She is the first Labor member to represent the Katherine area, defeating former Deputy Chief Minister Willem Westra van Holthe.
[2] Nelson and her family left Timor in 1975 at the height of the civil war, and were granted permanent residency in Australia in 1977.
However, Nelson led Westra van Holthe by a margin of less than one percent on election night amid the massive Labor wave that swept through the Territory.
According to ABC projections, Westra van Holthe's primary vote almost halved, to only 35.2 percent—just four percent ahead of Nelson.
[citation needed] She remains actively involved within the ALP, recently volunteering as campaign director for Katrina Stratton who went on to win in the 2021 Western Australian state election, becoming the first Labor member for Nedlands.