Jeffrey David Collins (born 27 October 1961) is an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of the Northern Territory) is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member ...

from 2016 to 2020, representing the electorate of Fong Lim. He was member of the governing Labor Party, but was one of three MPs excluded from the Labor caucus on 21 December 2018 over alleged criticism of the government, and resigned from the party on 8 February 2019 to sit as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. In March 2020 he joined the

Territory Alliance Territory Alliance (TA) was an Australian political party based in the Northern Territory. It was founded in 2019 by Terry Mills, an incumbent member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and former Chief Minister of the Northern Territo ...

as its second MP.

Early life and career

Collins was an electrician and a firefighter before gaining a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and a law degree at the

University of Technology, Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a technical institution can be traced back t ...

. He worked as a senior solicitor at Colin Biggers & Paisley, and as a barrister for Edmund Barton Chambers in Sydney. He moved to Darwin in 2012, working as a special counsel with Clayton Utz and then with Ward Keller. He was treasurer of the Law Society NT and a member of the National Human Rights Committee of the Law Council of Australia. He has four children living in NSW.

Politics

Collins joined the ALP in mid-1980s. He was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 2016 in the electoral division of Fong Lim, previously held by

Dave Tollner David William Tollner (born 31 January 1966) is an Australian politician. He was the Country Liberal Party member for Solomon in the Australian House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007, and then served in the Northern Territory Legislative Ass ...

, who did not recontest after losing preselection for the new safer seat of Spillett. The seat had been significantly redistributed before the election, losing all of its area near Palmerston and all but erasing the Country Liberal majority. Amid the CLP's collapse in Darwin at that election, Collins won the seat for Labor on a swing of over eight percent. In 2017, Collins chaired a Select Committee on Opening Parliament to the People which resulted in a fundamental change to the way bills passing through the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly were scrutinised. Also in 2017, Collins travelled to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

to undertake a study of the 2001 Portuguese Drug Strategy, and became a vocal proponent of the harm minimisation approach to drug laws. In March 2020, Collins joined the

, citing its "ideology-free" nature and stating: "What I am interested in is being part of the next government in an effective manner that helps policy development, and legislation development and passage, that benefits all of the territory".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Jeff 1961 births Living people Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Independent members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Territory Alliance members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians University of Sydney alumni