Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have exchanged public barbs regarding his trip to the NT this week.
Late on Tuesday during the PM's seemingly pre-election blitz through Queensland and the Territory, Senator Price labelled the trip a "photo-op".
Calling it a "blink and you'll miss it trip", Senator Price - who has been outspoken in her criticism of the Labor federal government and their policy decisions concerning the Territory - attacked the PM's visit with farmers, arguing the cattle industry has "no reason to trust" him.
"Visiting a cattle station for a few hours isn't going to erase the betrayal which he and the Labor party have shown to the cattle industry," she said, citing the live cattle export ban introduced by the Gillard government fourteen years ago.
"The phasing out of live sheep exports by sea is just the latest conquest by Anthony Albanese on his journey to kill Australia's agricultural trade. Farmers right across this country know full well that Labor doesn't intend to stop with live sheep exports."
The PM dismissed the criticism, arguing he's had more visits to the NT than the three Liberal prime ministers who preceded him combined "over their almost decade in office".
"Jacinta Price wasn't there on Christmas Day at the 50th anniversary of the commemoration of Cyclone Tracy," he said on Wednesday morning.
"That was a really important event. I was there from [the] 23rd until Christmas Day, in the Northern Territory. This visit will be my 12th visit to the Northern Territory."
He reiterated this to reporters in Mount Isa in Queensland on Wednesday, noting there were "no LNP reps in the NT from the federal government at that time—not the NT senator at what was a very significant event commemorating 50 years since Cyclone Tracy".
Senator Price told ABC News Breakfast on Wednesday she didn't attend because she was worried about a break-in.
"It's Christmas Day, I live in the Northern Territory. It would be nice for the PM to understand as locals when we go to bed at night there's concern that our house may be broken in. We have prowlers on our streets on a regular basis," Senator Price said.
"It's one thing to be able to come to an event, it's another thing to be able to get on the ground, listen to locals, understand where the failures exist and what sort of support needs to occur in order to support the situation to progress to somewhere where locals feel like [we're] safe sleeping at our own beds at night."
It mirrored her criticism of the federal government and their lack of support for a number of proposals put forward by the NT CLP government surrounding safety in Central Australia.
The PM has been forced to respond to comments they have failed to visit the NT - in particular Central Australia - however the Garma festival in August was attended by several Labor MPs - including the PM - whilst opposition leader Peter Dutton declined an invitation to attend.
Asked by reporters in Mount Isa why he didn't stop at Tennant Creek, Katherine and Mparntwe/Alice Springs on his trip, the PM said: "We can't stop everywhere. I was in the NT for three days, just two weeks ago."
"I have been to Nhulunbuy, Katherine, Darwin, Alice Springs, Uluru and now I am going to a cattle farm – the property owners came to see me with Bob Katter just last year," he said.
"They invited me to go. I am going there, I am here in Mount Isa. I am in Kununurra and I am in Cairns today. I think an itinerary in one day that has Cairns, Mount Isa, NT cattle farm and Kununurra is a busy day."
