NT News’ Most Powerful list 2024: Numbers 120-101 named
It’s that time of the year again, Territorians. The NT News has compiled the cream of the crop of Territorians who are working hard for the betterment of our community. SEE THE LIST.
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It’s that time of year again, Territorians.
Welcome to the first installation of the 120 Most Powerful list of 2024.
We have compiled the cream of the crop of Territorians who are working hard for the betterment of our community.
Last year was one for the books for the NT; we saw crisis levels of crime leading to curfews in Alice Springs, celebrated our strong women at the inaugural Woman of the Year awards, and had an election that resulted in a sweeping change of government.
Read on to see who made the cut, starting off with 120-101.
120. Baker Boy
Widely regarded as one of the Territory’s most influential figures, award-winning Yolngu rapper, dancer, artist and actor Danzal Baker – better known as Baker Boy – has yet again shown why he is regarded as such.
He took a giant leap in 2024 by featuring in a single by American Pop rock band Imagine Dragons titled Take Me to the Beach. The band average about 58 million listeners per month on Spotify.
Earlier in the year, the local talent released his new single, King, and headlined Blaktivism 2024, a one-night-only concert featuring First Nations living legends and rising voices.
Baker Boy’s social media status continued to climb over the year, with the influencer accumulating more than 105,000 Instagram followers, 61,700 followers on TikTok and 363,000 monthly Spotify listeners.
119. Natasha Fyles
Replacing Lawson Broad as chief executive of Somerville will be no mean feat, even for a former Chief Minister.
The seven-year veteran in the role relocated to Sydney late last year, with Natasha Fyles replacing him in December 2024 in the coveted community services position after a competitive recruitment process that included at least two of her former Labor government colleagues.
In the larger states, former jurisdictional leaders would usually be offered board positions or some such sinecure, but few similar opportunities exist in the Territory.
Unlike the three chief’s before her, Fyles has stayed in the Territory.
Lawson Broad changed Somerville’s operational model from a housing, homelessness and financial counselling provider to delivering disability services and supported living.
Ms Fyles will now have a clean canvas onto which she can leave her own impression at the crucial community service provider.
118. Chansey Paech
He headed into 2024 as one of the Territory’s most powerful politicians, but after a landslide election loss, Chansey Paech, despite retaining his Gwoja seat, made a swift descent down the rungs of the Most Powerful 120 list.
The former Deputy Chief Minister has fallen to 118th position after placing 20th in 2023 and 2nd in 2022.
But not all was bad for Mr Paech, the former Attorney-General was one of four Labor MLAs to retain his seat in the 2024 NT election.
Mr Paech is now the shadow minister for about 11 different portfolios.
117. Mick Burns
If the producers of the axed Netflix series Territory want a change from dust and cattle, they could do worse than base a storyline around crocodile king Mick Burns.
A Territorian since 1981, he was originally a colourful NT copper before moving into hospitality and then pioneering the untapped business of crocodile farming.
He has teamed with French fashion label Hermes and others to supply top-shelf Territory leather.
Burns farms about 70,000 saltwater crocodiles across the Top End, and earlier this year hired a 100-tonne crane to deliver massive saltie Bullo to Crocosaurus Cove in Mitchell Street, which he helped develop two decades ago.
His big 2024 business play was divesting The Cavenagh Hotel, which he’s had since the early 2000s.
“I’ve had it for a long time and it’s time to move on,” he said when the sale was finalised.
116. Joel Bowden
Over the past two years, Joel Bowden’s position on the Most Powerful list has gone a bit like a footy match: He started strong, gained a lead but eventually fumbled the ball.
The former Johnston MLA and Richmond Footballer, Mr Bowden, who climbed from 79 to 56 in 2023, has dropped to spot 116 in 2024.
Mr Bowden in March 2024 faced harsh criticism from protesters who had urged him to revoke Defence Housing Australia’s permit to clear Lee Point for development.
The protesters claimed Mr Bowden had the “power to revoke” the permit.
In August, Mr Bowden was “asked to leave” Eaton polling booth for boisterous behaviour as voters turned up for pre-polling.
Although once considered a potential competitor for the Territory’s top leadership position, Mr Bowden in the 2024 NT election instead saw him ousted by Independent candidate Justine Davis in a staggering defeat that saw him come in third place.
Mr Bowden has since returned to his previous position as general manager of the NT Trades and Labour Council, a position he held for two years prior to being elected in 2020, according to his LinkedIn.
115. Thijs Bors
Sportsbet NT Operations and Partnerships Manager Thijs Bors has snagged a spot in the NT News’ Most Powerful list after he oversaw a massive year in the country’s richest fishing competition.
In April, on the final day of Season 9 of the Million Dollar Fish competition, Mr Bors oversaw the competition’s first ever million dollar winner.
In October at the start of Season 10, about $176k was paid out to anglers and Cancer Council NT, which Mr Bors also oversaw.
Mr Bors, who was not on 2023’s list, was born in the Netherlands, grew up in New Zealand and moved to Australia in 2005.
He joined Sportsbet NT in 2013 and moved through the ranks to become the NT Operations and Partnerships Manager in 2022.
114. Dr Albert Foreman
A visit to the Nakara surgery of 93-year-old Territory doctor Albert Foreman is like a trip back in time – except for the quality of care the ear nose and throat specialist delivers, which is thoroughly modern.
His walls are full of the memorabilia of a life interestingly lived, much of it in the service of Territorians – but also from exotic locations around the world.
He was 40 when he entered medicine, training in Papua New Guinea after working for years as a civil engineer building infrastructure like roads, towers and suburbs that are still used to this day.
He arrived here with the Commonwealth Department of Works in 1957 and executed high-profile projects like the Ludmilla subdivision, the Parap water tower and supervising unexploded bomb in Darwin Harbour.
His work took him to the Barkly and Alice Springs and even more exotic locations including Swaziland, Tanzania, Israel and India.
His surgery is open five days a week, and he is one of Australia’s oldest practising doctors.
A 2017 OAM went some way to honouring the achievements and contribution of this Northern Territory treasure.
113. Tom O’Neill-Thorne
In a sporting sense there are few Territory names that have accomplished as much as O’Neill-Thorne has in the past couple of years.
When it comes to the court there are few that can match his skills.
O’Neill-Thorne led the Darwin Salties to their second consecutive NWBL title last year, and it couldn’t have been anyone but him to sink the winning shot with seconds left on the clock.
That final was the type of scenario he thrives on and is why he has been a mainstay of the national side since breaking through in the 2014 World Championships.
He often takes his trade overseas to mix it with the best in the world, but when he’s back home he, alongside Clarence McCarthy-Grogan, helps teach the next generation the ins and outs of the sport.
112. Rob McPhee
Rob McPhee has proven a steady hand as chief executive of Danila Dilba for another year, inching forward in the rankings.
In 2024, Mr McPhee hosted a Timor Leste delegation to discuss potential solutions to the small island’s health struggles.
Conversations jumped from chronic understaffing, poverty, geographic barriers and dependency on other jurisdictions to accept referrals.
Mr McPhee told the Timor Leste delegates the heart of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health model was that it was “community-driven, they are run by the community.”
“They’ve got Indigenous populations who face very similar sorts of health issues to what we do here,” he said.
“Often they [the Aboriginal health practitioner] will know the family or they’ll be able to understand the circumstances of that individual, so it creates this whole lot of understanding right at the beginning of the process, and I think that’s what we can share with a place like Timor Leste.”
The Danila Dilba Health Service in February also received $3.3m for its new Darwin Healing and Recovery Service from the NT government and NT Primary Health Network.
111. Rebecca Bullen
As Darwin’s first and only female distiller, Rebecca Bullen has been a familiar face in the Territory hospitality scene.
Ms Bullen opened her first venue, Stone House Wine Bar and Kitchen, in 2016 and later founded Charlie’s of Darwin and Darwin Distilling.
Charlie’s of Darwin was named in the Top 20 bars to visit in the world in 2021.
In 2024, she, along with a handful of Top End businesses, combined to deliver a world-first tourist experience to the NT known as Heli-foraging.
Under the collaboration, parties of up to six fly by helicopter from Darwin Airport to Finiss River Lodge to search for the ‘botanicals’ used to flavour Darwin Distilling Co’s gin.
Bullen said she hoped the collaboration would draw attention to the NT.
“I think if we offer a unique experience like this, the world will want to come and experience Darwin,” she told this masthead.
“They want to experience the wonderful landscapes of the NT, and I think this will be on everyone’s to do list.”
Ms Bullen also represents the NT on the Australian Distillers Association and is chair of the Liquor Accord committee.
110. Patrick Moran
Chicago born and Iowa educated, Patrick Moran has lived in Darwin for a decade, working on policy with then Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro before responding to a call late last year to fill the vacant chief executive officer role with NT Live Exporters Association.
Through no fault of his, Moran joined the organisation at a challenging time, following a year without executive leadership after previous chief executive Tom Dawkins and chairman Ken Vowels were ‘disappeared’ from the organisation without explanation early last year.
The lack of Ceo leadership was particularly stark when it was left to the NT Cattlemen Association’s Will Evans to deal with everything from a biosecurity threat that closed four export facilities to an outbreak of botulism on a boat an Indonesian-bound vessel that would normally have been the purview of exporters.
Regarded as a diligent operator with a broad interest in the Territory – he serves on the AFL tribunal and has undertaken other non-profit work – Moran is charged with restoring relevance to the once influential industry body.
109. Donna Ah Chee
Donna Ah Chee’s role as chief executive of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress continued to be an important one in 2024.
As a strong advocate for Aboriginal health, Ms Ah Chee has consistently pushed for policies addressing social determinants of health and severe workforce shortages.
She was named as the recipient of the 2024 Menzies Medallion, the highest award offered by the Menzies School of Health Research.
The proud Budjalung woman was also awarded the Excellence in Rural/Remote Health Administration award at the National Rural and Remote Health Awards in November.
A credit to her achievements and advocacy, she was a finalist in the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards for the Northern Territory.
She retains her place at 107.
108. Hugh Heggie
He’s been at the top and at the bottom, but regardless of where he ends up the Northern Territory’s administrator finds a way on to the most powerful list.
The former chief health officer was the most powerful man during the Covid pandemic is now the NT’s 23rd Administrator.
Dr Heggie, alongside his wife Ruth, are a constant friendly face at countless functions and events as he takes chance after chance to get involved with the NT community.
Upon being appointed he said he would fill the role with “compassion and love” and it’s clear he’s still over the moon to get out and about to the community as much as possible.
The job has a three-year term in total, with a possible two year extension, and covers statutory, civic and ceremonial responsibilities.
Dr Heggie remains a campaigner for Indigenous health and is remembered for the role he played in helping keep the region safe during the pandemic.
107. Di Stephens
Dianne Stephens’ professional biography speaks for itself.
She graduated from University of Melbourne Medical School in 1988, specialising in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine.
She moved to Darwin in 1998 as the Territory’s first ICU specialist and as inaugural Director of Royal Darwin Hospital Intensive Care Unit, which she led until 2016.
Over almost three decades in the Territory, her expertise has broadened to include sepsis, melioidosis, critical illness, renal disease, Indigenous health and disaster medicine.
In 2016 she took her family to Fiji for a sabbatical year teaching ICU medicine through Fiji National University.
The following year she returned to Darwin as medical director at the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre, drawing on her disaster medicine experience with the Bali bombings, deployment into Iraq with the RAAF and working through Cyclone Winston in Fiji.
She led the NT’s medical response to Covid-19 and in recent years the successful push to found a stand-alone NT medical school – the first ever – in conjunction with CDU and Menzies School of Medicine.
Funding was finally announced last year for the school after much umming and ahing by the Commonwealth, and is expected to accept its first intake of 20 students in 2026.
106. Elizabeth Morris
The Chief Judge of the Local Court has remained a constant feature in the most powerful list, but has seen a fall in the rankings this time around.
Ms Morris in October fined Parks Australia $200,000 after a walkway was constructed against the advice of traditional owners, exposing a sacred men’s site to the public.
She said not only were the sacred rock artworks visible to the public, but it exposed women and children to the site Jawoyn leaders believed would cause them harm.
A month later, a controversial leaked email revealed a directive approved by Ms Morris, which stated any bail applications in the Alice Springs Local Court not finalised by 3pm would be marked as “not reached and adjourned.”
Prior to her appointment to the Local Court, Ms Morris served as executive director of racing, gaming and licensing, Department of Justice deputy chief executive and as deputy coroner.
As Territory courts brace for an expected record-breaking number of cases after tough on crime reforms put an ‘unsustainable’ pressure on the justice system, all eyes are on Ms Morris.
NT courts expect to see more than 22,000 criminal and domestic violence cases by the end of the 2024-25 financial year, an additional 3394 cases compared to 2023-24.
105. Grahame Webb
The Territory’s resident crocodile expert has again featured among the most powerful.
A zoology researcher and croc extraordinaire, Grahame Webb is a powerful environmental voice among Territorians.
The founder of Crocodylus Park and long-time reptile has made a huge contribution to crocodile management in the NT over the years.
But after a relatively quiet 2024, Mr Webb has climbed up a few rungs from last year’s 27 spot.
104. Dan Richards
Humpty Doo Barra chief executive Dan Richards’ influence can only grow in 2025.
Late 2024, Mr Richards was appointed as a member of the NT government’s Approvals Fast Track Taskforce, a team comprising of eight members and chaired by NT Property Council president Mark Garraway.
The task forces will work on “identifying reforms that can pave the way for a stronger NT economy, driving business growth and unlocking investment opportunities for local businesses”, according to a post by Mr Richards on his LinkedIn.
“I look forward to contributing to this important work and bringing my insights as a local business owner to the task force,” he stated.
Humpty Doo Barra sells between 100-110 tonnes of stock a week, almost exclusively to Australian buyers.
Local outlets selling the product include Wharf One, The Hilton, Shenanigans, The Beachfront, Pink Chopstix, Saffrron, Madame Za and Snapper Rocks.
103. Jason Schoolmeester
With more than a quarter of a century experience in the NT Public Service, Schoolmeester has survived several changes of government, where many others have not.
A Certified Practising Accountant, his first government gig was in the dying days of last century when he was appointed principal analyst, financial management reforms with NT Treasury.
He was made a senior policy officer with the chief minister’s department in 2010 and then when the CLP ousted Labor in 2012, he was appointed major projects director and then executive director of economic development.
He was made Major Projects Commissioner by Michael Gunner in a high-profile 2021 announcement and when the CLP swept Labor aside last year and dumped the commissioner’s model, he was appointed to a general manager’s role with the Office of Territory Co-ordinator.
His fingerprints are all over a number of major NT projects including the Alice Springs to Darwin railway, the Darwin Marine Supply Base and the Northern Gas Pipeline.
He was born in and is now raising a family in the Northern Territory.
102. Cath Hatcher
Despite straying further from the top 100, Cath Hatcher has never shied away from advocating for health care workers in the Territory.
As the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation NT branch secretary, Ms Hatcher, along with other health care workers, in April protested the potential toxic health risks of the Middle Arm gas and green energy development.
“The Northern Territory has the highest rates per capita of respirator and cardiac diseases as well as the most preterm births and neonatal deaths … “It is an undeniable fact that poor air quality will intensify these issues,” Ms Hatcher said.
“As it stands, our health system is not coping – at the beginning of this year we had 444 full time equivalent nurse and midwife positions vacant.”
And throughout the year she actively advocated for frontline workers who were constantly “doing it tough”.
“They (specialty roles in the emergency department, intensive care unit and renal centres) are doing the hardest to make sure that every patient is accurately looked after and getting all their needs, and they’re exhausted and they’re tired,” Ms Hatcher said in May.
101. Mark Furlotte
Mark Furlotte migrated from the freezing cold of Canada to the balmy climes of the Northern Territory to head Glencore’s McArthur River Mine operation in late 2022.
Before that he headed Glencore’s zinc division from Ontario, Canada and for seven years was general manager of the conglomerate’s Matagami Mine in Quebec.
A metallurgical engineer by profession, he committed the company to protecting cultural heritage and environmental management at the mine to ensure “McArthur River stays healthy and the fish are safe to eat”.
The company was last year in court for illegally working at a “barramundi dreaming” site without proper Aboriginal Area Protection Authority approvals, a legacy issue Furlotte inherited when he took up the role.
Opened by then Prime Minister Paul Keating in 1995, the 30-year-old zinc mine is expected to play a key role in Australia’s energy transition, with the resource essential in the manufacture of everything from road signs to sunscreen to wind turbines.
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