Clare Martin talks about becoming NT opposition leader, 2008


Transcript of interview

When I became the opposition leader, I was very conscious of, I was opposition leader in a Territory that had 53 per cent males, and a lot of those were young males, so I had to think about how I communicated with Territorians. I had to think about where the emphasis came in what I did. And I certainly very consciously talked about issues to do with the Territory, with employment, with better health services, not based on gender. And that was a very conscious political strategy.

I was also advised that, if I was going to be taken seriously as a Labor ... as an opposition leader, which had a long history of not great success in the Territory, that also how I dressed was going to be important. So I went from somebody probably more comfortable in a pair of jeans to wearing suits all the time. So there was a lot I did as opposition leader that I think took me into being chief minister, but the work was done in opposition.

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