Ms Fyles is a former teacher and 43-year-old mother of two. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
After former NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner declared his resignation earlier this week, Ms Fyles was unanimously voted as his successor.
The Labor caucus made the decision on Friday with Ms Fyles revealing that the sudden announcement was “a bit of a shock, but it’s an absolute privilege”. She’s now the 12th Chief Minister of the NT after Mr Gunner spent almost six years in the position.
“I’m a territory girl through and through. I’ve put my hand up to serve because I love this place. I want to work every day to make it better, she said in a press conference.
“I will hit the ground running. I’ve proven to Territorians that I can work incredibly hard and I can balance that commitment that I have with a family.”
Ms Fyles joined the Labor party in 1993 and before that was a teacher at St Mary’s Primary School for five years. In 2012 she became the Member for Nightcliff and in 2016 was elected as the NT Minister for Health while also serving as NT Attorney-General until 2020.
On her appointment she said, “when I was standing on the sidelines at soccer last week out at Bagot oval, I certainly didn’t expect the week to end this way”. Ms Fyles has two children.
It was thought after Mr Gunner’s resignation that the successor would be his deputy Nicole Mansion however this was not the case. Although from different sides of politics, Ms Mansion issued praise for the new NT Chief Minister.
“You have got somebody who loves this place, who is committed to the Northern Territory, who is tenacious, hard-working, determined and she is going to make a huge difference,” she said.
Her former boss Mr Gunner stood down from the position citing that his heart is no longer in job and that a hectic two years in the pandemic took its toll.
“I can no longer keep looking Terrortians in the eye and say, ‘I can keep giving 100 per cent every day’, and if I can’t do that I shouldn’t be in the chair”, he said in a press conference.
He also said the birth of his second son was another reason to leave.
“When I held Nash for the first time, that was it, game over. I knew straight away that I was done”.
