellbeing of all Territory children and the role trauma is
03:24having in the community.
03:26When they leave their front doors, they're walking out there because they're leaving
03:29their trauma.
03:30They don't want to go back to the trauma that they just walked out the door from.
03:34And that's what the government needs to understand and realise.
03:37Anna says the Territory's social problems can't be fixed with law and order alone and
03:43wants to see the NT grow holistically.
03:46I want to see change, yeah I do.
03:48I love the Territory and I'm here to stay and yeah, I'd love to see it grow.
03:54Optimism in a Territory at tipping point.