Dave Tollner Politician

David William Tollner (born 31 January 1966) is an Australian politician. He has been a Country Liberal Party (CLP) member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2008, representing the electorate of Fong Lim. He previously served as the Country Liberal Party member for Solomon in the Australian House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007. He was the Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory under chief minister Adam Giles from 2013 to 2014.Tollner was born in Biloela, Queensland, and worked as a manager and company director before entering politics. He contested the 1997 territory election as an independent, narrowly losing to CLP candidate Chris Lugg in the seat of Nelson. He subsequently won the new federal seat of Solomon for the CLP at the 2001 federal election, and was re-elected at the 2004 election. He was narrowly defeated by Labor candidate Damian Hale at the 2007 election.Tollner then contested the 2008 territory election, winning the new seat of Fong Lim and defeating Labor minister Matthew Bonson. He was re-elected at the 2012 election, and upon the CLP's victory was appointed Minister for Health, Minister for Alcohol Rehabilitation and Policy, and Minister for Housing. In March 2013, Mills expelled Tollner from his cabinet after a heated disagreement between the two at a party meeting. According to former MLA Daryl Manzie, Tollner swore at Mills and threw a stack of cabinet papers at him before walking out of the room.Tollner was appointed deputy chief minister of the Northern Territory in 13 March 2013. He caused controversy in August 2014 when he referred to the gay son of fellow CLP MP Gary Higgins as a "pillow biter" and "shirt lifter". As a result, it was announced that Tollner's resignation as deputy leader of the CLP had been accepted. Despite that, Tollner said a few days later that he wanted to be restored to his former position or he would quit the party, leaving it in a precarious position on the floor of the Legislative Assembly.