John Leonard Ah Kit (22 July 1950 – 12 July 2020) was an Australian politician. He was the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member for

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

in 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 1995 to 2005.

Early life

Ah Kit was born on 22 July 1950 in

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

, the fifth child in a

Jawoyn The Jawoyn, also written Djauan, are an Australian Aboriginal people living in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Bagala clan are of the Jawoyn people. Language Jawoyn, known as Kumertuo, is a non- Pama–Nyungan language that belongs ...

family of 13. He moved with his family to Darwin in 1954. He attended Darwin and Parap primary schools and Darwin High School.

Biography

In 1983, he was elected to the Full Council of the Northern Land Council (NLC) representing Aboriginal people in the Katherine region. In 1984 he was appointed Director of the Northern Land Council from 1984 to 1990. He resigned in 1990 to contest the seat of Goyder for the Labor Party. He played an important role in 1991 in Jawoyn efforts to stop the mining of gold, palladium and platinum at Coronation Hill in 1991, Ah Kit was instrumental in the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

’ battle to prevent gold, palladium and platinum mining at Coronation Hill, the resting site of Jawoyn creator being Bula. Ah Kit was executive director of the Jawoyn Association from 1991 to 1995 before his election to parliament in a by-election following the resignation of

Wes Lanhupuy Wesley Wagner Lanhupuy (1 November 1952 – 26 October 1995) was an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Arnhem in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1983 until his resignation in 1995. He died shortly after the by ...

. He served as a minister in the first term of the

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

Government, a historical milestone as he was the first indigenous minister in the Territory's history. When elected to parliament, John Ah Kit became the ninth Indigenous parliamentarian in Australian history. While in parliament he held a number of portfolios: * Minister for Community Development * Minister for Housing * Minister for Local Government * Minister for Sport and Recreation * Minister for Regional Development * Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Indigenous Affairs Ah Kit retired in 2005 citing ill health. His daughter

Ngaree Ah Kit Ngaree Jane Ah Kit (born 4 June 1981; ) is an Australian former politician from the Labor Party. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electoral division of Karama in Darwin from 2016 to 2024. Early ...

was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2016. Ah Kit died at

Royal Darwin Hospital The Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) is a 360-bed Australian teaching hospital located in Tiwi, Northern Territory, Tiwi, a northern suburb of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory. It is part of the Top End Health Service, which co ...

on the evening of 12 July 2020, aged 69.

Awards

* 2007 National NAIDOC Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award – John (Jak) Ah Kit * Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa awarded by the Council of Charles Darwin University

References

1950 births 2020 deaths Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Indigenous Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Australian politicians of Asian descent {{Australia-Labor-NorthernTerritory-MLA-stub