# Electoral division of Drysdale

Drysdale is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1997, and is named after Fred Drysdale, a former member of the Legislative Council. It is an urban electorate covering 5 km$^2$ in north-western Palmerston including the CBD and the suburbs of Driver, Gray, Yarrawonga and most of Moulden. There were 5,828 people enrolled within the electorate as of August 2020.

## History

Palmerston had long been considered a conservative stronghold, and for the first eight years of its life, Drysdale was considered to be a safe seat for the Country Liberal Party. CLP candidate Stephen Dunham easily won the seat at the 1997 election and easily retained it at the 2001 election.
Most commentators predicted that the CLP's dominance in Drysdale would continue at the 2005 election, although the Labor Party were running a high-profile candidate, former AFL Northern Territory general manager Chris Natt. However, there was a significant swing to the ALP across the territory on election day, and Dunham was ultimately defeated, along with several other CLP sitting members. The final result took several days to be decided, but ultimately Natt won the seat on a swing of 17.5 percent. Even more surprisingly, he won enough primary votes to take the seat without the need for preferences. However, before the 2008 election, a redistribution erased Natt's majority and made Drysdale a notional CLP seat. Ross Bohlin regained the seat for the CLP on a large swing, but lost his preselection in 2012 and contested the election as an independent candidate. He was defeated by the CLP's endorsed candidate, Lia Finocchiaro.
After a redistribution transferred much of Finocchiaro's base to the new seat of Spillett, Finocchiaro opted to transfer to Spillett even though Drysdale was still a safe CLP seat on paper. However, at the 2016 election, the CLP's primary vote plunged by over 20 percent amid the party's near-total meltdown in Palmerston. Eva Lawler took the seat for Labor on a swing of over 16 percent, becoming only the second Labor member ever to win it. She then increased her majority at the 2020 election, becoming the first Labor MLA to retain a Palmerston seat.
Lawler became Chief Minister in late 2023. However, at the 2024 Territory election, Lawler was routed in her own seat by the CLP's Clinton Howe amid Labor's meltdown in Darwin and Palmerston. Howe reclaimed the seat for the CLP on a swing of over 20 percent, enough to revert Drysdale to its traditional status as a safe CLP seat. He actually won an outright majority on the primary vote, enough to take the seat off Labor without the need for preferences.

## Members for Drysdale

| Member | Party | Term | Notes |
| Stephen Dunham (1956–) | Country Liberal | 30 August 1997 – 18 May 2005 | Served as a minister under Burke. Lost seat |
| Chris Natt (1952–) | Labor | 18 May 2005 – 9 August 2008 | Lost seat |
| Ross Bohlin | Country Liberal | 9 August 2008 – 12 July 2012 | Resigned from CLP after losing preselection. Lost seat |
| Ross Bohlin | Independent | 12 July 2012 – 25 August 2012 | Resigned from CLP after losing preselection. Lost seat |
| Lia Finocchiaro (1984–) | Country Liberal | 25 August 2012 – 27 August 2016 | Served as a minister under Mills. Moved to Spillett in 2016. CLP leader since 2020 and Chief Minister since 2024 |
| Eva Lawler (1962–) | Labor | 27 August 2016 – 24 August 2024 – | Served as a minister under Gunner and Fyles. Labor leader and Chief Minister from 2023 until 2024. Lost seat |
| Clinton Howe | Country Liberal | 24 August 2024 – present | Incumbent |

## Election results

2024 Northern Territory general election: Drysdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Country Liberal | Clinton Howe | 2,466 | 58.7 | +28.4 |
| | Labor | Eva Lawler | 1,254 | 29.8 | −12.1 |
| | Independent | Cindy Mebbingarri Roberts | 484 | 11.5 | +11.5 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 4,204 | 96.4 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 156 | 3.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,360 | 68.7 | |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Country Liberal | Clinton Howe | 2,732 | 65.0 | +20.4 |
| | Labor | Eva Lawler | 1,472 | 35.0 | −20.4 |
| | Country Liberal gain from Labor | Country Liberal gain from Labor | Swing | +20.4 | |