Marion Scrymgour
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Marion Scrymgour MLA |
|
|---|---|
| 11th Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory | |
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In office 26 November 2007 – 8 February 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Syd Stirling |
| Succeeded by | Delia Lawrie |
| Member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for Arafura |
|
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In office 18 August 2001 – 6 August 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Maurice Rioli |
| Succeeded by | Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Marion Rose Scrymgour 13 September 1960 Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Other political affiliations |
Independent |
| Spouse(s) | David Dalrymple |
Marion Rose Scrymgour (born 13 September 1960) is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2012, representing the electorate of Arafura. She was the Labor Party Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from November 2007 until February 2009, and was the highest-ranked indigenous woman in government in Australia's history. She was also the first indigenous woman to be elected to the Northern Territory Parliament. (See: List of Indigenous Australian politicians)
Scrymgour, a senior minister under former Chief Minister Clare Martin, had a rapid rise within the party throughout the 2000s, and despite a reputation for outspoken views on indigenous issues, rose to become Deputy Chief Minister under Paul Henderson after the retirement of long-time deputy Syd Stirling in 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.
Scrymgour was born in Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. Her mother was a Tiwi Islander, and her father had been forcibly removed as a child from 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 and health economics. She subsequently served as director of the Wurli Wurlinjang Aboriginal Corporation, co-ordinated several trial community care programs around Katherine, and as Director of the Katherine West Health Board Aboriginal Corporation. Scrymgour was also an active member of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union, and had represented the union at the national conference of the Australian Labor Party.
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