Federal Leaders Target Northern Territory Ahead of Election

Summer in the Northern Territory outback, when temperatures regularly soar above 40 degrees, isn't usually the traditional time for the nation's top politicians to visit.

But with a federal election around the corner, the town of Alice Springs has welcomed Australia's prime minister and opposition leader on separate trips over the past two weeks.

Both came armed with big promises and plans for change in the territory.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday announced $842.6 million to help support Aboriginal people living in remote communities in the NT through a series of targeted investments.

A week earlier, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced an elected Coalition government would work hand-in-glove with the NT government on its law-and-order issues.

However, with promises made so close to a federal election, both come with a major caveat -- only one plan will be fully realised.

Asked by a reporter what could stop cuts or delays to future funding, the prime minister put his pitch forward.

"Re-elect a Labor government," he said.

"Re-elect Marion Scrymgour as the Member for Lingiari, Luke Gosling as the Member for Solomon -- that's how you stop the sort of cuts that we saw under the former government."

The NT only has two seats in the House of Representatives: Solomon and Lingiari.

Both are hungrily sought after by the nation's political leaders, with Mr Dutton going as far as to suggest that the Coalition's path to victory in Canberra is reliant on winning the two.

"If we win Lingiari and we win Solomon I believe we can win at the next election," he said during a visit to Alice Springs last week.

Lingiari is a vast seat comprising most of the NT, including its many remote Aboriginal communities and regional towns, which has been held by Labor for its entire 24-year existence.

The kicker to that is, for most of that period it was held by one MP -- Labor veteran Warren Snowdon, a stalwart from the Hawke government era who retired from politics in 2022.

Last election, former NT deputy chief minister Marion Scrymgour held onto Lingiari for Labor, but only by a slim margin of 1.7 per cent.

In the north, the electorate of Solomon comprises just Darwin along with parts of the nearby satellite city of Palmerston and the rural area.

Traditionally a swing seat, Luke Gosling has now held it for a record three terms.

So, with a federal election expected to be held sometime before May the question may come down to whose messaging is best cutting through.

Mr Dutton's rhetoric has leaned hard towards fixing the territory's protracted law-and-order issues -- indeed, the party's candidates for both Solomon and Lingiari have backgrounds in the police.

While Mr Albanese's announcement was aimed at showing voters across the region, particularly in the NT bush, that Labor is focused on fixing the root causes of disadvantage.

Mr Albanese has also been clearer in showing that Labor's goal is to empower Aboriginal communities to forge their own change, through funding for remote groups and the like.

Whichever way the pendulum swings on election day, the heightened focus on the NT by the nation's federal leaders has been welcomed by many, including the territory government.

It's welcome proof that its challenging issues aren't just getting swept under Australia's rug.