Christopher William Natt (born 9 December 1952) is a former Australian politician and Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as t ...

(SANFL).

Football career

A ruckman, Natt played 216 games for Port Adelaide between 1972 and 1983. He won two premierships with Port Adelaide in 1980 and 1981. Following his retirement from football, Natt coached local teams in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

before moving to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

to take up the position of Chief Executive Officer of the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

Politics

In 2005, Natt ran for the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly 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 f ...

as the Labor Party candidate in the

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...

electorate of Drysdale at the 2005 Territory election. He faced extremely daunting odds on paper. Palmerston had long been reckoned as a

Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP) is a centre-right political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In local politics it operates in a two-party system with the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It also contests federal ...

stronghold; Labor had never won a Palmerston-based seat in the history of the Legislative Assembly. The sitting CLP member, Stephen Dunham, held it with a majority of 15.7 percent, making it the CLP's third-safest seat. However, in a result that no one even anticipated, Natt defeated Dunham after recording a two-party swing of 17.5% towards him. Even more surprisingly, Natt won enough votes on the first count to take the seat off the CLP without the need for preferences. Following his election, Natt was immediately named to the cabinet as Minister for Mines and Energy. A redistribution ahead of the 2008 Northern Territory election wiped out Natt's majority, making Drysdale a notional CLP seat. In that election, Drysdale reverted to form as Natt was heavily defeated by CLP challenger

Ross Bohlin Ross Oscar Charles Bohlin is a former Australian politician. He was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, and held his seat of Drysdale from his defeat of sitting Labor member Chris Natt at the 2008 ...

Personal life

Natt's brother Greg also played football for Port Adelaide.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Natt, Chris 1952 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) Australian chief executives Australian sportsperson-politicians 21st-century Australian politicians