A shock anti-Labor swing in the Northern Territory election is a big wake-up call for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Opposition MP Malcolm Turnbull says.

Labor is clinging to power in the NT, after a swing averaging nine per cent was recorded against Paul Henderson's ALP government in Saturday's territory election.

One seat - Fannie Bay - remains undecided and depending on how it falls, the NT could end up with a hung parliament.

"This is a big wake-up call for Mr Rudd," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

"This is an extraordinary swing and it underlines the disillusionment Australians are seeing and feeling with the lack of leadership from the new (federal) Labor government - a government that promised so much.

"Last year Kevin 07 was everywhere, dripping with empathy, draping himself across petrol station forecourts, shopping centre aisles, promising to stop prices going up.

"And all we've got is one watch after another, FuelWatch, GroceryWatch and who knows what the next watch exercise will be.

"He promised action and delivered nothing. That's why Australians are so disillusioned."

Mr Turnbull, the opposition's economic spokesman, is working at a local pharmacy in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Monday, as part of an initiative to send politicians to work in a small business for a day.

However, Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Labor's election setback in the Northern Territory offers no "grand lessons" for the party in Western Australia.

"I don't think that we can construe from the Northern Territory some grand lessons for Western Australia," Ms Gillard told ABC Radio on Monday.

"Obviously, we're going to wait and see the results, to be finalised during the course of this week."

The two elections were influenced by different issues that mattered to their different populations, she said.

"Obviously, generally, the public says to politicians they want them to serve their term and get the job done.

"But circumstances can bring early elections on, and that's what's happened in Western Australia."

The NT's election system had a "fair bit of volatility" because the territory's 25 electorates were so small.

"Nevertheless, when elections come and go there's always a lesson for politicians in them.

"I think the lesson from this election as (Prime Minister) Kevin Rudd has said, and it's a lesson for all politicians, (is) you've always got to be in touch with the electorate and can't take anything for granted."

Meanwhile, a strong showing by the Greens in Alice Springs shows that local residents don't want a uranium mine in their backyard, environmentalists claim.

It will be at least another week before the political makeup of the NT parliament is known but the Greens say although they have not won a seat they have recorded their best ever result.

In the seat of Braitling, covering the north-west corner of Alice Springs, the party polled higher than Labor.

Natalie Wasley, coordinator of the Beyond Nuclear Initiative, said there was a strong Green vote because people were opposed to the idea of a uranium project at Angela and Pamela.

She called on whichever party forms the new government to reject applications for exploration on the deposits located 25km from the desert town.

"The NT election result clearly shows that people will not just sit back and accept this proposal," she said.

"On the weekend residents took their opinions to the ballot box and voted for candidates opposing the uranium project...

"The government now has the opportunity to put community voices ahead of corporate interests."

Jimmy Cocking, from the Arid Lands Environment Centre, said people were "frustrated and outraged" by the proposal.

"The waste from a uranium operation would remain here long after the companies have packed up and left town," he said.

The new member for Braitling, the CLP's Adam Giles, said he would make a stand on the mine following the results of a review.

"Of course people have concerns but we need to make sure they are safe," he said.

On the weekend, Green Senator Bob Brown said the Green vote had jumped on the back of concerns about climate change, environmental issues and also the uranium mine.

"It's a very good result for the Greens," Senator Brown said.

"They have averaged, in the six seats in which they stood, 16 per cent (of the vote)."

Senator Brown said the Green vote increased despite the party reducing its number of candidates - down from 11 at the 2005 election.

"We actually stood in half as many seats and our vote overall has gone up," he said.

"We're moving closer and closer to not just influencing elections but winning seats."