Kenneth Edward Vowles (born 29 September 1971) is an Australian politician and former cricketer from the Northern Territory. He was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2012 until 2020, representing the electorate of Johnston. He was Minister for Primary Industry and Resources and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the Gunner government from 2016 to 2018. He was sacked as a minister and expelled from the Labor caucus in December 2018 when an email he had written to his Cabinet colleagues stating his concern about the state of the Territory’s budget deficit was leaked to the media. He subsequently remained in parliament as a Labor backbencher outside caucus, but announced his resignation from parliament in November 2019 with effect from January 2020.
Ken Vowles | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for Johnston | |
| In office 25 August 2012 – 31 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Burns |
| Succeeded by | Joel Bowden |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kenneth Edward Vowles 29 September 1971 Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia |
| Political party | Labor Party |
| Occupation | Cricketer |
| Years | Term | Electoral division | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–2016 | 12th | Johnston | Labor | |
| 2016–2020 | 13th | Johnston | Labor | |
Born in Darwin, Vowles attended the Australian Cricket Academy on a scholarship from 1989 to 1990, during which time he toured internationally with the Australian Under-19 team.[1] As an Under-19 player, Vowles held the record for the fastest century scored at the Melbourne Cricket Ground until the record was broken by Viv Richards.[2]
In 2008, Vowles contested the seat of Blain as a Labor Party candidate at that year's Territory general election, although he was defeated by Terry Mills, the future Chief Minister. He nominated to contest the seat of Johnston in the 2012 election, although a controversy emerged when the Labor Party threatened the Northern Territory News with legal action to prevent the newspaper from publishing a story about Vowles' spent assault conviction from a fight in 1992 (Labor leader Paul Henderson had previously been critical of another candidate for not disclosing a manslaughter conviction).[3]
Vowles was elected as member for Johnston, although the Henderson government was defeated by the Country Liberal Party.[4] After two years as a minister, Vowles was sacked and excluded from the Labor caucus, along with two backbench colleagues who held similar views about the Territory’s budget deficit, on 21 December 2018.[5] On 28 November 2019, he announced that he would resign from parliament with effect from 31 January 2020.[6]
References
edit- ^ Ken Vowles (Australia), Cricinfo.
- ^ Territory cricket identity Ken Vowles drops into The Guestroom, The Guestroom (105.7 ABC Darwin), 16 December 2011.
- ^ Arnost, Melanie: Labor candidate's assault conviction causes stir, ABC News, 14 August 2012.
- ^ Results: NT General Election Archived 30 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Northern Territory Electoral Commission, 25 August 2012.
- ^ "Ken Vowles, Jeff Collins and Scott McConnell dumped from NT Government's Labor Caucus". ABC News. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
- ^ "Ken Vowles has quit politics on the last day of parliamentary sittings for 2019". ABC News. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
