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Speaker 1: And outgoing Northern Territory Senator Sam McMahon has made the

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Speaker 1: decision that she's going to run in the upcoming election

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Speaker 1: and try to win back her job in the Australian Parliament.

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Speaker 1: She is going to be running with the Liberal Democrats,

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Speaker 1: and she joins me on the line right now, Good

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Speaker 1: morning to your senator.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, good morning to you, Katie.

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Speaker 3: How are you very well?

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Speaker 1: Big decision obviously this morning. I'm going to be running

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Speaker 1: for the Liberal Democrats.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie. Look, it is a big decision. And I

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Speaker 2: know there's some people that out there that are going

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Speaker 2: to say, oh, that's no surprise, we knew that was

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Speaker 2: going to happen. But I think they would have said

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Speaker 2: that no matter what I said, I was going to do.

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Speaker 2: This was only a decision that was made two days ago.

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Speaker 2: Up until that period, I was quite convinced in my

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Speaker 2: own mind and in my heart that I wasn't going

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Speaker 2: to run. But anyway, a string of circumstances have changed

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Speaker 2: my mind and I'm very much do not want to

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Speaker 2: see this country go into the next three years with

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Speaker 2: the Labor Greens government, and I feel very strongly that

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Speaker 2: we need to offer a credible alternative Conservative Party in

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory. There are so many people disillusioned with

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Speaker 2: what they've got at the moment, and I don't want

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Speaker 2: to see them fall to the Labor Greens.

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Speaker 1: Senator, what is those string of circumstances that made you

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Speaker 1: change your mind over the last couple of days.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, Katie, I mean, obviously it's been well reported

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Speaker 2: that I've been approached by numerous minor parties to run

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Speaker 2: for them, and I've also had a lot of encouragement

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Speaker 2: from territorials saying we want to see you run as

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Speaker 2: an independent. I went down to Canberra last week with

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Speaker 2: my staff to pack up my office and they did.

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Speaker 2: It looked lovely. I gave my valedictory speech on Wednesday.

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Speaker 2: I was quite I was quite convinced at that stage

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Speaker 2: that I was done with politics. There was a string

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Speaker 2: of small things, and you know, one example that I

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Speaker 2: gave this morning was that you know, I had committed

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Speaker 2: to stay within the coalition, to remain part of government

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Speaker 2: until I served out my term, and that I would

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Speaker 2: not offer my services to any other party. Well, you know,

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Speaker 2: on Thursday my staff were told categorically they were not

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Speaker 2: welcome to attend a Coalition staff meeting, so you know, clearly,

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Speaker 2: clearly I'm not part of government anymore and I'm not

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Speaker 2: going to get to serve out my term as part

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Speaker 2: of government. So that that was just one example of

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Speaker 2: things that happened that you know, eventually came together. And

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Speaker 2: it's always a group of small things, you know, not

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Speaker 2: usually one big thing that convinced me to change my mind.

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Speaker 1: I've got to say, I'm surprised that you're running for

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Speaker 1: the Liberal Democrats. I certainly thought, you know, and I

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Speaker 1: know it's a difficulty obviously because Sinnats are associated with

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Speaker 1: the with the CELP. But I would have thought that

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Speaker 1: that that was, you know, that was the party that

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Speaker 1: was for you, the National Party.

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Speaker 2: Well, look it is. I mean, I've been very closely

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Speaker 2: associated I sit with the National Party. I'm very good

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Speaker 2: friends with a lot of people in the National Party,

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Speaker 2: and you know, yes, and look, Katie, if that had

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Speaker 2: been an option, they would they would obviously be you know,

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Speaker 2: the party of closely associated with and they they would

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Speaker 2: obviously be the choice that I would I would have

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Speaker 2: run with. But that that just wasn't an option, So

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Speaker 2: I mean, that was that was off the table. So

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Speaker 2: you know, of all the parties that approached me, the

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Speaker 2: Liberal Democrats were probably the most closely or definitely the

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Speaker 2: most closely associated with my philosophies and my beliefs and

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Speaker 2: u and with wanting to do what's best for the territory.

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Speaker 1: And so what makes the Liberal Democrats the right party

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Speaker 1: for you? What they want to do for the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory that appeals to you enough to be running for them.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, the Northern Territory is a fairly new space

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Speaker 2: for them, So they're going to be guided by myself

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Speaker 2: and others up here. They're very they're a party that's

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Speaker 2: very pro individual choices, individual freedoms and individual responsibilities. And

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Speaker 2: I think you know historically that that is just the territory.

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Speaker 2: That is why we love it up here. We have

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Speaker 2: freedom to achieve, freedom to do things we want to do,

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Speaker 2: and we Territorians do believe in in individual choice individual responsibility.

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Speaker 2: Now and you know, in recent years that's been progressively

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Speaker 2: taken away from us. So I think that will really

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Speaker 2: resonate with Territorians that you know, here's a party that's there,

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Speaker 2: conservative party that shares the territory's fundamental beliefs.

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Speaker 3: So Sam tell Us you're going to run.

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Speaker 1: Obviously, it's going to mean that you'll be running for

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Speaker 1: for the Senate again. I understand that your your electoral officer,

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Speaker 1: Kylie Bonnani is also going to be running for the

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Speaker 1: Liberal Democrats.

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Speaker 3: Is that right?

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Speaker 1: Yep?

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Speaker 2: That is that is correct, Katie. I mean, I think

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Speaker 2: she came out a week or so ago Etia and

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Speaker 2: announced that she was going to run as an independent

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Speaker 2: for Solomon. She's you know, obviously you know, I won't

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Speaker 2: speak to Kylie, but she's also been looking around for,

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Speaker 2: you know, potential alternatives to being an independent, and she,

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Speaker 2: you know, came to the conclusion the same that I did,

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Speaker 2: that of the alternatives that were available, that the Liberal

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Speaker 2: Democrats were the best hit and so.

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Speaker 1: So obviously she's going to be running as as a

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Speaker 1: Liberal Democrats candidate now for Solomon, You'll be running for

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Speaker 1: the Senate.

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Speaker 3: Look sad. There'll be some people thinking that all this.

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Speaker 1: Is going to do is split the conservative vote.

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Speaker 2: Yet, look, I know that some people are going to

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Speaker 2: think that. You know, look, I have a different point

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Speaker 2: of view. Like I said, I see the vote now,

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Speaker 2: you know, people that don't want to vote for the

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Speaker 2: seal p or what other conservative options we have, we'll

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Speaker 2: be going to the Greens, Labor or you know, some

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Speaker 2: other you know, obscure minor parties, and I don't want

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Speaker 2: to see that. I'd rather see the vote stay with

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Speaker 2: a mainstream conservative party, and you know, if we can

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Speaker 2: offer a credible alternatives, I'd rather see them come and

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Speaker 2: vote for us than vote for Labor or the Greens.

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Speaker 2: And you know, look, I mean, I'm not going to

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Speaker 2: prevent what, you know, preferences or anything are going to flow.

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Speaker 2: But you know, I think if they've got the option

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Speaker 2: to vote for another conservative other than go for Green Labor,

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Speaker 2: then that would be better than them only having an

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Speaker 2: option that they don't like.

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Speaker 1: So the reality here is that you're probably going to

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Speaker 1: see a situation where the Conservatives are preferencing each other.

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Speaker 2: Look, you'd highly expect so, I mean, that's un preempting.

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Speaker 2: That's obviously yet to be worked out, but you would

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Speaker 2: certainly believe that that would be the case, and that therefore,

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Speaker 2: you know, if one conservative alternative didn't get up that preferences,

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Speaker 2: would would you know, put the other across the line?

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Speaker 1: Now, I guess there'll be there are you know, these

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Speaker 1: more announcements this morning, or obviously Tom Morgan in the

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Speaker 1: NT News is reporting that Peter Styles and Linda Fasildean

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Speaker 1: have resigned from the CLP. Sam Is the CLP in

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Speaker 1: a state of disarray or what is going on here? Yeah?

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Speaker 2: Look, and I wasn't aware of that decision or that

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Speaker 2: announcement until I until I actually saw it in the

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Speaker 2: NT News, So that came as quite a shock this morning. Look, Katie,

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Speaker 2: I I left the CLP in in January, so I'm

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Speaker 2: probably not the best place to comment on what's happening

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Speaker 2: in there now, but you'd certainly have to think so.

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Speaker 2: I mean, since I left, the president has resigned as president,

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Speaker 2: the you know, the deputy president has resigned from the

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Speaker 2: party altogether. And then you've got several high profile people

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Speaker 2: such as as Kylie and certainly Peter and Linda. I mean,

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Speaker 2: they have been absolute stall warts of the party for many,

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Speaker 2: many years, and you know, they've they've copped a lot

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Speaker 2: of they've copped a lot from the party over the years,

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Speaker 2: and they've sort of kept their chins up and kept

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Speaker 2: supporting loyally. So you know, I just wonder, if you know,

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Speaker 2: for them to resign, there's something terribly terribly wrong. And yes,

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Speaker 2: you know, I've given my reasons for leaving, and that's

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Speaker 2: one thing, but for all these other people to since resign,

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Speaker 2: there's you know, there's something terribly wrong with the disunity,

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Speaker 2: disharmony this organization within the party.

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Speaker 1: Is it the party wing as in sorry, is it

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Speaker 1: the parliamentary crew or is it the actual party where

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Speaker 1: there's this unity.

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Speaker 2: Look again, i'm probably, you know, certainly not the best

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Speaker 2: place to comment on what's happened over the last couple

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Speaker 2: of months, But I don't perceive any problem with the

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Speaker 2: parliamentary wing. They seem to be doing a great job

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Speaker 2: and they're getting on with it. The disharmony and the

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Speaker 2: complete breakdown in infrastructure seems to be with the actual

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Speaker 2: party itself, And I mean certainly that was that was

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Speaker 2: my issue with the management Committee of the party, that

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Speaker 2: I had made complaints to them, as was actually requested

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Speaker 2: by the President to put some complaints in writing, which

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Speaker 2: I did and they were completely ought. So you know,

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Speaker 2: my my issue was certainly with the party, not the

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Speaker 2: not the wing.

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Speaker 1: I have got a message here that said, is it

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Speaker 1: a matter of the old boys or the disgruntled no

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Speaker 1: longer getting their way, so they're leaving the CLP.

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Speaker 2: I definitely don't think so, because a lot of the

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Speaker 2: people that had left, and you know, Jed Hanson certainly won,

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Speaker 2: and there are I won't name the others, but I

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Speaker 2: know of several others that are actually the younger, newer

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Speaker 2: crop coming through. If you liked that that we're young, enthusiastic,

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Speaker 2: had ideas and they're now gone, they've resigned.

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Speaker 3: Is Jed going to be joining the Liberal Democrats as

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Speaker 3: well or no?

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Speaker 2: I have no idea, Katie. I. I haven't spoken to Jed,

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Speaker 2: not for about a week or so, and certainly that

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Speaker 2: wasn't on my radar. That's stage, so I haven't spoken

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Speaker 2: to him about it at all. I don't know.

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Speaker 1: That's so at this stage are certainly you and and

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Speaker 1: Kylie Banani, Sam do you know of others?

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Speaker 2: I know of a lot of people that have expressed

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Speaker 2: a desire to join another party, that have said, look,

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Speaker 2: if another conservative party started up in the territory, I've

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Speaker 2: joined tomorrow. A lot of people have expressed that opinion

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Speaker 2: to me. Whether they actually carry through with that, I

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Speaker 2: don't know, and I don't know personally of any anyone

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Speaker 2: else that's lining up to run for.

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Speaker 1: Them, So Mark I can answer that well, Senator Sam McMahon,

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Speaker 1: it is certainly going to be interesting.

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Speaker 3: Is the Prime Minister going to call this election today

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Speaker 3: or wash?

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Speaker 2: Well, I don't know. That's that's a question that seems

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Speaker 2: to have been baffling everybody, even everybody in Canberra. Normally

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Speaker 2: people have an opinion, but everyone I've spoken to my

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Speaker 2: parliamentary colleagues is like, I really don't know. So you'd

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Speaker 2: think you'd think he would either call it today or Sunday.

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Speaker 2: You'd think that would be the case.

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Speaker 1: Well, it's certainly going to be an interesting race. How

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Speaker 1: do you think things are going to pan out between

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Speaker 1: you and and and just enter price?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, I'll I'm not I'm not underestimating the fact

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Speaker 2: that it will be a hard slog. You know, it's

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Speaker 2: always always traditionally been Labor and CLP, but you know

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Speaker 2: we've we've never had a strong conservative alternative in there

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Speaker 2: as well, so it will it will certainly be interesting, Katie,

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Speaker 2: And I'm certainly not underestimating the battle ahead.

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Speaker 1: Well, Sam McMahon, we always appreciate your time, and no

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Speaker 1: doubt we will definitely be speaking again soon. I thought

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Speaker 1: the last time we spoke might have been the last

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Speaker 1: time for a little while, but we'll be talking to

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Speaker 1: you again soon.

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Speaker 3: By the look of.

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Speaker 1: Things, sound like it, Katie, thank youppreciate your time.

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Speaker 3: Thank you