Marion Scrymgour

Marion Scrymgour MP
Member of theAustralian ParliamentforLingiari
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 May 2022
Preceded by	Warren Snowdon
Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
In office 26 November 2007 – 8 February 2009
Preceded by	Syd Stirling
Succeeded by	Delia Lawrie
Member of theNorthern Territory Legislative Assembly forArafura
In office 18 August 2001 – 6 August 2012
Preceded by	Maurice Rioli
Succeeded by	Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu
Personal details
Born	Marion Rose Scrymgour (1960-09-13)13 September 1960 Darwin,Northern Territory, Australia
Political party	Labor
Other political affiliations	Independent(2009)
Spouse	David Dalrymple

Marion Rose Scrymgour(born 13 September 1960) is an Australian politician and the currentmember of parliament(MP) for thefederal seat of Lingiari.She was a member of theNorthern Territory Legislative Assemblyfrom 2001 to 2012, representing the electorate ofArafura.She was theLabor PartyDeputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from November 2007 until February 2009, and was the highest-rankedIndigenous Australianwoman in government in Australia's history. She was also thefirst Indigenous womanto be elected to the Northern Territory legislature.

Scrymgour, a senior minister under former Chief MinisterClare Martin,had a rapid rise within the party throughout the 2000s, and despite a reputation for outspoken views on Indigenous issues, rose to becomeDeputy Chief MinisterunderPaul Hendersonafter the retirement of long-time deputySyd Stirlingin 2007. She had a controversial term as Education Minister under Henderson, and was shifted to the Attorney-General portfolio in February 2009, in a move widely seen as a demotion. Several days later, she resigned from Cabinet and as Deputy Chief Minister, citing "health reasons". Scrymgour remained on the Labor backbench until June 2009, when she resigned from the Labor Party over its stance on remote Indigenous communities. She sat in the Legislative Assembly as an independent, and held the balance of power; Labor had held only a one-seat majority before her departure. On 4 August 2009, Scrymgour rejoined the ALP.

Early life and education

Scrymgour was born on 13 September 1960 inDarwin,the capital of theNorthern Territory.She is the daughter of Claire (néeMollomini) and Jack Scrymgour.Her mother was aTiwi Islander,and her father had beenforcibly removed as a childfrom his home in Central Australia.

Scrymgour attended primary and secondary school in Darwin, but initially decided against tertiary education, working in several office administration positions. She later undertook correspondence courses as a mature age student in book-keeping, accounting, administration andhealth economics.

She subsequently served as director of the Wurli Wurlinjang Aboriginal Corporation, co-ordinated several trial community care programs aroundKatherine,and as Director of the Katherine West Health Board Aboriginal Corporation.Scrymgour was also an active member of theLiquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union,and had represented the union at the national conference of the Australian Labor Party.

Northern Territory political career

Early career

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly

Years	Term	Electoral division	Party
2001–2005	9th	Arafura		Labor
2005–2008	10th	Arafura		Labor
2008–2012	11th	Arafura		Labor
2009	Changed allegiance to:			Independent
2009–2012	Changed allegiance to:			Labor

Scrymgour contested and won Labor preselection for the Legislative Assembly seat ofArafura,after the retirement ofMaurice Rioli.The seat was considered safe for Labor, and she was re-elected with a lesser majority, due to the presence of two high-profile independent candidates on the ballot. In winning the seat, she became the first Indigenous women to be elected to the Legislative Assembly.

Scrymgour was promoted to the ministry underClare Martinon 17 December 2003, as part of a reshuffle caused by the sacking of Health MinisterJane Aagaard.She was assigned the portfolios of Family and Community Services and Environment and Heritage, and in doing so, became Australia's firstAboriginalwoman cabinet minister.

As Minister for Family and Community Services, Scrymgour was tasked with responding to the issues ofsubstance abuseanddomestic violence.She chaired a select committee into substance abuse, and was the relevant minister during the roll-out of non-sniffable Opal fuel across remote Indigenous communities. She was shifted to a new portfolio after the2005 election,being appointed Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts. After a further reshuffle in August 2007, she retained Arts and Museums, regained Family and Community Services and was made Minister for Child Protection. She also oversaw planned changes to the territory's heritage laws, which created a heritage council to protect important sites, as already exists in several states.

Scrymgour developed a reputation for outspoken views on Indigenous issues during her second term. She clashed with her own party on the issue of theMacArthur River Minein 2006, and joined three other Indigenous MPs in crossing the floor to oppose the mine's expansion. She made national news in late 2007 when she publicly condemned the federal government's intervention into Indigenous communities, theNorthern Territory National Emergency Response,labelling it "a vicious new McCarthyism."

Deputy Chief Minister to Independent

Scrymgour in 2009

Chief MinisterClare Martinresigned in November 2007 after having lost the support of her caucus, and was replaced byPaul Henderson.The newly elected Henderson appointed Scrymgour as his deputy, which was considered a surprise choice at the time. On 24 December 2007 Scrymgour spent several hours at theemergency departmentofRoyal Darwin Hospitalundergoing treatment for "an emotional and physical collapse".In January 2008 Scrymgour was appointed ActingChief Minister of the Northern Territorywhile the incumbent Paul Henderson was on holiday, becoming the first Aboriginal government leader in Australian history. She served for two weeks.

Scrymgour had taken on the education portfolio upon her ascension to Deputy Chief Minister, but had been regularly criticised in the press for her performance, particularly after her controversial sacking of the head of the territory's Education Department in 2008. This culminated in Henderson's decision in February 2009 to remove Scrymgour from the portfolio, shifting her to the less politically difficult Attorney-General role. The following week, Scrymgour resigned from Cabinet and as Deputy Chief Minister, citing recurring problems with depression caused by the death of her father.

On 1 June 2009, Scrymgour publicly opposed the Government on its announced policy of concentratingIndigenousdevelopment in 20 larger communities and discouraging "homeland" or "outstation"settlement, which she labelled as insulting. She said that she realised while recovering from surgery that she had lost touch with her constituents, and that" I feel strongly because we have lied toAboriginalpeople ". On 4 June, after a significant degree of speculation in the media, she resigned from the Labor Party, reducing it to minority government.

On 4 August 2009, after the defection of another minister,Alison Anderson,Scrymgour announced that she would rejoin the Labor Party.

Other roles and activities

After working for theAustralian Red Crossin 2013–2014, Scrymgour returned to Wurli Wurlinjang Aboriginal Corporation as its CEO. In December 2013 she was elected as Chairperson of theAboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory.

In November 2013, Scrymgour was awarded an honorary doctorate in Health Sciences by theUniversity of Sydney,the first Aboriginal recipient of such an honour from the Faculty of Health Sciences.

In March 2019, Scrymgour was appointed CEO of theNorthern Land Counciland became the first woman CEO of anyland councilin the Northern Territory.

Federal politics

In March 2021, Scrymgour was preselected as theLaborcandidate for thefederal seat of Lingiariin the2022 federal electionafter Labor incumbentWarren Snowdonannounced he would not stand for re-election.She won the seat by a narrow margin from Country Liberal candidate Damien Ryan.

See also

• List of Indigenous Australian politicians

External links

• Members of the Legislative Assembly: Marion Scrymgour,at the Northern Territory Parliamentary web page
• Scrymgour, Marion RoseatThe Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia