Background
Chandler was born in Swan Hill, Victoria, and was educated at Warialda High School in New South Wales.
minister politician Deputy Chief Minister
Chandler was born in Swan Hill, Victoria, and was educated at Warialda High School in New South Wales.
He is a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, and has held his seat of Brennan since his electoral victory over sitting Labor member James Burke in the 2008 election. He was the Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Minister for Lands, Planning and the Environment. Following a February 2015 reshuffle, he became Minister for Lands and Planning, Minister for Police Fire and Emergency Services, and Minister for Defence Industries and Veterans Support.
He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1985 in Queensland, and later transferred to the Northern Territory where he worked as a dog handler for the Royal Australian Air Force, and later worked for the City of Darwin.
He also worked as a public servant for the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Defence Housing Australia. Chandler was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly at the 2008 Northwest Territories election on 9 August, representing the seat of Brennan for the Country Liberal Party (CLP).
On the Country Liberal Party"s victory of the Northern Territory General Election in August 2012, Chandler was appointed as a Minister of the Mills Cabinet in September 2012, and has continued to serve as a Northern Territory Minister for the Crown in the Giles Cabinet. In August 2014, Deputy Chief Minister Dave Tollner was asked to resign from that position after making several homophobic slurs about a fellow Modern Language Association"s son.
Giles was re-elected as CLP leader, and Chandler was voted in as his deputy.
However, a few days later he threatened to move to the crossbench unless he was reinstated, so on 1 September, Chief Minister Adam Giles threw open the leadership and deputy leadership to a party room ballot.