Natasha Fyles
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Natasha Kate Fyles (born 26 May 1978)Natasha Fyles
''Territory Women'', Northern Territory Library.
is an Australian politician and the 12th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory. She lives in Darwin, Northern Territory. A member of the Territory Labor, she was elected to the seat of
Nightcliff Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. History Although the origin of the name Nightcliff has always been surrounded by conjecture and controversy, the naming can be tracked back to 8 September ...
in 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 ...
at the 2012 Northern Territory election.Green, Antony
Nightcliff
''NT Votes 2012'' (ABC)
Prior to her election, Fyles trained as a teacher at the
University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...
, and has worked as a physical education teacher and swimming coach. She is married to Paul Archbold and has two children. Fyles was part of Labor’s landslide victory in the 2016 Northern Territory election and was reelected as the member for Nightcliff in the 2020 election holding the largest majority in the Northern Territory. Fyles is currently the Minister for Health, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Minister for Racing, Gaming and Licensing, Minister for Alcohol Policy, Minister for Major Events, Minister for the National Resilience Centre and Leader of Government Business. Following
Michael Gunner Michael Patrick Francis Gunner (born 6 January 1976) is an Australian politician and was the 11th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2016 to 2022. He is a Labor member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, having held his ...
's resignation from the role of Chief Minister on 10 May 2022, Fyles was elected as his replacement by the Labor caucus on 13 May 2022.


Early life and career

Fyles was born in Darwin in 1978 at the old Darwin hospital and grew up in the Northern suburbs. She completed her teaching degree at the
University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...
and then returned to Darwin, teaching at St Mary’s Primary School for five years and was actively involved in School Sports NT during this time. After travelling and working overseas she returned to the Territory as Executive Director of Royal Life Saving Society NT delivering water safety programs across the Territory in both urban and remote centres in the Northern Territory and also in the neighbouring Republic of Timor- Leste. Natasha joined the Australian Labor Party in 1993. She is aligned with
Labor Left The Labor Left, also known as the Progressive Left or Socialist Left, is political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It competes with the more economically liberal Labor Right faction. The Labor Left operates autonomously in each s ...
.


Early political career


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 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 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 Michael Patrick Francis Gunner (born 6 January 1976) is an Australian politician and was the 11th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2016 to 2022. He is a Labor member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, having held his ...
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.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fyles, Natasha 1978 births 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian Labor Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Australian schoolteachers Attorneys-General of the Northern Territory Chief Ministers of the Northern Territory Living people Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly People from Darwin, Northern Territory University of Canberra alumni Women members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Labor Left politicians