Electoral division of Nelson (Northern Territory)
| Nelson Northern Territory—Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|
|
Location of Nelson in the Darwin/Palmerston area | |
| Territory | Northern Territory |
| Created | 1990 |
| MP | Gerry Wood |
| Party | Independent |
| Namesake | H. G. Nelson |
| Electors | 4,715 (2012) |
| Area | 2,289 km2 (883.8 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Rural |
Nelson is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1990, and was named after Harold Nelson, the first member for the federal Northern Territory electorate. Nelson is a largely rural electorate, covering 2,289 km² and taking in the small towns of Howard Springs, McMinn's Lagoon and part of Humpty Doo, and some areas between Darwin and Palmerston. There were 4,715 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2012.
Nelson is also a rarity among Northern Territory electorates in that it has traditionally been an independent-held seat, as opposed to being held by either of the major parties. Long-serving independent Noel Padgham-Purich held the seat for the last few years of her career, and only narrowly failed in installing another independent, Dave Tollner, as her replacement. After four years of Country Liberal Party control under Chris Lugg, another independent candidate, Gerry Wood, was successful in winning the seat. Wood was easily re-elected at the 2005 election, polling more than double the vote of his nearest rival, Lugg. He increased his vote by over 20% for the second election in a row in 2008, winning 72.2% of the primary vote with a two-party preferred margin of 28.7% over the CLP. This makes Nelson the safest seat in the Territory.
Members for Nelson
| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noel Padgham-Purich | Independent | 1990–1997 | |
| Chris Lugg | Country Liberal | 1997–2001 | |
| Gerry Wood | Independent | 2001–present | |
Election results
| Northern Territory general election, 2012: Nelson[1] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | Gerry Wood | 1,988 | 54.0 | −18.2 | |
| Country Liberal | Judy Cole | 1,436 | 39.0 | +19.9 | |
| Labor | Sharon McAlear | 255 | 6.9 | −1.7 | |
| Total formal votes | 3,679 | 98.1 | +0.5 | ||
| Informal votes | 72 | 1.9 | −0.5 | ||
| Turnout | 3,751 | 79.6 | +5.0 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Independent | Gerry Wood | 2,177 | 59.2 | −19.5 | |
| Country Liberal | Judy Cole | 1,502 | 40.8 | +19.5 | |
| Independent hold | Swing | −19.5 | |||