Electoral division of Johnston

Johnston is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 2001, replacing the abolished Jingili electorate, and is named after Commodore Eric Johnston, a former Administrator of the Northern Territory. Johnston is an urban electorate, covering only 5 km² and taking in the Darwin suburbs of Jingili, Moil, Wagaman and part of Alawa. There were 5,556 people enrolled within the electorate as of August 2020.

Johnston Northern Territory—Legislative Assembly
Location of Johnston in the Darwin/Palmerston area
Territory	Northern Territory
Created	2001
MP	Joel Bowden
Party	Labor
Namesake	Eric Johnston
Electors	5,556 (2020)
Area	5 km^2 (1.9 sq mi)
Demographic	Urban

Johnston was essentially a reconfigured version of one of the original electorates in the Northern Territory, Jingili, which had been held by the Country Liberal Party for its entire existence and was the seat of the Territory's second head of government, Paul Everingham. At the 2001 election, however, the CLP member for Jingili, Steve Balch, was defeated by Labor Party challenger Dr Chris Burns. Burns' victory was part of an unexpected Labor wave that swept through Darwin, allowing Labor to win government in the Territory for the first time. The area's CLP voting history led many commentators to suggest that it was likely to revert to the CLP at the 2005 election. As it turned out, Burns was re-elected easily amid that year's Labor landslide, with a substantially increased majority—although not as much as in similar electorates nearby. Burns retired at the 2012 election, and the seat was retained for Labor by former cricketer Ken Vowles with only a small swing against Labor. Vowles consolidated his hold on the seat amid Labor's massive landslide in 2016. In 2018, Vowles was expelled from the Labor cabinet, and resigned on 31 January 2020, with the resulting vacancy filled at a by-election on 29 February 2020.

Members for Johnston

Member		Party	Term
	Chris Burns	Labor	2001–2012
	Ken Vowles	Labor	2012–2020
	Joel Bowden	Labor	2020–present

Election results

See also: Electoral results for the division of Johnston

2020 Johnston by-election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labor	Joel Bowden	983	29.9	−21.5
	Territory Alliance	Steven Klose	728	22.1	+22.1
	Greens	Aiya Goodrich Carttling	565	17.2	−0.0
	Country Liberal	Josh Thomas	536	16.3	−15.1
	Ban Fracking Fix Crime Protect Water	Braedon Earley	343	10.4	+10.4
	Independent	Trevor Jenkins	80	2.4	+2.4
	Independent	George Mamouzellos	57	1.7	+1.7
Total formal votes			3,292	96.4	−1.7
Informal votes			123	3.6	+1.7
Turnout			3,415	68.5	−11.9
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Labor	Joel Bowden	1,731	52.6	−12.1
	Territory Alliance	Steven Klose	1,561	47.4	+47.4
	Labor hold		Swing	N/A

2016 Northern Territory general election: Johnston[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labor	Ken Vowles	2,019	51.4	+3.6
	Country Liberal	Steven Klose	1,234	31.4	−7.6
	Greens	Melanie Ross	676	17.2	+9.3
Total formal votes			3,929	98.1	+1.6
Informal votes			77	1.9	−1.6
Turnout			4,006	80.4	+0.8
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Ken Vowles	2,453	64.7	+8.1
	Country Liberal	Steven Klose	1,339	35.3	−8.1
	Labor hold		Swing	+8.1

References

1. "Division of Johnston results". Northern Territory Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
2. Johnston – Electorate summary, Northern Territory Electoral Commission, 9 September 2016

External links

• Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission