CLP announces Anjan Paudel as Nightcliff by - election candidate , Phil Scott runs as independent

abc.net.au · Feb 16, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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The Country Liberal Party (CLP) has announced a Nepalese-Australian lawyer as its candidate for next month's Nightcliff by-election, while progressive independent Phil Scott will also run for the seat.Nightcliff is seen as one of Northern Territory parliament's most progressive electorates and was won by the Greens' Kat McNamara at the 2024 NT general election.McNamara resigned last week for health reasons, triggering the by-election to be held on March 7.The Greens last week announced Suki Dorras-Walker as their candidate, with Labor preselecting Ed Smelt.Anjan Paudel has since been preselected for the CLP, which holds 17 seats in the NT's 25-seat parliament.Independent Phil Scott from the Voices of the Top End organisation has also started campaigning, following his unsuccessful tilt at the seat of Solomon during last year's federal election.CLP candidate stumbles on basic policy questionsDuring an interview with ABC Radio Darwin on Sunday, Mr Paudel said people in Nightcliff wanted change."Nightcliff [has] always wanted a change, whether it be law and order, whether it be community safety," he said."They want change desperately. In order to have that effective change, we need a seat in the government."Anjan Paudel attended the Nightcliff Markets on Sunday. (ABC News: Peter Garnish)Despite Nightcliff being seen as an environmentally conscious electorate, he said he did not have anything to say about the environmental concerns of constituents."Not at the moment, because I know it's a great topic to have a chat about, but there may be many underlying issues within that circle," Mr Paudel said."So if we were to start talking about issues, it would be more circles within the circle."I really appreciate my opponent's work there, but that's not enough. So I have energy, I have leadership skills."When asked whether he supported fracking and the controversial Middle Arm industrial development — both backed by the CLP government — Mr Paudel hesitated on both occasions, before looking over at CLP president Nathan Land and eventually answering "yes".Mr Paudel also said he could not comment on the CLP's controversial appointment of David Connolly as NT administrator.Progressive independent also in the runningMr Scott will officially launch his campaign on Tuesday.A community services worker and former anti-fracking activist, Mr Scott won 12 per cent of the vote contesting the federal seat of Solomon after being backed by national political organisation Climate 200.Phil Scott received backing from Climate 200 during last year's federal election campaign. (Supplied: Phil Scott)From the Voices of the Top End group, Mr Scott said he would campaign on issues such as the environment, and integrity and transparency in politics."After almost half a century of major party mediocrity here in the Northern Territory, we can't say with honesty that we're thriving as a community," he said."In listening, I've heard that we have high standards for community representation here in the Northern Territory, and that starts with cleaning up politics."To clean up politics, we need leaders who have the courage to hold themselves accountable and to the highest standards of transparency and scrutiny."Early voting for the by-election opens on February 23.