Jack Ah Kit

Jack Ah Kit
Jack Ah Kit
Member of the Parliament of the Northern Territory for Arnhem
	In office; 7 October 1995 – 16 June 2005
Preceded by	Wes Lanhupuy
Succeeded by	Malarndirri McCarthy
Personal details
Born	John Leonard Ah Kit; 22 July 1950; Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Political party	Labor Party
Domestic partner	Gail Canendo
Children	Ngaree Ah Kit

John Leonard Ah Kit (born 22 July 1950)[1] is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Arnhem in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 2005.

Early life

Ah Kit was born on 22 July 1950 in Alice Springs. He was the fifth child in a family of 13 and moved with his parents to Darwin in 1954. He attended Darwin and Parap primary schools and Darwin High School.[2]

Career

In 1983, he was elected to the Full Council of the Northern Land Council (NLC) representing Aboriginal people in the Katherine region. In 1984 he was appointed Director of the Northern Land Council from 1984 to 1990. He resigned in 1990 to contest the seat of Goyder for the Labor Party.[2]

He was Executive Director of the Jawoyn Association from 1991 to 1995 before his election to parliament in a by-election following the sudden death of Wes Lanhupuy. He served as a minister in the first term of the Martin Government, a historical milestone as he was the first indigenous minister in the Territory's history. When elected to parliament, John Ah Kit became the ninth Indigenous parliamentarian in Australian history.[3]

While in parliament he held a number of portfolios:

Minister for Community Development
Minister for Housing
Minister for Local Government
Minister for Sport and Recreation
Minister for Regional Development
Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Indigenous Affairs[3]

Ah Kit retired in 2005 citing ill health.[4] His daughter Ngaree Ah Kit was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2016.

Awards

2007 National NAIDOC Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award – John (Jak) Ah Kit
Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa awarded by the Council of Charles Darwin University[2]

References

http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/bitstream/handle/10070/76143/140205_Bio_Ah_Kit_John.pdf?sequence=2
"Honorary Awards John Ah Kit" (PDF). Charles Darwin University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
"Biographic details: John Ah Kit, MLA for Arnhem" (PDF). Territory Stories. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
Green, Antony (2008). "Retiring MPs". 2008 Northern Territory Election. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 October 2010.

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Wes Lanhupuy	Member for Arnhem 1995–2005	Succeeded by Malarndirri McCarthy

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] ttp://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/bitstream/handle/10070/76143/140205_Bio_Ah_Kit_John.pdf?sequence=2

[CDU-2] "Honorary Awards John Ah Kit" (PDF). Charles Darwin University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2015.

[Territory-3] "Biographic details: John Ah Kit, MLA for Arnhem" (PDF). Territory Stories. Retrieved 19 July 2015.

[4] Green, Antony (2008). "Retiring MPs". 2008 Northern Territory Election. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 October 2010.