Willem Westra van Holthe

The Honourable Willem Westra van Holthe MLA
Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
In office 3 February 2015 – 14 February 2016
Leader	Adam Giles
Preceded by	Peter Chandler
Succeeded by	Peter Styles
Deputy Leader of the Country Liberal Party
In office 3 February 2015 – 14 February 2016
Leader	Adam Giles
Preceded by	Peter Chandler
Succeeded by	Peter Styles
Member of the Northern Territory Parliament for Katherine
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 August 2008
Preceded by	Fay Miller
Personal details
Born	Willem Rudolf Westra van Holthe 22 August 1962 Rotorua, New Zealand
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Country Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Jennie Westra van Holthe
Children	Three
Residence	Katherine, Northern Territory
Occupation	Police officer

Willem Rudolf Westra van Holthe (born 22 August 1962) is an Australian politician and the Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory. He is a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, having held the seat of Katherine since the 2008 election. He is the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries and Minister for Mines and Energy in the Mills Ministry^[1] and from 6–14 March 2013 served as deputy chief minister,^[2] a role he resumed following a leadership challenge to Chief Minister Adam Giles, in which he was briefly the Chief Minister-designate.

Early life

Westra van Holthe was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, to a Dutch father and Australian mother. His family moved to Australia and settled in Brisbane, Queensland.^[3]

Westra van Holthe moved to the Northern Territory in 1984 to work as a labourer on such projects as the Elizabeth River Bridge and the Arnhem Highway.^[4] In 1986, he joined the Northern Territory Police where he served until 2000—when he left the force to run a small business with his wife Jennie—and again from 2002 to 2008.^[3] As a police officer, he was stationed at Maranboy, Mataranka and Alice Springs, then at Katherine on his return to the police force.^[4]

Political career

In 2008, Westra van Holthe left the police to pursue a career in politics where he felt he could have a greater influence on law formation and implementation.^[4] He was preselected by the Country Liberal Party (CLP) as a candidate for the electorate of Katherine where the sitting member Fay Miller was retiring, and was elected at the Territory election in August 2008.

When the CLP won government at the 2012 election, Westra van Holthe was appointed as Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries and Minister for Mines and Energy in the first ministry under Chief Minister Terry Mills.

On 6 March 2013, Dave Tollner attempted to challenge Mills for the party leadership, although Mills averted any leadership ballot taking place after a six-hour party room meeting. Tollner was expelled from the cabinet, and deputy leader Robyn Lambley resigned.^[5] In the ensuing reshuffle, Westra van Holthe became Deputy Chief Minister replacing Lambley, also assuming the portfolios of Trade, Land Resource Management, Public Employment, and Essential Services. Less than a week later, Westra van Holthe was acting Chief Minister whilst Terry Mills was in Japan on a trade visit. Adam Giles made a successful challenge to Mills' leadership, becoming CLP leader and installing Toller as his deputy, although Westra van Holthe retained his other ministries apart from the trade and employment portfolios.

On 2 February 2015, Westra van Holthe challenged Giles for the leadership of the Country Liberal Party in a late night party room meeting. At a 1 am media conference on 3 February, Westra van Holthe announced that the party had voted for him to replace Giles as leader, and that his new cabinet would be sworn in on 4 February. The ABC reported that the ballot was nine votes to five in favour of Westra van Holthe.^[6] During the press conference Westra van Holthe referred to himself as the "Chief Minister apparent".^[7] Westra van Holthe's plans to be sworn in as Chief Minister later in the day were halted by Giles' refusal to sign a document confirming his resignation. Additionally, there was the possibility that the CLP members who maintained their support for Giles would break party discipline and refuse to support Westra van Holthe on the floor of the legislature, leaving him short of the 13 votes he needed to govern. A meeting of the CLP's parliamentary wing took place that evening, as the party sought to resolve the internal crisis,^[8] with Giles eventually announcing he would remain as CLP leader and Chief Minister, with Westra van Holthe as deputy leader of the CLP and Deputy Chief Minister.^[9]

On 14 February 2016, Westra van Holthe resigned from Giles' cabinet^[10] after it emerged that he had both a financial and personal involvement with the CT Group, a Vietnamese fruit company seeking to develop a 10,000-hectare dragon fruit orchard in the NT.^[11]

References

1. Chief Minister and Cabinet, Northern Territory government, 2012.
2. "Mills dumped as Giles takes top Territory job". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Commission. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
3. Key Speakers: Hon Willem Westra van Holthe, Association of Mining and Exploration Companies Convention, 2015.
4. Katherine Rural Review, Northern Territory Government, October/November 2012.
5. "Mills clings to top job after marathon meeting". ABC News. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
6. Dunlevie, James (3 February 2015). "Adam Giles dumped as NT chief minister in late-night coup, Willem Westra van Holthe elected leader". ABC News. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
7. Walsh, Christopher; Smee, Ben; Staff writers (3 February 2015). "Giles is still the NT chief minister after his challengers failed to muster the numbers to topple him". NT News. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
8. "Giles says he can’t support Willem Westra van Holthe as chief minister, CLP parliamentary wing meeting to decide". The NT News. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
9. "Adam Giles remains NT chief minister". SBS News. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
10. "Willem Westra van Holthe resigns from Northern Territory Cabinet, Deputy Chief Minister position". ABC News. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
11. La Canna, Xavier (2016-02-10). "NT Minister Willem Westra van Holthe 'sorry' he considered investing in Vietnam's CT Group". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-03-01.