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Peter Howard Toyne (born 25 January 1946) is a former
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n politician. He was a Labor Party 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 1996 to 2006, representing the rural electorate of
Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...
. He served as Attorney-General under
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
Clare Martin Clare Majella Martin (born 15 June 1952) is a former Australian journalist and politician. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won ...
, and for some years was occasionally tipped as a potential successor to Martin. He resigned from the ministry and from parliament in August 2006, citing health reasons. Toyne was born and raised in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
. He initially spent time as a professional athlete, twice coming third in the
Stawell Gift The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short-distance running race. It is the main event in an annual carnival held on Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, S ...
, winning five Victorian championships over 400 and 800 metres, and breaking world records over 550 metres and 600 yards. However, he later studied science and education at the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
with the intent of becoming a teacher. He graduated in 1972, and spent several years teaching at Flemington High School. In 1975, Toyne founded the Kensington Community School, and spent four years working on the project. Toyne left the
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
school in 1980, and not long after, relocated across the country to the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
. He took a particular interest in community education projects aimed at the indigenous community of the Territory, developing several programs and serving stints as both a teacher and an administrator. Toyne also worked as a consultant to the
Perron Perron may refer to: People * Count Perron (; ), Sardinian ambassador and secretary of state * Ernest Perron (1908–1961), a Swiss man who became politically powerful in Iran * Pierre Cuillier-Perron (1753–1834), a French military adventure ...
government from 1990 to 1994. Toyne began to take an interest in a political career, and when Labor Party Opposition Leader
Brian Ede Brian Richard Ede (born 9 March 1946) is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Stuart in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of th ...
resigned from parliament in mid-1996, Toyne nominated to replace him as the ALP candidate for Stuart at the subsequent by-election. The campaign was a particularly close one, but Toyne was ultimately successful, defeating
Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP), commonly known as the Country Liberals, is a centre-right and conservative political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In territory politics, it operates in a two-party system wi ...
candidate Tony Bohning by only 72 votes. Having been elected, Toyne began serving as an opposition backbencher, and managed to survive another challenge from Bohning at the 1997 election, which was won by only 70 votes. Two years later, Toyne was appointed as the party whip when
Clare Martin Clare Majella Martin (born 15 June 1952) is a former Australian journalist and politician. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won ...
's ascendancy to the leadership sparked a cabinet reshuffle. By this point, Toyne was becoming an increasingly prominent figure in Northern Territory politics, and at the 2001 election, was easily re-elected, winning more than 70% of the vote. When that same election saw the ALP win their first victory in the history of the Assembly, new Chief Minister
Clare Martin Clare Majella Martin (born 15 June 1952) is a former Australian journalist and politician. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won ...
appointed Toyne to the ministry, most notably as Attorney-General. Toyne received a further promotion when unpopular Health Minister
Jane Aagaard Jane Lesley Aagaard (born 1956) is an Australian former politician. She was a Labor Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2012, representing the Darwin-based electorate of Nightcliff. She was the Speaker o ...
was dumped in October 2003, and he was called upon as her replacement. Though he had publicly speculated about resigning at the 2005 election, he later announced that he would indeed re-contest the seat after being rebuked by Martin, and was easily re-elected for a third full term. Barely a year after being re-elected, on 29 August 2006, Toyne suddenly resigned from both the ministry and from parliament, citing an unspecified medical condition. A
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
was held, with Labor candidate Karl Hampton successful.


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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toyne, Peter 1946 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly University of Melbourne alumni 21st-century Australian politicians