NT Parliament makes history with election of First Nations Speaker and Deputy Speaker

THE NT Parliament has become the first in Australian history to elect a First Nations Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

New NT Parliament Speaker Chansey Paech and Deputy Speaker Ngaree Ah Kit are the first First Nations speakers in Australian political history.

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THE NT Parliament has become the first in Australian history to elect a First Nations Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

Namatjira MLA Chanston “Chansey” Paech and Karama MLA Ngaree Ah Kit were yesterday promoted to the roles of Speaker and Deputy Speaker following the resignation of independent Goyder MLA Kezia Purick.

Ms Purick resigned after a damning ICAC investigation found she had engaged in corrupt conduct.

She will continue to sit as an independent MLA and has signalled she will recontest the upcoming election.

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With only two sitting days left before the August 22 election, Mr Paech and Ms Ah Kit’s promotion and pay rise could be short-lived.

Based on NT Parliament’s schedule of entitlements, Mr Paech’s salary will be bumped up by $40,000 to $150,810 a year, while Ms Ah Kit will enjoy a pay rise of $12,000 a year.

Mr Paech said he was “honoured” to be the first Aboriginal Speaker of an Australian parliament and wasted no time laying down the law.

“I say from the onset that during my time as the Speaker I will have a low tolerance for interjections,” he said before the start of Question Time.

Born and raised in Alice Springs, Mr Paech is of Eastern Arrernte and Gurindji descent on his mother’s side.

He is also the youngest MLA of the NT’s 13th Assembly, at just 33 years of age.

He was a councillor in Alice Springs for four years before making the move to Territory politics.

Apart from a year living and working in Darwin under the previous Labor government, he has spent his entire life in Alice Springs.

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Upon his election in 2016, he became the first openly gay Aboriginal MLA in Australian history.

He has opted to contest the seat of Gwoja at the upcoming election following the electoral redistribution.

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