Two different politicians announced their retirements today due to health reasons, causing two by-elections that are worth watching.
Kat McNamara won the Northern Territory seat of Nightcliff at the 2024 election, and was the first Greens MP elected in the Territory. McNamara came from third place to win on independent preferences.
Ross Kerridge led an independent team to win the lord mayoralty of Newcastle at the 2024 council election, defeating the sitting Labor mayor. Kerridge has announced his retirement as he deals with cancer treatments.
Both by-elections are interesting, as the dynamics will be different in both seats compared to the 2024 elections. The Greens benefited from an enormous swing away from Labor in the NT in 2024, and with a less prominent candidate they may struggle to do as well. The independent challenge for the Newcastle mayoralty was driven by Kerridge’s candidacy, and I struggle to see another candidate doing so well.
I’ve now put together guides to both by-elections, which you can read here: