23 Facts About Chansey Paech

Chanston James "Chansey" Paech is an Australian politician.

Chansey Paech is a Labor Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2016, representing the electorate of Namatjira until 2020 and Gwoja thereafter.

Chanston James Paech was born in 1987 in Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Chansey Paech's mother is Aboriginal, of the Arrernte and Gurindji peoples, and his father of German descent.

Chansey Paech is the great-great-grandson of Central Australian pioneer, Topsy Smith, and the great-great nephew of bushman Walter Smith.

Chansey Paech is the only openly gay male MP in the NT Legislative Assembly, and before entering politics, he was a prominent LGBT rights activist.

Chansey Paech was educated in Alice Springs and participated in many youth programs, including the inaugural National Indigenous Youth Parliament.

Chansey Paech went on to study at Charles Darwin University in the fields of environmental and land management, conservation, and horticulture.

Chansey Paech was elected to the Alice Springs Town Council in 2012.

Chansey Paech was sworn in as the Northern Territory Attorney General in May 2022 and committed to overhauling the Northern Territory's Justice and Correctional systems, in October 2022 Chansey Paech introduced a suite of laws raising the age of criminal responsibility and reforming adult mandatory sentencing.

Chansey Paech introduced a suite of amendments to the Northern Territory's anti-discrimination laws to give better protections for vulnerable people and minority groups.

In February 2022, Chansey Paech, having responsibility for the Northern Territory's sacred sites legislation, tabled a decision in Northern Territory parliament to reject an application to expand the controversial McArthur River mine.

Chansey Paech opposed the federal Morrison Government for failures to deliver remote housing on homelands and town camps.

Chansey Paech has condemned the Northern Territory Emergency Response, commonly known as the Intervention, and the succeeding Stronger Futures policy.

Chansey Paech was preselected as the Labor candidate for Namatjira for the 2016 Territory election.

However, Anderson, who had served under four banners during her tenure endorsed Chansey Paech as her successor; she is a longtime Indigenous activist, and retained substantial goodwill in the area.

Chansey Paech was made Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees.

Chansey Paech is the first openly gay Indigenous MP in Australia.

In June 2020, Chansey Paech was elected Speaker of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, making him the first Aboriginal and openly gay speaker of an Australian Parliament, replacing Kezia Purick, who resigned after findings of corrupt conduct against her by the Northern Territory Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.

Chansey Paech believed this made Namatjira impossible to hold and ran for re-election in neighbouring Gwoja, winning easily.

Chansey Paech resigned as Speaker in September 2020 to join the Gunner Ministry as Minister for Local Government; Minister for Central Australia Economic Reconstruction; Minister for Remote Housing and Town Camps; Minister for Indigenous Essential Services; and Minister for Arts and Culture.

In May 2022, Chansey Paech was sworn in as the Northern Territory Attorney General; Leader of Government Business; Minister for Racing, Gaming and Licensing; Minister for Arts and Culture and Minister for Local Government in the Fyles Ministry.

Chansey Paech is a member of the Labor Party's Left faction.