Liberal Democrats candidate for Solomon Kylie Bonanni told senior Country Liberal Party figures in a letter last month that her “values are the complete opposite” of Senator Sam McMahon’s and that she is only running with her in the federal election to “pay the bills”.

Ms Bonanni, who resigned as a member of the CLP in April to run with Senator McMahon as part of the Liberal Democrats ticket, wrote that she left the CLP because they would not “quietly slip me into” a job with either the NT Opposition or the federal Nationals Party, despite her repeated insistence.

The reasons outlined in the letter, obtained by the NT Independent, are in stark contrast to the reasons Ms Bonanni gave publicly last month for leaving the CLP and choosing to run for the Liberal Democrats.

Ms Bonanni was the CLP’s unsuccessful candidate for Fong Lim at the 2020 NT general election and earlier this year took an office job with Senator McMahon ahead of her spectacular resignation from the CLP to sit as an independent in Canberra, after Ms McMahon had lost pre-selection to run as the CLP’s senate pick.

Ms Bonanni wrote in the letter to CLP stalwarts Peter Hopton, Suzanne Cavenagh, Barry Coulter and Shane Stone, after her official resignation letter, to tell them that she could not “break the stigma” of working for Ms McMahon and had to leave the CLP to focus on her employment prospects.

She also admitted to taking the job with Ms McMahon’s office in Canberra to further her own political ambitions by making “possible contacts to further my employment but there is nothing”.

“l can see and feel that my role with Sam has not helped my situation,” she wrote to the senior party figures.

“My personality and my values are the complete opposite to hers but l cannot break the stigma and l seem to be further in deep shit because l took a role which l thought would keep me committed to the party and that l could learn and be stronger going into the NT election 2024.”

Ms Bonanni said she had “exhausted every avenue in regard to finding future employment once the [federal] election is called” and indicated she thought the party would have awarded her a job based on her affiliation with the party.

“I have submitted easily 60 applications and have even applied for jobs in [Lia Finocchiaro’s] office, reached out to [Nationals adviser and former CLP president] Tory [Mencshelyi] and messaged Jonathan Hawkes to ask if there was anything and l mean absolutely anything that they could quietly slip me into, some people never even bothered to reply,” she wrote.

“I have found myself in an absolute dire situation and the only lifeline is that l run as Lib Democrat in the seat of Solomon, (sic) This was offered to me after l advised Sam l was thinking of running as an Independent.

“I am fully aware my chances are bloody dreadful, l am personally at the point that l have absolutely nothing to lose.”

Bonanni told the public she left CLP because of ‘the team they have in place’

Ms Bonanni told the ABC on April 4, that she left the CLP because she “didn’t like the way the party was running” and was “disillusioned by the team they have in place”.

However, in the email that was sent just days before the Liberal Democrats announced Ms Bonanni and Ms McMahon as its Solomon and Senate candidates, she had pledged to the Country Liberals that her “narrative to the media will not be negative in regards to the CLP”.

“This was never my intention but l also have to fight to survive and pay the bills,” she wrote to the CLP elders.

Ms Bonanni did not respond to questions sent by the NT Independent yesterday, including whether she was being paid while running and why she did not seek employment in the private sector if she was so desperate for work.

A spokesman played down the apparent fracture in values between Ms Bonanni and Ms McMahon.

“Senator McMahon and Kylie Bonanni have worked tirelessly together in the campaign and policies and were [Friday] night at the Starlight Ball together supporting charity, and enjoying each other’s company,” he said.

The statement added that “we will not be commenting on private texts or questions around values while the CLP has chosen to have [Ms McMahon’s former chief of staff] working as a campaign manager … [for] a CLP senate candidate who allegedly espouses anti-violence against women”.

Ms McMahon has made previous allegations, including in her senate valedictory speech, that she had been subjected to “abuse” by her former chief of staff, who is also a current CLP management committee member. She has alleged her defection from the party was in part due to inaction by the CLP over the claims.

Ms Bonanni is running against the CLP’s Tina MacFarlane, Labor incumbent Luke Gosling and other party and independent candidates in the seat of Solomon which includes Darwin and most of Palmerston.

Note: This story was updated to correct the name of a recipient of Ms Bonanni’s missive.