Gerry Wood

Gerry Wood is an Australian politician. A former mayor of the Northern Territory town of Litchfield, he has been an independent member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2001, representing the electorate of Nelson.

Wood worked in Daly River and Bathurst Island as a young man, working in a number of careers, including running a tourist operation and working as the town clerk of Nguiu. In 1984, he relocated to Howard Springs, between Darwin and Palmerston. While at Howard Springs, he worked as a vegetable and poultry farmer, and became involved with local government. He subsequently spent five years as the President of the Litchfield Shire Council before contesting the seat of Nelson at the 2001 election.

Nelson had a long history of independent candidates, as independent Noel Padgham-Purich had held the seat for most of its history, and Country Liberal Party sitting member Chris Lugg had only narrowly won the seat from new independent candidate Dave Tollner at the 1997 election. In the leadup to the election, Wood was tipped to have a strong chance of ousting Lugg, and subsequently did so with the help of Australian Labor Party preferences. Newly elected ALP Chief Minister immediately offered Wood the position of Deputy Speaker under fellow independent Loraine Braham, and Wood quickly accepted.

As an MP, Wood has served on a number of committees, including public accounts, environment and sustainable development, substance abuse and estimates. He will recontest his seat at the 2005 election, and while he has been disadvantaged by an electoral redistribution, prominent analyst Antony Green has nevertheless suggested that Wood is likely to hold his seat.