Key Points
- NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles' replacement has been announced, with Eva Lawler set to step into the top job.
- Attorney-General Chanston Paech will be her deputy.
- Fyles resigned on Tuesday in the wake of two separate conflict of interest scandals involving undeclared shares.
Eva Lawler is set to be sworn in as the next Northern Territory chief minister after Natasha Fyles was ousted over integrity issues.
Lawler released a statement late on Wednesday confirming she would be the next NT leader, eight months out from the territory election.
Attorney-General Chanston "Chansey" Paech will be her deputy, officially ousting former deputy Nicole Manison from the leadership race.
"This afternoon the territory Labor Caucus met, unanimously deciding that the Member for Drysdale Eva Lawler will be chief minister," the statement reads
Manison, who was the only candidate to publicly nominate, has been moved to the backbench.
"We thank Nicole for her hard work over the last seven years in cabinet, and the work that she has put into growing the Territory's jobs and economy," the statement said.
Manison will continue as the member for Wanguri.
Throughout Lawler's tenure she has held the education, environment and infrastructure portfolios.
The former teacher first entered the NT legislative assembly in 2016, elected in the seat of Drysdale in Palmerston in Darwin's outskirts.
Paech holds the Indigenous Affairs portfolio and also entered parliament in 2016 in the seat of Namatjira.
"As a little kid running usually barefoot around Alice Springs, I never dreamed that one day I'd be Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory," Paech said in a post on Facebook.
The former Alice Springs councillor is the only openly gay male in NT parliament.
Northern Territory Attorney-General Chanston Paech will become Lawler's deputy. Source: AAP / Aaron Bunch
Fyles resigns in wake of shares scandals
Fyles was spectacularly brought down as leader on Tuesday after revelations she held undisclosed shares in a remote manganese mine, while also refusing to investigate its potential health impacts.
It was just the latest in a string of integrity issues facing the chief minister and health minister, who departs after only 18 months in office.
"It was an error on my behalf and I don't have any excuse for that,'' Fyles said when announcing her resignation.
"It was not deliberate, it was not intentional but it's unacceptable."
Fyles resigned after two separate scandals involving undeclared financial holdings. Source: AAP / Glenn Campbell
Earlier in 2023, Fyles said the government would not investigate air pollution levels or health impacts after residents raised concerns over manganese dust in the community.
In November she was forced to divest shares in Woodside after media and federal politicians called into question potential conflicts of interest, in particular the government's large-scale expansion of the NT gas industry.
Rapid turnover of state and territory leaders continues
Fyles is the third state or territory leader in Australia to resign in as many months and the fourth to step down in 2023.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in early December, following Victorian premier in late September.
Mark McGowan in May. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr is the nation's only leader whose time in office predates the COVID-19 pandemic.
