Namatjira MLA Chansey Paech has this week been elected as the first Indigenous Speaker of an Australian Parliament.
He replaces the NT's previous Speaker, Kezia Purick, who resigned on Tuesday after a report by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption found she had engaged in corrupt conduct.
Mr Paech, 33, was previously Deputy Speaker — a role he took on in 2016 when elected to Parliament to represent Namatjira in Central Australia.
In his maiden speech in 2016 he declared: "I am the nation's first openly gay, Indigenous parliamentarian.
"I am eternally proud of who I am and where I come from, I own and wear it with pride."
Mr Paech said it was an honour to now be elected to the Speaker position — the NT's most senior parliamentary role — and he hoped it would inspire young Aboriginal kids growing up in remote communities across the NT to chase their dreams.
"It sends a strong message for our young kids, growing up, you have to believe in yourself and know that these are options for you in the future," Mr Paech said.
"Regardless of your race, regardless of your orientation — the possibilities are endless in the Northern Territory."
Ngaree Ah Kit the deputy speaker
Member for the Darwin seat of Karama, Ngaree Ah Kit, was also elected as the NT's new deputy speaker on Tuesday — the first time in history two Aboriginal people have held the positions in an Australian Parliament.
Ms Ah Kit was born and bred in the Territory, and has Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander as well as Chinese heritage.
"We'd love to see other Aboriginal representatives heading up to Parliament," the 39-year-old Deputy Speaker said.
"I worry that this will never occur anywhere else across Australia and I really hope Australians prove me wrong."
Politics runs in the Ah Kit family. Ms Ah Kit's father Jack spent 10 years in the NT Parliament.
"I feel proud, honoured, but it's a little scary," she said.
"It's something that we need to take very seriously."
The Territory 'a leader in many ways'
Mr Paech and Ms Ah Kit will hold the NT's most senior parliamentary positions until the Territory election on August 22.
After that, if re-elected, they may be reinstated as speaker and deputy speaker.
Mr Paech, who has Eastern Arrernte and Gurindji links, will contest the seat of Gwoja in the upcoming election, after a recent redistribution saw Namatjira become a predominantly urban seat.
"The Northern Territory is always a leader in many ways, and we've got so many things to be proud of," the Speaker said.
"And we add to that list today that we are proud of have a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker who are Aboriginal.
"But the Northern Territory Assembly has had an Aboriginal member of Parliament since its inception in the mid 1970s, and that's something that we are incredibly proud of."
