More than a third of voters have cast their ballots in the Northern Territory election, but that hasn't stopped a crowd of thirsty punters spilling into a pub for the final leaders' debate.
Chief Minister Eva Lawler and Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro faced voter questions on Wednesday night for the ABC-hosted "politics in the pub" in Palmerston, north of Darwin.
The satellite city is home to both their seats and expected to be an area to watch on Saturday after a population spike forced a redistribution of seats.
The public debate covered several of the same topics as the first three including cost of living, the economy, and crime but also explored the issues of renewable energy, the road toll and domestic violence.
Yet again, the Territory is mourning an Aboriginal woman killed from suspected domestic violence, which Ms Lawler called “abhorrent”.
"It is the work that needs to be done around prevention ... but when we talk about that $180 million, there's a lot of other dollars that are going in," she said.
She also spoke about the increased funding in education and also police as ways to address domestic violence.
When Ms Finocchiaro answered how the CLP government would spend the $180 million to prevent domestic and family violence, she again spoke about their plans to change the bail laws for "violent offenders".
Meanwhile, with more than 50 per cent of Territorians renting, the jurisdiction's archaic rental laws were scrutinised.
Both candidates were asked if they would consider establishing a rental board as the NT is the only jurisdiction without one.
However, Ms Lawler steered the conversation towards her promise to establish a standalone department that could increase new builds across private, public, social and remote housing.
"We have looked very carefully at a rental bond board," she said.
"But the concerns are that the numbers we have are so low, and we don't think it is actually feasible."
Ms Finocchiaro avoided the question completely, instead rattling off a number of cost-of-living measures around the price of licences and free meningococcal vaccinations.
However, the debate turned to an issue most are facing: Territorians do not only have some of the highest rents in the country, but are also beholden to sky-high airline prices.
Ms Lawler said she had already written to Northern Australia Minister Madeleine King about cabotage - the transport of goods and passengers - in the NT.
Ms Finocchiaro was less committal. “It’s something to look at”, she said.
“But there's one thing for sure, that is connectivity is key for people, it's key for business, it's key for people to visit their family and friends, not just in Australia, but overseas.
“If we are really going to develop the north ... federal governments ... have to put their money where their mouth is."
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