Natasha Fyles

Last updated

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
The Honourable
Natasha Fyles
MLA
FylesPortrait (cropped).png
Fyles in 2023
12th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
In office
13 May 2022  –21 December 2023
YearsTermElectoral divisionParty
2012 –2016 12th Nightcliff Labor
2016 –2020 13th Nightcliff Labor
2020 –present 14th Nightcliff Labor

Member for Nightcliff

In 2012 the incumbent Member for Nightcliff Jane Aagaard retired, and despite a swing against Labor at that year's election, the seat was retained for Labor by Fyles and she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly as the Member for Nightcliff.

Labor's massive landslide at the 2016 election saw Fyles consolidate her hold on the seat with a healthy swing of 18 percent, ballooning her majority to 26.9 percent, making Nightcliff the safest seat in the Territory. This majority is attributed to her tireless work ethic in the electorate. Fyles was reelected as the Member for Nightcliff in 2020 with a majority of 24.9 percent, retaining her mantle as holding the safest seat in the Northern Territory.

2016 election

Minister for Health

Labor went into the 2016 territory election as unbackable favourites, with Northern Territory opinion polls indicating a massive swing against the CLP. Labor won 18 seats in the 25-member Legislative Assembly. Fyles was reelected as the Member for Nightcliff and took on the portfolio of Health.

Attorney-General of the Northern Territory

Fyles served as the Attorney-General of the Northern Territory from 31 August 2016 to 7 September 2020. She was succeeded by Selena Uibo.

2020 election

Fyles was reelected as the Member for Nightcliff in 2020 holding the largest majority in any Northern Territory electorate. She has served as the Minister for Health in the Gunner ministry since 2016 and continues as the Northern Territory's Health Minister following the 22 August 2020 election, which saw the Labor government re-elected.

She was appointed as the Minister for National Resilience to work with the Australian federal government on making Darwin's highly-touted Howard Springs Quarantine Facility a ‘centre for national resilience’. This use of this facility is central to the repatriation of Australians stranded overseas due to COVID-19.

Fyles was the also the Leader of Government Business and the Minister for Alcohol Policy, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Minister for Major Events, and Minister for Racing, Gaming and Licensing.

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory

Chief Minister and Territory Labor leader Michael Gunner announced his resignation on 10 May 2022. Fyles was elected as party leader by the Labor caucus on 13 May 2022, and was sworn in as Chief Minister later that day. [5]

On 24 September 2023, Fyles was allegedly assaulted with a cream-covered pancake by a member of the public at the Sunday markets at Nightcliff. [8]

Undisclosed share controversy and resignation

In November 2023, it was revealed that Fyles held 169 shares in gas company Woodside Energy, attracting conflict-of-interest allegations due to Fyles' approval of fracking in the Beetaloo Basin and of a development of an industrial precinct at Middle Arm. Independent Senator for the Australian Capital Territory, David Pocock, called for further scrutiny of her share portfolio, using an existing Senate inquiry into the Middle Arm precinct. [9] Fyles defended her share holdings, stating that they had been declared for over a decade and that no conflict of interest was present. [9] [10] However, she later divested the shares, stating she wanted to 'end the distraction', [10] also claiming that she had declared any financial interests from the past decade. [9]

Despite her previous statements that she had declared all financial interests, in December 2023, it was revealed that she holds 754 undeclared shares in South32, a company that owns a manganese mine on Groote Eylandt. Fyles faced further conflict of interest allegations and calls to resign, due to Fyles' decision earlier in 2023 to not investigate health impacts from the Groote Eylandt mine, with Leader of the Opposition Lia Finocchiaro calling her actions a 'profound betrayal of public trust'. [11] [12] As a result of the controversy, Fyles resigned on 19 December 2023. [12] The next day, Fyles' treasurer, Eva Lawler, was announced as her successor, with Attorney-General Chansey Paech replacing Nicole Manison as Deputy Chief Minister. [13]

Political views

Fyles supports a woman's right to have an abortion. [14]

Fyles supports the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ Natasha Fyles, Territory Women, Northern Territory Library.
  2. 1 2 Green, Antony: Nightcliff, NT Votes 2012 (ABC)
  3. ↑ McCartney, Damien (13 December 2011). "Army of Olivers swamp baby names". Northern Territory News. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Crawford, Sarah (16 April 2012). "New ALP candidate for Nightcliff". Northern Territory News. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Natasha Fyles sworn in as Northern Territory Chief Minister, replacing Michael Gunner". ABC News. 13 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "Natasha Fyles named as new Northern Territory chief minister". The Guardian. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  7. ↑ Gibson, Jano (10 May 2022). "Chief Minister Michael Gunner's resignation has opened the door for a new Northern Territory leader". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  8. ↑ Morgan, Thomas (24 September 2023). "NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles allegedly assaulted with cream-covered pancake at Nightcliff Markets". ABC News. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "NT chief minister's shareholding in gas company Woodside attracts federal scrutiny". ABC News. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  10. 1 2 Brissenden, Neve (16 November 2023). "NT chief minister ditches controversial Woodside shares". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "NT chief minister Natasha Fyles under pressure to resign over alleged undisclosed shares worth $2,000". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 19 December 2023. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles resigns amid mounting pressure over leadership". ABC News. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "Eva Lawler named Northern Territory chief minister after Natasha Fyles resignation". The Guardian. 20 December 2023. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "Abortion decriminalised in Northern Territory after long campaign | Abortion | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com.
  15. ↑ Karp, Paul (31 January 2023). "State and territory leaders to sign joint statement backing Indigenous voice to parliament". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for Nightcliff
2012–present		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Attorney-General and Minister for Justice
2016–2020		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Health
2016–2023
Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
2022–2023		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Territory Labor Party
2022–2023		Succeeded by
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