[1] Carney's bid for the pre-selection gained some media attention, as she was a reasonably high-profile candidate, but she was ultimately overlooked by the Alice Springs branch, who instead chose Peter Harvey.

However, John Elferink, a sitting MP who had lost his preselection for MacDonnell, complained to the party's Central Council, making claims of branch-stacking.

The fallout from the letter was immense—on 25 November 2000, in what was dubbed by the local media as "The Night of the Long Knives", all the preselections of the Alice Springs branch were overturned.

It was generally believed at the time that the Central Council's decision to preselect Carney for Araluen all but assured her a seat in parliament.

While she often acted as a conservative voice in the assembly on many issues, advocating a particularly hard line on issues of law and order (including mandatory sentencing) and drug policy, this was not always the case, as she also clashed with her own party on several issues—most notably in 2003, when she crossed the floor to vote with the ALP in supporting legislation decreasing the age of consent for gay males.

However, in a surprise result—widely put down to both her poor relationship with the influential Alice Springs branch and her support, against their wishes, for Denis Burke's leadership, she was defeated by Dr. Richard Lim.

However, she soon changed sides and decided to support Terry Mills after Burke refused to allow a conscience vote on the age of consent legislation.

Mills was unlikely to take up the leadership again after having resigned as leader not long before on the grounds that he had been ineffective, and potential aspirants John Elferink and Sue Carter had also been swept out in the Labor landslide.

Carney emerged as the leading candidate in the CLP's much-reduced party room and was elected as Burke's replacement with Fay Miller as her deputy.

However, Carney announced that a tie was not a vote of confidence and resigned, echoing Prime Minister John Gorton's move in 1971.

[2] The CLP's refusal to disendorse Leo Abbott, who had been charged with domestic violence, as their candidate for the Federal seat of Lingiari was also a reason for her resigning,[5] Robyn Lambley, a former deputy mayor of Alice Springs, was elected in her place in a by-election.