The youngest minister in Northern Territory history has led the Country Liberal Party back from the brink.
Eight years ago, Lia Finocchiaro was one of two CLP survivors after a crushing election defeat which left Labor holding 18 of 25 seats.
But after rebuilding under Ms Finocchiaro’s leadership, some experts are predicting the party could regain power at Saturday’s election.
Labor’s blowout victory in 2016 followed four years of instability under CLP chief ministers Terry Mills and Adam Giles.
Ms Finocchiaro – who was aged 28 when elected a minister in 2013 – succeeded Gary Higgins as party leader before the 2020 election, at which the CLP clawed back six seats.
The party’s momentum stalled a year later when it lost the remote seat of Daly – the first time an incumbent Territory government had claimed an opposition seat at a by-election.
The CLP will need to swing at least six seats to win government outright.
If elected chief minister, Ms Finocchiaro is promising to lower the age of criminal responsibility back down to 10 after a royal commission into child protection recommended it be lifted to 12.
She has also pledged to reinstate the use of spit-hoods on children in all custodial settings and increase police powers.
A second-generation Territorian, Ms Finocchiaro’s grandfather migrated to the NT in the 1950s.
Reflecting on her childhood, the former lawyer says the Territory is at a “critical juncture” for the next generation.
“We’re losing about 4000 people a year. That’s our friends. They’re our family,” she said.
“They’re people who see in our workplaces, and they’re packing up and going because they’ve fallen out of love with a place that used to mean everything to them.
“The NT has been better, and it can be better again, and all of us have a role to play in delivering that.”
Ms Finocchiaro is promising to abolish payroll tax for small businesses, with wages for apprentices and trainees excluded from the cap.
She has also committed to introducing a Territory co-ordinator, a standalone statutory authority which can sign off on planning and development without the chief minister’s oversight.
“You have to put your money where your mouth is,” she said.
“This (is a) stopping of the clock when it comes to endless decision-making that is not driving the confidence we need in our business sector.”