Former NT deputy chief minister Nicole Manison will not recontest seat of Wanguri at 2024 election

Nicole Manison will not recontest her seat at the NT election in August. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)

The long-serving former deputy chief minister of the Northern Territory has announced she will quit politics at this year’s territory election.

Nicole Manison, who served as deputy chief minister from Labor taking office in 2016 until December last year, released a statement on Friday stating she would not be recontesting her seat when Territorians head to the polls in August.

The announcement comes just weeks after she unsuccessfully contested the Labor leadership then moved to the backbench, following the resignation of former chief minister Natasha Fyles.

“Today I am announcing I have made the difficult decision to not run in the upcoming August election,” she wrote in a post on Facebook.

“I have loved my job being the Member for Wanguri. It has been a huge honour to represent the community I grew up in and I am raising my family in.”

“I can’t thank my constituents enough for backing me, and backing me very strongly, for three elections.”

Ms Manison said she believed she would leave the role “delivering what I promised to do back in 2013”.

“I am looking forward to more time now with my family and excited about what the future holds,” she said.

She confirmed she would be campaigning for Labor ahead of the election.

Ms Manison’s unsuccessful tilt for the Labor leadership last month was the second time in two years she had unsuccessfully run for the top job, after also putting her hand up following Michael Gunner’s retirement in 2022.

NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler on Friday said Ms Manison had been a “wonderful asset to our Labor team”.

“She has served two chief ministers as deputy chief minister very, very well,” she said.

“Hard-working, diligent are the words I use [to describe her], conscientious.

“[She] always read her papers for cabinet, always had a strong say, always worked with industry — a great parliamentarian.”

A decade-long political career

A member of Labor’s Right faction, Ms Manison first entered parliament following a 2013 by-election.

She was elevated to the role of deputy chief minister, as well as treasurer, when Labor was elected to government in a landslide win in 2016.

She has also previously held the high-profile portfolios of mining minister and police minister, and is known for her strong support of the NT’s resources industry.

However, in both of her previous bids for the job of chief minister — despite being deputy leader and the obvious successor of both Mr Gunner and Ms Fyles — she was unable to rally a majority of caucus votes following their resignations.

In December, the then-deputy chief minister released a statement an hour after Ms Fyles’ resignation, stating her intention to run for Labor leader.

“More than ever, we need experienced and proven leadership that focuses on the things that matter most to Territorians,” she said at the time.

“I believe I can offer that. As Chief Minister, I would focus on creating more jobs for Territorians, giving more support for Territorians to help with the cost of living, and keep working to make the Territory safer.”

However the leadership contest was won by Ms Lawler, also from the Right faction, who said she had been approached by colleagues to run following Ms Fyles’ decision to quit.

“I was very happy in the roles that I had … but I had my colleges come to me and say they’ve seen me in action over seven years — I’m someone they respect and look up to,” Ms Lawler said at the time. “I’ve always had good relationships with my colleagues, both on the left and the right, and both came to me and said they wanted me to put my hand up, and I did that.”