Northern Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin dropped by Government House this morning, where she asked the Administrator, Ted Egan, to issue a writ for a election to be held on Saturday, 18 June.

Martin was expected to call a poll just a few weeks ago, but somehow got cold feet at the last minute. Today’s timing couldn’t have been better, with opposition leader Denis Burke having more than a few embarrassments to deal with inside the Country Liberal Party.

Martin is an effective media performer – she used to be with local ABC, after all – and CLP is going to have a hard time persuading voters to swap her for a leader they have already rejected once and who has been dumped by his own party.

Burke led the CLP to an unthinkable defeat in 2001, and resigned in 2003 in favour of Terry Mills – only to return in February when Mills conceded he “wasn’t up to the job.”

Territory politics, like the croc stories in the NT News, is always entertaining. And there’s a comprehensive overview and seat by seat guide now up on the Poll Bludger’s website. The fun begins here.