Natasha Griggs

Natasha Louise Griggs (born 24 January 1969) is an Australian former politician and the administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories from 2017 to 2022.[1]

Natasha Griggs
Griggs in 2014
Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories
In office
5 October 2017 – 4 October 2022
MonarchsElizabeth II
Charles III
Governors-General
Preceded byBarry Haase
Succeeded bySarah Vandenbroek (acting)
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Solomon
In office
21 August 2010 – 2 July 2016
Preceded byDamian Hale
Succeeded byLuke Gosling
Personal details
Born
Natasha Louise Griggs

(1969-01-24) 24 January 1969
Adelaide, South Australia
Political partyLiberal
Other political
affiliations		Country Liberal
SpousePaul Griggs
Children1
Residence(s)Palmerston, Northern Territory
Alma materNorthern Territory University
OccupationPolitician

Griggs was first elected at the 2010 federal election as a member of the House of Representatives for the division of Solomon, representing the Country Liberal Party.[2] She sat with the Liberal Party in federal parliament.[3] She was re-elected at the 2013 federal election, but lost her seat to Labor candidate Luke Gosling at the 2016 federal election.[4]

Background

Griggs was born in Adelaide,[5] moved to the Northern Territory when she was four weeks old and attended primary and secondary schools in Alice Springs before moving to Darwin in 1987 to complete a Bachelor of Business at the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University).[6]

She started her working life in the Northern Territory government in the IT sector. Before her election to public office she had a career in both the Government and private sectors, holding both senior project and business manager positions.[7] In 2002 Griggs was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, undergoing six months of intensive treatment. She beat the illness and returned to work. She remains an advocate for charities and NGO's focused around cancer prevention, research and treatment.[7] Beyond this, Griggs has long been a prominent advocate for community and non-profit organisations, raising $30,000 and being named the Territory's leading fundraiser in 1992.

Griggs stood as an Alderman in 2008 and won election to the Palmerston City Council, during which she was elected by her colleagues to the position of deputy mayor.[7]

Political career
Griggs in 2011

In 2009 she won Country Liberals pre-selection for Solomon, the marginal Labor seat that had been held by Damian Hale since the 2007 election. At the 2010 election, she won with a two-party-preferred margin of 1.75 percent from a 1.94 percent swing. She therefore became the first opposition member in the seat's history.[8] She became the first female member of the House of Representatives to represent the Northern Territory.[9] She also sat with the Liberal Party in federal parliament. During her first term she opposed the construction of a nuclear waste facility in the Northern Territory arguing that science, and not politics, should determine its location.[10]

Griggs also campaigned strongly against the removal of houses from RAAF Base Darwin,[11] championed the need for on-going support for Defence Force personnel returning home from deployment overseas and gained bi-partisan support to have 19 February, Bombing of Darwin Day, declared a National Day of Observance.[12]

Between 2010 and 2013 Griggs was a member of three parliamentary committees: the House of Representatives Standing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Committee, the Joint Standing National Capital and External Territories Committee and the Joint Select Australia's Immigration Detention Network Committee.[13]

Griggs was re-elected with a reduced two-party margin of 1.4 percent at the 2013 election as the Coalition won government. Griggs remained a backbencher.

Griggs was one of the founding members of Riding for the Disabled NT.[14] She is Patron of SIDS and Kids NT.[15]

Griggs was a supporter of Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister Tony Abbott and supported the latter in the party's leadership spill against him in September 2015.[16] After Abbott was ousted and replaced by Malcolm Turnbull in the spill, Griggs said that Turnbull now had her loyalty as she was "very loyal" to her leader, and "it doesn't matter who the leader is".[17]

2016 election

Griggs made national headlines two weeks out from the 2016 election after physically taking exception to being filmed on a smartphone at a public local community event. The footage, widely published since, showed Griggs approaching the smartphone user and appearing to act in what was described as a "hostile" and "aggressive" manner, telling the smartphone user to "don't video me!" shortly before appearing to make direct contact with the owner's device which was reported to have hit the ground. Griggs claimed that she was the victim of a "union set-up."[18][19][20]

A MediaReach seat-level opinion poll in Solomon of 513 voters conducted 22−23 June during the 2016 election campaign unexpectedly found Labor heavily leading the Liberals 61–39 on the two-party vote from a large 12.4 percent swing.[21]

At the election, Griggs was heavily defeated by her 2013 Labor opponent, Luke Gosling, at the 2016 election held on 2 July, with Gosling defeating Griggs on a 56–44 two-party vote from a 7.4 percent swing—in both cases, historic Solomon records.[22][23]

The federal election came at a very bad time for the CLP government in the Territory, whose reputation had suffered from a series of cabinet reshuffles—including multiple leadership spills. As it turned out, Griggs' defeat foreshadowed the CLP's massive defeat at the 2016 Territory election. The CLP suffered a near-meltdown in the Darwin/Palmerston area—which is virtually coextensive with Solomon—losing all but one seat there.

Indian Ocean Territories

Griggs was appointed the Administrator of the Territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands on 5 October 2017.[24] In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Griggs declared a state of emergency in the territories on 18 March 2020. Entry was only allowed for local residents and essential staff, and a self-isolation period of 14 days was required for any arrivals.[25]

Personal life

Griggs lives in Palmerston with her husband Paul.[14][26][27]

References
  1. Manicaros, Ashley (4 September 2017). "Natasha Griggs to become Australia's first female Administrator to Christmas Island and Cocos Island". Northern Territory News. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  2. "Solomon Results NT- Darwin and Palmerston". ABC Elections.
  3. "Scullion hopes to retain Aboriginal portfolio". Alice Springs News. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  4. "Solomon - Australia Votes | Federal Election 2016 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  5. Biography for GRIGGS, Natasha Louise, Parliament of Australia.
  6. "Natasha Griggs". Country Liberals. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  7. About Natasha Archived 27 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Natasha Griggs MP.
  8. "House of Representatives Division First Preferences: Solomon". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  9. "Maiden Speech". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  10. "Category: | NT News".
  11. "Natasha Griggs MP Adjournment Debate of RAAF Base Eaton 12th March 2013". YouTube.
  12. "Bombing of Darwin | Natasha Griggs MP". Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  13. Mrs Natasha Griggs MP, Parliament of Australia.
  14. "About Natasha | Natasha Griggs MP". Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  15. "Red Nose Australia -".
  16. "Liberal MP hits out, says 'get a life' after revelations of Abbott's 'Monkey Pod' gatherings". Illawarra Mercury. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  17. "Abbott supporter Natasha Griggs not aiming for ministry in Turnbull-led Government". ABC News. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  18. 'Don't video me': Natasha Griggs confronts protesters (27-second high-resolution video) - ABC 18 June 2016
  19. CLP candidate Griggs in mobile phone incident with unionists: ABC 18 June 2016
  20. Government MP filmed in 'aggressive' phone event: SBS 18 June 2016
  21. An independent poll shows Solomon MP Natasha Griggs will struggle to retain her seat at the federal election: NT News (News Ltd) 27 June 2016
  22. Solomon, NT - Tally Room: Australian Electoral Commission Archived 12 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  23. "Northern Territory residents turn out to vote in federal election". Northern Territory News. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  24. "Administrator's role". Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  25. "Coronavirus—travel ban". Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  26. "Cops banned from posing with pollies" (PDF). 12 June 2010.
  27. "House debates Thursday, 27 February 2014". My husband, Paul, and I have known Terry for many years and consider him a very good friend
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