FULL LIST: Where it all started for NT government’s Cabinet ... and how it’s going
From teachers to a linesman and a journo, here’s where it all started for our Cabinet ministers. SEE THE LIST
Northern Territory
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THE Territory’s new-look Cabinet is three-quarters made up of women, just under half comprised of Indigenous members and features several from teaching backgrounds.
THE Territory’s new-look Cabinet is three-quarters made up of women, just under half comprised of Indigenous members and features several from teaching backgrounds.
CHANSEY PAECH
In his maiden speech to NT Parliament, the newly appointed Attorney-General Chansey Paech described himself as ‘the proud face of the diversity and future’ of the Australian Labor Party.
“(I am) eternally proud of who I am and where I come from ... I am young, I am gay, I am black; a true-blue Territorian,” he said.
The career politician was an Alice Springs Town Councillor in 2012 before being preselected for the seat of Namatijira (now known as Gowja), which was held by Alison Anderson.
Upon Anderson’s retirement, she endorsed Paech that caused a 40 per cent swing in Labor’s favour.
He hails from the desert, his mother is a proud Aboriginal woman and he was born and bred in the central desert region.
He studied land management at Charles Darwin University before entering politics.
KATE WORDEN
Kate Worden sits in the backrow of parliament and below her desk, out of view, is a soft tartan blue blanket that shrouds her knees.
She often rolls the corner seam between her fingers as the chaos of parliament unfolds around her.
Since her move to the NT in 1981 - minus a small stint in Adelaide where she studied Indigenous Affairs while raising her two children - she has been an active part of Territory sport, politics and the community landscape.
Like others, she rose through council ranks and sat on various Labor committees before winning the seat of Sanderson in 2016.
Having lived in Ngukurr and Katherine, while also being a single mum while raising two Aboriginal daughters, her lived experiences have shown her to be progressive when it comes to politics.
PAUL KIRBY
A country kid from rural South Australia, Paul Kirby, began his career as a linesman before becoming an organiser for the Electrical Trades Union.
A quiet member of parliament, Kirby can also have an alarmingly quick wit.
He played football for Banks Bulldogs before going on to coach AFL across juniors and seniors.
His background in the union movement means he is closely aligned with Labor’s left faction.
Preselected in 2016, Kirby won the seat of Port Darwin with a 12.5 per cent swing towards Labor.
In the recent Cabinet reshuffle Kirby picked up the crown in Territory jewels, major events. The Ministry glams up a relatively dry portfolio of agriculture and business, making this quiet linesman seem a bit more alive.
NATASHA FYLES
The newly-minted Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has been involved in politics since she was just 15 years old.
The daughter of two teachers, Ms Fyles worked as a physical education teacher at St Mary’s Primary School before becoming the Executive Director of Royal Life Saving Society NT.
The Nightcliff local is still heavily involved with and enthused by sports and education, from the footy club to parkrun and on her kids’ school council.
Over a past decade Ms Fyles has turned the northern suburbs electorate into the safest seat in the Territory, with a comfortable 24 per cent majority in the 2020 election.
Ms Fyles has served in critical portfolios in government, including her current role as Health Minister and as Attorney-General in her second term.
SELENA UIBO
Having lived in the bush and with strong traditional links to south-east Arnhem Land, Selena Uibo has a deep understanding of the remote electorate she represents.
Born and raised in the Territory, Uibo temporarily moved to Brisbane for her studies where she gained a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education dual degree at the University of Queensland.
She was the Valedictorian at her graduation ceremony and moved back to the NT to start her teaching career.
In 2016, Ms Uibo successfully joined the Labor Gunner Government and then in 2018 was promoted to cabinet as the ninth Cabinet Minister and is responsible for the Education and Workforce Training Portfolios.
In the ensuing year she added Minister for Aboriginal Affairs to her portfolio.
EVA LAWLER
Born and raised in Darwin, Eva Lawler is a Territory girl through and through.
Her professional life started when she became a teacher in the 1980s, working at various schools in Darwin like Jingili Primary School and in the rural area too.
Eventually, Lawler rose to distinguished positions in education working as an assistant principal and principal over the course of 15 years.
Ms Lawler’s Territory roots go way back to the 1950s when her father and brothers were instrumental in the supply and delivery of materials for civil projects through their trucking and earthmoving endeavours.
Over the years, she has also dabbled in sporting communities in the Top End like hockey.
She was appointed as education minister in 2016, she loves infrastructure, she understands education and has lived and breathed it.
NGAREE AH KIT
Ngaree Ah Kit has taken an unusual path on her way to the ministerial benches.
Traditionally, the Speaker’s job is a polite way for a leader to thank burnt-out MLAs for their services and to park them in a mostly harmless, well-paid job.
In Ah Kit’s case she was appointed Speaker in 2020 near the start of her career after the surprise departure of Independent Kezia Purick from the chair.
After the announcement Monday she had been promoted to the Ministry, Ms Ah Kit said she viewed being Speaker as an apprenticeship to a Ministerial job.
She also had the advantage of being a member of the Territory’s first father-daughter Ministerial team.
Ah Kit’s dad John Ah Kit was the Territory’s first Aboriginal minister.
She was born in Katherine and raised there and in Darwin.
She spoke on Monday about her Aboriginal and Chinese heritage that helped shape her views. After the 2007 death of her brother she formed a survivor’s group in 2007 and the Darwin Region Indigenous Suicide Prevention Network in 2019.
She was a Young Australian of the Year finalist for her work organising NAIDOC week.
LAUREN MOSS
Lauren Moss’ rise from student politics to Cabinet Minister was swift and surprisingly seamless.
Elected to the Legislative Assembly when she won the occasionally chaotic 2014 Casuarina by-election, she only had to wait three years on the Opposition benches before being named in Michael Gunner’s first Labor ministry.
She was 27 when elected to the Assembly and given the important Environment and Natural Resources and Tourism portfolios.
She lost Environment two years later and it wasn’t until Labor’s 2020 re-election that her perseverance was rewarded with promotion to the Education portfolio.
In Monday’s reshuffle she lost education and regained the important Environment portfolio, where she has the power to block development on environmental or other grounds.
Born in Crewe in the UK, she arrived in Australia aged 12 and achieved a Bachelor of Business at Charles Darwin and Monash universities.
She was heralded as a youth leader, winning an NT Youth Leadership award and the NT Pride of Australia Young Leader Medal as well as being a finalist in the NT Young Australian of the Year.
NICOLE MANISON
Nicole Manison was born in Tennant Creek, the daughter of a respected Territory police officer.
Since being elected in 2013 in a by-election to replace former Chief Minister Paul Henderson in the Wanguri electorate, she has served most of her time in politics on the government benches.
She grew up in the electorate and went to Top End schools including Holy Spirit, Dripstone, Middle School and Casuarina Senior College.
She studied journalism and public relations at Curtin University.
She worked in Western Australia in various communications and human resources roles and then returned to the Territory where she had a number of media advisor roles within government including PowerWater.
She was sworn in as Treasurer immediately after the Gunner Government took office in 2016 and was confronted by one of the worst economic downturns in Territory history.
Manison was replaced as Police Minister, presumably by choice, in Monday’s Cabinet reshuffle under new Chief Minister Natasha Fyles but retained the crucial Mining and Industry portfolio, where she is highly regarded by stakeholders.
She is married with three children.
EARLIER
THE WINNERS AND LOSERS: IT WAS all smiles for the camera as the Fyles Government’s new front bench lined up for the first time on Monday.
But some in the new cabinet may have been grimacing through the pain as they recover from some political wounds while on the front bench.
With any reshuffle there are victors and victims and this Territory shake-up was no different.
Here are the winners and losers from the Cabinet announcement:
Winners
Natasha Fyles: THE new Chief Minister was the clear winner of the Cabinet reshuffle.
Ms Fyles will retain the pivotal Health portfolio, while also adding Major Projects and Defence to her roster.
The Major Projects portfolio, previously held by Michael Gunner, will allow the new Chief Minister to stay in the spotlight for huge infrastructural announcements.
Ms Fyles will also keep her Alcohol Policy portfolio, which recently passed controversial new liquor laws that will end enforced booze restrictions in remote communities.
Ms Fyles has divvied out her remaining portfolios, which included Tourism and Major Events, Racing, Gaming and Licensing and Leader of Government Business.
The Racing portfolio was handed over to Chansey Paech, who will now have to face questions over the ongoing $12m Turf Club grandstand saga.
Chansey Paech: THE Gwoja representative has had a meteoric rise under the new Fyles Ministry after being sworn in as the Attorney-General.
Mr Paech has secured the highest executive legal position in the Territory, after a strong performance in some relatively minor ministries.
The former Local Government, Remote Housing, Arts and Desert Knowledge Minister has been building his profile — largely through a strong social media presence.
Mr Paech took the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice titles from Selena Uibo
Ms Uibo will take his remote housing portfolio, rebranded as the Housing and Homelands Minister.
The Left-faction Alice Springs politician is also taking over the new Chief Minister’s old portfolios of Racing, Gaming and Licensing and Leader of Government Business.
Eva Lawler: EVA Lawler has been announced as the Territory’s new number cruncher.
Ms Lawler has been appointed as the Treasurer, a role held by former Chief Minister Michael Gunner.
She faces the mammoth task of bringing the Territory out of a $1.1b deficit and turn around a debt of $8.7b within four years.
Ms Lawler will also have to meet the ambitious goal set by Mr Gunner to create a $40b Territory economy by 2030.
Ms Lawler is also returning to her roots in education, having regained an old ministry.
The former teacher and Jingili Primary School principal, ran the education portfolio for two years from 2016 and is now set to return to the role.
The Education department has had five ministers over six years, having been handballed from Michael Gunner to Ms Lawler to Selena Uibo to Lauren Moss before being returned to Ms Lawler.
She retained the Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics and the Territory Development portfolios.
In a move that appears to separate industry from environment, Ms Lawler has lost her Climate Change, Water Security, Renewables and Energy and Environment portfolios.
Mark Monaghan: THE Fong Lim representative has been pushed into the spotlight in his new role as Speaker.
The former Government Whip will now face the challenge of keeping the often unruly parliamentary debate in line.
It is likely hoped his more visible role on the floor of parliament will help win back his Darwin electorate, which he held onto by a narrow 2.6 per cent majority in the 2020 election.
He replaces Ngaree Ah Kit who has moved into a cabinet role – albeit with some very minor portfolios.
Kate Worden:
Losers:
Joel Bowden: THE former-AFL star has been denied a spot in the cabinet line-up after not being given a single portfolio.
Deputy Speaker Joel Bowden was rumoured to have been garnering votes behind the scenes after Mr Gunner spectacularly stepped down from the top job.
It was heavily rumoured Mr Bowden sacrificed his Chief Minister challenge for an economic portfolio, aiming as high as the Treasury.
Yet when the new cabinet was announced the Left faction politician was left behind on the backbench, with not even a secure Speakers chair to ease the sting.
Nicole Manison: THE deputy Chief Minister, who was rumoured to have her eyes on the top job, has lost her star portfolio as Police Minister.
The critical Police portfolio has been handed over to Kate Worden, who is rumoured to have voted with the Left faction to install Natasha Fyles as Chief Minister.
As Police Minister, Ms Manison was a regular in Question Time as the Opposition peppered her with accusations of failing to address the Territory’s “crime crisis”.
The former Police Minister also faced criticism of the continued use of spit hoods, and low police morale and high attrition.
But for the representative of Wanguri, which covers Leanyer, Wanguri, Muirhead, Holmes and Buffalo Creek, losing the police portfolio may take some heat off her.
The Police Ministry is likely to come under some scrutiny following an ICAC investigation into the charges against Zachary Rolfe.
Ms Manison also lost the Defence portfolio to Ms Fyles but will take over the Chief Minister’s old Tourism and Hospitality portfolio.
Ms Manison will oversee economic industries ranging from cafes to industrial mining, keeping her role as the minister for Mining and Industry, Advanced Manufacturing and Northern Australia and Trade.
She has lost the Agribusiness and Aquaculture Ministry, which appears to have combined into a wider reaching Fisheries Ministry under Paul Kirby.
She has taken the Parks and Ranger portfolio from Selena Uibo.
She retains her deputy Chief Minister gig, and has repeatedly affirmed her support for Ms Fyles.
Selena Uibo: THE Territory’s most powerful woman for 2022 has lost her position as Attorney-General.
Selena Uibo has been removed from her position as the top legal authority in the Territory, after being ousted in the cabinet reshuffle.
Under her role as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Ms Uibo has overseen decisions heavily criticised by Aboriginal and community leaders, including the compensation cap for prisoners, youth justice reforms and changes to the bail act, her delays to raising the age of criminal responsibility and silence over spit hood use.
But her new roles, as Minister for Housing and Homelands, Aboriginal Affairsand Treaty, and Local Decision Making, may allow her to win back supporters in her marginal electorate.
Ms Uibo won her seat by a narrow 1.6 per cent margin in 2020, nearly losing Arnhem to independent candidate Ian Gumbula.
She will continue her work on the Aboriginal Justice Agreement, through her new ministries of Aboriginal Affairs, Treaty and Local Decision Making.
Chansey Paech has taken over as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, while Nicole Manison has nicked the Parks and Ranger portfolio.
But it is not all losses for Ms Uibo, with the Renewables and Energy Ministry landing in her hands.
As the Territory balances global mining interests and a push towards renewables this will be a pivotal role in the new ministry.
INITIAL 10AM MON MAY 23: CHIEF Minister Natasha Fyles has announced her new ministry.
Speaking Monday morning after the new nine-member Cabinet was sworn in by Administrator Vicki O’Halloran at Government House, Ms Fyles said the appointments were made based on involvement and ability.
“(It’s) a Ministry that will deliver stability for Territorians, will drive key projects but will also acknowledge the social challenges we face in the Northern Territory and work on solutions,” she said.
“I’ve got a great team, the porfolios have been allocated acknowledging people’s individual passions, but also the strength of us coming together as a team.”
While hoping the public health emergency phase “will end soon”, Ms Fyles acknowledged the nation was still in a pandemic and Covid case numbers were spiking in explaining her decision to keep Health.
New Minister Ngaree Ah Kit said being Speaker of the parliament helped prepare her for the front bench.
“I did see it as a bit of an apprenticeship,” she said.
“It gave me the opportunity to look at balancing both roles to deliver for the parliament and Territorians as well as continue to serve my electorate of Karama.”
NATASHA FYLES
Chief Minister
Health
Alcohol Policy
Major Projects
Defence
NICOLE MANISON
Deputy Chief Minister
Tourism and Hospitality
Parks and Rangers
Advanced Manufacturing
Mining and Industry
Northern Australia and Trade
EVA LAWLER
Treasurer
Education
Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics
Territory Development
LAUREN MOSS
Environment, Climate Change and Water Security
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Equality and Inclusion
Youth
Seniors
SELENA UIBO
Housing and Homelands
Renewables and Energy
Essential Services
Aboriginal Affairs
Treaty and Local Decision Making
PAUL KIRBY
Business, Jobs and Training
Agribusiness and Fisheries
Public Employment
Major Events
Veteran Affairs
KATE WORDEN
Police, Fire and Emergency Services
Territory Families
Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence
Sport
CHANSEY PAECH
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice
Leader of Government Business
Racing, Gaming and Licensing
Local Government
Arts, Culture and Heritage
Desert Knowledge Australia
NGAREE AH KIT
Corporate and Digital Development
International Education
Disabilities
Multicultural Affairs
Originally published as FULL LIST: Where it all started for NT government’s Cabinet ... and how it’s going
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