Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
What position did Terry Mills (Australian politician) take from Aug 2012 to Feb 2014?
Terry Mills ( Australian politician ) Terence Kennedy Mills ( born 22 December 1957 ) is an Australian politician who is the founder and leader of the Territory Alliance . He served as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2012 to 2013 as a member of the Country Liberal Party ( CLP ) . Mills , who had been the principal of a Christian school , was first elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1999 , representing the seat of Blain . He was CLP leader and leader of the opposition from 2003 to 2005 , but was replaced before contesting an election . He returned to the leadership in 2008 , gaining seven seats at the 2008 election and then forming a majority government after the 2012 election . He spent less than a year as chief minister before being replaced by Adam Giles following a leadership spill . Mills resigned from the Legislative Assembly in 2014 , but successfully recontested his former seat at the 2016 election as an independent . In 2019 he announced the formation of a new party , the Territory Alliance . He was joined by two other incumbent MLAs in early 2020 , allowing the Alliance to surpass the CLP as the second-largest party in the Legislative Assembly . Mills lost his seat at the 2020 general election . Early life . Mills was born in Geraldton , Western Australia , and lived in the agricultural town of Mullewa for a time with his parents , Bernard and Patricia . He was educated at St Patricks College , Geraldton ( now Nagle Catholic College ) , before moving to Perth and gaining a Diploma of Education at the Western Australian College of Advanced Education . In 1983 , he commenced teaching at a private school in Perth , and in the same year married Roslyn Matilda Serich . They had one son and one daughter . In 1989 , the family moved to the Northern Territory , where Mills became principal of a Christian school . Political career . Mills joined the Country Liberal Party in the 1990s , and in a 1999 by-election , was elected to the seat of Blain in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly . Initially , he served as Chairman of Committees . In 2001 , following the defeat of the Country Liberal government , he assumed the shadow portfolios of Youth Affairs , Education , Employment and Training , and Sport and Recreation . On 14 November 2003 , he replaced Denis Burke as Leader of the Opposition , and assumed the portfolios of Shadow Treasurer , Asian Relations and Trade , Territory Development , Railways , Racing and Gaming . He resigned on 4 February 2005 to be replaced by Burke , who subsequently lost the 2005 election and his own seat . Mills himself suffered a 9.5 percent swing amid the massive Labor wave that swept through the Territory . He was left as the only CLP member from Palmerston , an area that has historically been a CLP stronghold . He was the only CLP member holding a Darwin-area seat in the Legislative Assembly , and one of only two CLP members from the Top End . Mills served as deputy opposition leader to Jodeen Carney for three years . On 29 January 2008 , however , Mills asked Carney if she was willing to swap posts with him , with Mills taking over as leader and Carney electing to become a back bencher . Carney turned the proposal down and instead called for a leadership spill . The vote was tied at two votes for Carney and two votes for Mills . Carney , taking a cue from the action of former Australian prime minister John Gorton in 1971 , announced that a tie vote was not a vote of confidence and resigned . Mills then took the leadership unopposed on a second vote . At the August 2008 election , the CLP increased its representation to 11 seats ( from four in the old parliament ) , regaining much of what it had lost in its severe beating of three years earlier . This rose further in 2012 when Labor-turned-independent MP Alison Anderson , with Mills encouragement , joined the CLP . Chief Minister . At the 2012 general election , the CLP won government on a four-seat swing , primarily due to a large swing in remote Aboriginal areas which had historically supported Labor . Mills was sworn in as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory on 29 August 2012 . When Mills was in opposition in 2011 , he stated his support for an audit of the Northern Territory finances , saying that [ an audit ] will be the start of a new era of transparency in government expenditure . However , after coming into power he changed his mind on the issue . In February 2013 , following a large swing to Labor in the Wanguri by-election , canvassing took place within the CLP to gauge support for a challenge to Mills from his Attorney-General , John Elferink . Lacking the support of key MLAs , Elferink ruled out a challenge and offered his resignation to Mills , which was declined . In early March , Mills was unsuccessfully challenged by Health Minister Dave Tollner , who was sacked from Mills cabinet after a six-and-a-half-hour party meeting . A little over one week later , on 13 March 2013 , Mills , who was overseas at the time , was ousted by Transport Minister Adam Giles in an 11–5 vote of his partys parliamentary caucus . Following the leadership change , Tollner was promoted from the back bench to Deputy Chief Minister . Mills could have refused to resign as chief minister , however , was not aware of the procedures surrounding handing in commission of office . Resignation . Mills resigned from Parliament on 20 February 2014 , which triggered the 2014 Blain by-election . Giles appointed Mills as the Territorys commissioner to Indonesia and ASEAN . When Giles was nearly ousted as Chief Minister by Mills former deputy , Willem Westra van Holthe , in February 2015 , Mills tweeted a picture of himself laughing in delight , prompting Giles to sack him . 2016 independent comeback . Mills announced on 7 August 2016 that he had resigned from the CLP and would seek to regain his former seat of Blain as an independent at the 2016 election . He likened the Giles government to a car accident , saying , At the scene of an accident , one has a moral obligation to render assistance . Mills finished six points behind Labor candidate and former federal MP Damian Hale on the primary vote , pushing the CLP into third place . He narrowly overtook Hale on CLP preferences , allowing him to return to the legislature after a nearly two-year absence . Mills joined his original Deputy Chief Minister , Robyn Lambley , on the crossbench ; Lambley had left the CLP in 2015 , but easily won reelection as an independent . Ironically , at the same election at which Mills retook his old seat as an independent , the man who had rolled him as Chief Minister , Giles , became the second Majority Leader/Chief Minister to lose his own seat . In October 2018 Mills announced the planned formation of the North Australia Party . He planned to become the opposition in the Northern Territory parliament after the collapse of the CLP vote left them with only 2 members in parliament . Claim to Opposition Leadership . On 18 March 2020 , Mills claimed to be the Leader of the Opposition , after Territory Alliance became the largest non-government party when former CLP and then independent MLA Robyn Lambley joined the party . On 24 March 2020 , Mills presented a Shadow Ministry and was referred to as Opposition Leader by Government MLAs , but his claim to Opposition status had not been formalised by the Legislative Assembly . Later that day , CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro successfully moved a motion to declare the Opposition Leadership vacant and hold a ballot to determine it . Most Labor members abstained on voting in the ballot , and Finocchiaro won the ballot 5 votes to 3 , and was confirmed as Opposition Leader , with most Labor MLAs present not voting . Despite Territory Alliance being denied official Opposition status , Mills as Territory Alliance leader took part in the leaders debate with Finocchiaro and Labor Chief Minister Michael Gunner at the 2020 election . This marks the first time anywhere in Australia that a leaders debate included a third participant . At the 2020 election , Mills was pushed into third place on the primary vote and was eliminated . However , his preference flowed about 62% to the CLP and 38% to the ALP which was enough to elect Labors Mark Turner who had led the field on the primary vote .