Over recent days, Jinson Charls has been taking calls from the Indian media, telling the story of how a migrant nurse rose to become a parliamentarian in northern Australia.

“Darwin and Australia is a place of opportunity,” Mr Charls said.

“If you work hard, people will support you. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what is your background – what they are looking for is what you can offer, based on your skills.”

The Country Liberal Party (CLP) won government in the Northern Territory in a landslide election win on August 24, claiming at least 16 of the NT Legislative Assembly’s 25 seats.

Mr Charls, a registered nurse and health department manager, toppled a sitting Labor environment minister to become the new CLP MLA for Sanderson, in Darwin’s northern suburbs, and take his place in the new NT government.

His appointment marks a historic occasion for the NT parliament, with the new government featuring the highest-ever representation of politicians of South Asian and South-East Asian heritage.

“I have been getting phone calls, messages, for the last few days, including the media back in India – they are excited as well,” Mr Charls said.

“A first-generation migrant coming over to a different country, to a different culture, and people up here supporting, because it’s for the people’s mandate.”

Mr Charls and the new Casuarina MLA, Khoda Patel, were born in India, while new Fong Lim MLA, Tanzil Rahman, has Bangladeshi roots, and new Wanguri MLA, Oly Carlson, is of Indonesian heritage.

Multicultural community under-represented in the past

Darwin has always been a multicultural society, with large communities hailing from countries like India, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh and Nepal, but that has rarely been reflected in parliament.

NT political historian Alex Nelson said there had only been two representatives of Indian heritage before, both from Labor, including outgoing Casuarina MLA Lauren Moss.

“This is the first time there is more than one member of Indian descent in the Legislative Assembly, and that they are CLP members,” Mr Nelson said.

The first and only prior Indian-born NT MLA, Mr Nelson said, was Labor member June D’Rozario, who also held the seat of Sanderson between 1977 and 1983.

Mr Charls’s campaign manager, Salas Abraham, was asked if he believed the territory’s multicultural communities had been under-represented in NT parliament in the past.

“The cycle of evolution has happened now, and it is about time,” Mr Abraham said.

The new Sanderson MLA, Mr Charls, said he was prompted to run for the CLP after the brutal alleged murder of Bangladeshi international student, Sifat Rahman, in May 2023.

President of the Indian Cultural Society of the NT, Praveen Hampole, said he hoped the historic parliament would inspire migrants from both sides of politics and all ethnic backgrounds.

“That’s what Darwin is known for — its multiculturalism — and this is the best opportunity anyone can get,” he said.

Opposition to be made up of mainly First Nations MLAs

After Territory Labor’s election wipe-out, the new NT opposition will consist of around four or five MLAs – most of which are First Nations people, all sitting in remote NT electorates.

Along with independent Mulka MLA Yiŋiya Guyula, it will mean that more than half of the NT parliament’s eight or nine-seat combined opposition and crossbench are of First Nations heritage.

The CLP ran a number of First Nations candidates at the election, but they were beaten in remote seats and did not get elected to parliament.

New Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro was asked how, without any elected First Nations members, she would make sure Aboriginal constituents had a voice in her government, at a time when new “tough on crime” laws would heavily target First Nations people.

“The Territory is celebrated for its multiculturalism and the CLP is proud of the diversity in our team,” Ms Finocchiaro said in a statement.

“Our diversity is our strength.

“All Territorians will be represented by the CLP including by Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price at a federal level.”

Ms Finocchiaro was sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday, with her first full cabinet expected to be announced soon.