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Northern Territory election blow shrugged off
BRISBANE: The Queensland
Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen,
returned to Australia last night
refusing to accept Saturday's
Northern Territory election result
as a blow to his campaign to be
come Prime Minister.
"I will be in Canberra as soon
as Mr Hawke is game to call an
election," he said at Brisbane air
port on his arrival home from a
week of trade talks in Tokyo.
"Sure, it would have been nice
to win a couple of seats, but we did
remarkably well to get 17 per ccnt
of the vote in a snap election and
that is a vote of confidence," he
said.
The election tally yesterday
showed the Country Liberal Party
had been returned to government
with at least 14 of the 25 seats in
the Legislative Assembly. The La
bor share of the vote was 35 per
cent, an increase of 1 per cent on
the 1983 election.
Sir Joh said the Territory's Chief
Minister, Mr Steve Hatton, had
called a snap election to try to
catch the Bjelke-Petersen-backed
National Party off balance.
He said Territorians had not
fully understood the purpose of the
National Party and had voted on
local issues.
"Mr Hatton has refused to sup
port me in a low-tax policy, but
that point didn't get taken into
account by the voters," he said.
Refusing to accept he had egg on
his face, a phrase he regularly uses
after elections, Sir Joh said, "Next
time, in the federal election, I'm
sure they will support me."
He said the Bjelke-Petersen
Picture: KATE CALLAS Don Burrows in full flight. Just one of the talented musicians who helped keep heart and soul warm despite the chilly conditions at the Canberra Festival jazz concert on the lawns of Parliament House last night. Review. - Page 3. Help
campaign for Canberra would con
tinue with no changc of strategy.
However, both sides of federal
politics have taken comfort from
the defeat of the Bjelke-Peterscn
forces, and the outcome of the
election could weaken the impact
of the call by the National Party's
Queensland branch for their 12
members in Federal Parliament to
withdraw from the coalition with
the Liberal Party.
The National Party's federal
leader, Mr Sinclair, saw the result
as a chance for a reconciliation of
the conservatives.
He said in Cairns, "The party
cannot stand alone, and a coalition
split will give the Nationals the
power only to disagree with gov
ernment policy. It would not mean
we would be able to pursue policies
on our own account.
"The Northern Territory elec
tion result shows we arc not at a
point where we could take on all
existing parties and comc out on
top."
But Mr Sinclair offered an olive
branch to Sir Joh, saying it was
time to end confrontation and
start cooperating.
"Sir Joh and the Queensland
National Party have a vital part to
play in the next election because of
their proven electoral appeal," he
said.
The Liberal Leader of the Feder
al Opposition, Mr Howard, said
Sir Joh was "a flop".
"He can't win," he told AAP.
"All he might do is help the Labor
Party. If all he can manage is 15
per cent in the Northern Territot^,
with everything going for him, in
cluding huge publicity, he has got
no hope of winning in places like
Sydney and Melbourne.
"This also shows that a huge
amount of campaign funds won't
buy the votes of Australians."
Continued on Page 3.

Sir Joh says he'll fight on

Continued from Page 1.

Mr Howard also said the implica
tions of the election for the Opposi
tion were "good, very good", because
Labor had been unable to pick up any
additional scats.

Sir Joh said the criticisms were
immaterial. "They are clutching at
straws," he said.

The Prime Minister, Mr Hawke,
saying he was now confident of win
ning the next federal election with an
increased majority, said he felt the
Northern Territory vote would proba
bly be enough to keep Sir Joh going
in his federal campaign.

"He has to look around for
alibis... and I guess he'll do that,"
he said. "But I don't think that one
should nevertheless just wipe off the
fact that he got somewhere between
15 and 20 per cent of the vote. That
is not something that should be ig

nored."

The Chief Minister of the Northern
Territory, Mr Hatton, said "the
wheels have fallen off the Joh
bandwagon".

"The Joh show is no go," he said.
"Joh Bjelke-Pctersen delarcd that the
Northern Territory would be the test
of his success or failure in Australia.
He has failed.

"I would say to the legitimate
National Party and the legitimate
Liberal Party we've had a great vic
tory. This has been a victory for
sensible conservative politics over the
messianic cult following a 76-year-old
man in his personal ambition to end
his career as Prime Minister of Aus
tralia.

"Joh will never win the votes he
needs in Sydney, Melbourne,
Adelaide, Perth or Hobart."

Fditorial. - Pane 2

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