Eva Dina Lawler (née Bilato; born 18 August 1962)[citation needed] is an Australian former politician who served as the 13th chief minister of the Northern Territory from 2023 to 2024, holding office as the leader of the Territory Labor Party.

[2] She was born into a family deeply involved in the trucking and earthmoving industries, servicing materials for government projects.

Her groundbreaking efforts were recognised with the Northern Territory Hockey Association (NTHA)’s Award of Merit and life membership of the PSHC in 1990, before inevitably being selected in the first ever Australian women’s national hockey team in 1993, progressing eventually to selector and high performance roles in the NTHA setup in 1996-97 and 2009 respectively.

[7] Lawler seemingly faced long odds when she was nominated as Labor candidate in Drysdale for the 2016 election.

She was re-elected in 2020 with a small swing in her favour, becoming the first Labor MP to win a second term in a Palmerston-based seat.

On 20 December 2023, Lawler was elected unopposed to succeed Natasha Fyles, who resigned after a controversy regarding undisclosed shares.

She lost her seat to Country Liberal Party candidate Clinton Howe in the 2024 Northern Territory general election.