Chief Minister of the Northern Territory

Last updated

Chief Minister of the
Northern Territory
Northern Territory Coat of Arms.svg
Flag of the Northern Territory.svg
Lia Finocchiaro Profile.jpg
Incumbent
Lia Finocchiaro
since 28 August 2024
Department of the Chief Minister
Style The Honourable
Status Head of government
AbbreviationCM
Member of
Reports to Parliament
Seat Darwin, Northern Territory
Appointer Administrator of the Northern Territory
by convention, based on appointee's ability to command confidence in the Legislative Assembly
Term length At the Administrator's pleasure
contingent on the chief minister's ability to command confidence in the house of Parliament
Constituting instrumentNone (constitutional convention)
Formation19 October 1974 as Majority Leader
1 July 1978 as chief minister
First holder Goff Letts as Majority Leader
Paul Everingham as chief minister
Deputy Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
SalaryA$325,392 [1]
Website www.chiefminister.nt.gov.au

The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier. When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government was officially known as majority leader. This title was used in the first parliament (1974–1977) and the first eighteen months of the second. When the Northern Territory acquired limited self-government in 1978, the title of the head of government became chief minister with greatly expanded powers, though still somewhat less than those of a state premier.

Contents

The chief minister is formally appointed by the administrator, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whichever party holds the majority of seats in the unicameral Legislative Assembly. In times of constitutional crisis, the administrator can appoint someone else as chief minister, though this has never occurred.

Since 28 August 2024, following the 2024 Northern Territory general election, the chief minister is Lia Finocchiaro of the Country Liberal Party. She is the fourth female chief minister of the Northern Territory.

History

The Country Liberal Party won the first Northern Territory election on 19 October 1974 and elected Goff Letts majority leader. He headed an Executive that carried out most of the functions of a ministry at the state level. At the 1977 election Letts lost his seat and party leadership. He was succeeded on 13 August 1977 by Paul Everingham (CLP) as Majority Leader. When the Territory attained self-government on 1 July 1978, Everingham became chief minister and his Executive became a Ministry.

In 2001, Clare Martin became the first Labor and female chief minister of the Northern Territory. Until 2004 the conduct of elections and drawing of electoral boundaries was performed by the Northern Territory Electoral Office, a unit of the Department of the chief minister. In March 2004 the independent Northern Territory Electoral Commission was established.

In 2013, Mills was replaced as chief minister and CLP leader by Adam Giles at the 2013 CLP leadership ballot on 13 March to become the first indigenous Australian to lead a state or territory government in Australia. [2]

Following the 2016 election landslide outcome, Labor's Michael Gunner became chief minister; he was the first Chief Minister who was born in the Northern Territory. On 10 May 2022, Gunner announced his intention to resign. [3] On 13 May 2022, Natasha Fyles was elected to the position by the Labor caucus. [4] On 19 December 2023, Fyles resigned following controversy over undeclared shares in mining company South32. [5] On 21 December 2023, Eva Lawler replaced Fyles by a unanimous decision of the Labor caucus.

List of chief ministers of the Northern Territory

From the foundation of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974 until the granting of self-government in 1978, the head of government was known as the majority leader:

No.PortraitName
Electoral division
(Birth–death)
ElectionTerm of officePolitical partyExecutiveAdministrator
Term startTerm endTime in office
1 Goff Letts.jpg Goff Letts
MLA for Victoria River
(1928–2023)
1974 19 October
1974
12 August
1977
2 years, 297 days Country Liberal Letts Jock Nelson
(1973–1975)
None
(1975–1978)
2 Paul Everingham.jpg Paul Everingham
MLA for Jingili
(born 1943)
1977 13 August
1977
30 June
1978
321 days Country Liberal Everingham
John England
(1978–1981)

From 1978, the position was known as the chief minister:

No.PortraitName
Electoral division
(Birth–death)
ElectionTerm of officePolitical partyMinistryAdministrator
Term startTerm endTime in office
1 Paul Everingham.jpg Paul Everingham
MLA for Jingili
(born 1943)
1 July
1978
15 October
1984
6 years, 106 days Country Liberal Everingham John England
(1978–1981)
1980
Eric Johnston
(1981–1989)
1983
2 Ian Tuxworth cropped portrait.jpg Ian Tuxworth
MLA for Barkly
(1942–2020)
16 October
1984
13 May
1986
1 year, 209 days Country Liberal Tuxworth
3 Stephen Hatton Potrait.jpg Stephen Hatton
MLA for Nightcliff
(born 1948)
14 May
1986
12 July
1988
2 years, 59 days Country Liberal Hatton
1987
4 Marshall Perron - Library & Archives NT (PH0730-1372).jpg Marshall Perron
MLA for Fannie Bay
(born 1942)
13 July
1988
24 May
1995
6 years, 315 days Country Liberal Perron
James Muirhead
(1989–1993)
1990
Austin Asche
(1993–1997)
1994
5 Shane Stone (cropped).jpg Shane Stone
MLA for Port Darwin
(born 1950)
25 May
1995
7 February
1999
3 years, 258 days Country Liberal Stone
1997
Neil Conn
(1997–2000)
6 Denis Burke in 2001.jpg Denis Burke
MLA for Brennan
(born 1948)
8 February
1999
27 August
2001
2 years, 200 days Country Liberal Burke
John Anictomatis
(2000–2003)
7 Clare Martin in 2001.jpg Clare Martin
MLA for Fannie Bay
(born 1952)
2001 27 August
2001
26 November
2007
6 years, 91 days Labor Martin
Ted Egan
(2003–2007)
2005
Tom Pauling
(2007–2011)
8 Paul Henderson in 2001.jpg Paul Henderson
MLA for Wanguri
(born 1962)
26 November
2007
28 August
2012
4 years, 276 days Labor Henderson
2008
Sally Thomas
(2011–2014)
9 Terry Mills in 2005 (cropped).jpg Terry Mills
MLA for Blain
(born 1957)
2012 29 August
2012
13 March
2013
196 days Country Liberal Mills
10 Adam Giles Portrait 2015.jpg Adam Giles
MLA for Braitling
(born 1973)
14 March
2013
30 August
2016
3 years, 169 days Country Liberal Giles
John Hardy
(2014–2017)
11 Michael Gunner shakes hands with Adm. Harry Harris (cropped).jpg Michael Gunner
MLA for Fannie Bay
(born 1976)
2016 31 August
2016
13 May
2022
5 years, 255 days Labor Gunner
Vicki O'Halloran
(2017–2023)
2020
12 FylesPortrait (cropped).png Natasha Fyles
MLA for Nightcliff
(born 1978)
13 May
2022
21 December
2023
1 year, 222 days Labor Fyles
Hugh Heggie
(since 2023)
13 EvaLawler2023cropped.jpg Eva Lawler
MLA for Drysdale
(born 1962)
21 December
2023
28 August 2024251 days Labor Lawler
14 Lia Finocchiaro Profile.jpg Lia Finocchiaro
MLA for Spillett
(born 1984)
2024 28 August 2024Incumbent9 days Country Liberal Finocchiaro

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Country Liberal Party</span> Northern Territory political party

The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP), commonly known as the Country Liberals, is a centre-right and conservative political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In territory politics, it operates in a two-party system with the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It also contests federal elections as an affiliate of the Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia, the two partners in the federal coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Tuxworth</span> Australian politician (1942–2020)

Ian Lindsay Tuxworth was an Australian politician, who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory of Australia from 17 October 1984 until his resignation on 10 May 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Perron</span> Australian politician

Marshall Bruce Perron is a former Australian politician, who was a Country Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Territory from the formation of the Assembly in 1974 until his resignation in 1995. For the last 20 years, save for an 11-month break in 1986 and 1987, he served as a cabinet minister or its equivalent. From 1988 to 1995, Perron was the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Territory Legislative Assembly</span> Legislative house of the unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory

The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory of Australia. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member electorates for four-year terms. The voting method for the Assembly is the full-preferential voting system, having previously been optional preferential voting. Elections are on the fourth Saturday in August of the fourth year after the previous election, but can be earlier in the event of a no confidence vote in the government. The most recent election for the Legislative Assembly was the 2020 election held on 22 August. The next election is scheduled for 24 August 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral division of Nightcliff</span> Australian electorate

Nightcliff is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1974, and takes its name from the suburb of the same name. Nightcliff is one of the smallest electorates in the Territory, covering only 4.28 km² and taking in the Darwin suburb of Nightcliff, most of Rapid Creek and a small area of Coconut Grove. There were 5,621 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Everingham</span> Australian politician

Paul Anthony Edward Everingham is a former Australian politician who was the head of government of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1977 to 1984, serving as the second and last Majority Leader (1977–1978) and the first Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 1978 to 1984. He represented the northern Darwin seat of Jingili in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1984. He was then elected to the federal House of Representatives, representing the Northern Territory between 1984 and 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 Northern Territory general election</span>

A general election was held in the Northern Territory on Saturday 13 August 1977. Though the election was won by the incumbent Country Liberal Party (CLP), the party lost five of its seven executive members. Surprisingly, one of the casualties was Majority Leader Goff Letts—one of the few instances where a major-party leader at any level in Australia lost his own seat. The election also marked the emergence of the Labor Party as a parliamentary force: Labor took six seats in the new assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goff Letts</span> Australian politician (1928–2023)

Godfrey Alan "Goff" Letts was the Majority Leader of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1974 to 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Mills (Australian politician)</span> Australian politician

Terence Kennedy Mills is an Australian politician. He served as chief minister of the Northern Territory from 2012 to 2013 and was leader of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) from 2003 to 2005 and 2008 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Giles</span> Australian politician

Adam Graham Giles is an Australian former politician and former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (2013–2016) as well as the former leader of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament. Giles is the first Indigenous Australian to serve as a head of government in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Gunner</span> Australian politician

Michael Patrick Francis Gunner is an Australian former politician who was the 11th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2016 to 2022. He was a Labor member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, holding the seat of Fannie Bay in Darwin from the retirement of then Chief Minister Clare Martin at the 2008 election until his resignation in July 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Northern Territory general election</span>

The 2016 Northern Territory general election was held on Saturday 27 August 2016 to elect all 25 members of the Legislative Assembly in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lia Finocchiaro</span> Australian politician (born 1984)

Lia Emele Finocchiaro is an Australian politician who has served as the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory since August 2024. A member of the Country Liberal Party (CLP), she has represented the seat of Spillett in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since her election in 2016. Following the resignation of Gary Higgins on 1 February 2020, she became the Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Territory. Prior to this, she served as the member for Drysdale from 2012 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natasha Fyles</span> Australian politician

Natasha Kate Fyles is an Australian politician and former teacher who served as the 12th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory and Minister for Health. She was the leader of the Northern Territory branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from May 2022 until her resignation in December 2023. She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the division of Nightcliff from 2012 until her defeat at the 2024 election. She previously served as 22nd attorney-general of the Northern Territory and the territory’s minister for Justice from 2016 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Lawler</span> Australian politician

Eva Dina Lawler is an Australian politician. She was the chief minister of the Northern Territory from 2023 to 2024, holding office as the leader of the Territory Labor Party. She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2016 to 2024, representing the electorate of Drysdale until her defeat at the 2024 Northern Territory general election. Before becoming chief minister she held ministerial office in the governments of Michael Gunner and Natasha Fyles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Northern Territory general election</span>

The 2020 Northern Territory general election was held on 22 August 2020 to elect all 25 members of the Legislative Assembly in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament.

The Letts Executive was the executive of Majority Leader of the Northern Territory Goff Letts, who led the Northern Territory from the implementation of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974 until his defeat in his own seat at the 1977 election. It was the first ministry to come from the Legislative Assembly. He was the only head of government of the Northern Territory not to assume the title of Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, as self-government was not granted until 1978. His governments did not have anywhere near the range of powers available to Territory governments after the granting of self-government, but nevertheless fulfilled similar functions. Letts' successor as Majority Leader and his one-time deputy, Paul Everingham, became the first Chief Minister in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Territory Labor Party</span> Northern Territory branch of the Australian Labor Party

The Territory Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch) and commonly referred to simply as Territory Labor, is the Northern Territory branch of the Australian Labor Party. It has been led by Selena Uibo, the first Aboriginal woman to lead a major political party in Australia, since 3 September 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Northern Territory general election</span>

The 2024 Northern Territory general election was held on 24 August 2024 to elect all 25 members of the Legislative Assembly in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament. Members were elected through full preferential instant-runoff voting in single-member electorates. The election was conducted by the Northern Territory Electoral Commission (NTEC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Fannie Bay by-election</span> By-election in Northern Territory, Australia

A by-election in the seat of Fannie Bay in the Northern Territory was held on 20 August 2022, following the resignation of Michael Gunner, the MLA for Fannie Bay and former chief minister, on 27 July 2022. Early voting started on Monday 8 August.

References

  1. Tyeson, Cam (1 June 2021). "Here's How Much Every State Premier Gets Paid If You Wanna Get Boomer-Tier Mad About Yr Taxes". Pedestrian. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  2. "Mills dumped as Giles takes top Territory job". ABC News. 13 March 2013.
  3. "Michael Gunner resigns as NT Chief Minister to spend more time with family, newborn". ABC News. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  4. "Northern Territory Chief Minister revealed after shock resignation of Michael Gunner". ABC News. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  5. Cox, Lisa; Press, Australian Associated (19 December 2023). "NT chief minister Natasha Fyles resigns after failing to disclose mining shares worth $2,000". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 21 December 2023.