Territorians have a right to know how $25 million of taxpayer dollars are being spent at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation every year, an independent MLA says, following a compromised parliamentary hearing that did not fully investigate unadvertised jobs, poor governance practices and an unusual overlap of board and executive roles, but the Finocchiaro CLP Government have refused to explain how it intends to deal with the matter now, while ruling out a proper investigation.

Independent Member for Johnston Justine Davis, who wrote a dissenting report into the Public Accounts Committee’s “fundamentally inadequate” inquiry into the DWC, said in a statement that she she did not agree with the CLP-led committee’s findings that the matters had been resolved.

“While I accept the Committee’s conclusion regarding the [four] specific allegations, I do not believe this inquiry has resolved broader concerns about the use of public funds at the DWC,” she said.

“In my view, the inquiry process raised further questions that the public deserves answers to, and I remain committed to pursuing transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.”

Ms Davis’s dissenting report also raised serious questions about the integrity of the CLP-controlled Public Accounts Committee which investigated the matter, including that the committee failed to order Waterfront board chair Pat Bellot and chief executive Alastair Shields to produce any documentation to back up their claims.

This includes evidence to back up that Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro’s husband Sam Burke was only paid $40,000 in higher duties allowance over more than two years for unadvertised jobs, rather than the $400,000 the NT Independent first reported.

CLP backbencher Clinton Howe, who is the chair of the committee, did not respond to the NT Independent’s questions about the committee failing to require evidence before making its findings.

He also did not say why the PAC did not look at the Waterfront Corporation’s books, which would have showed exactly how much Mr Burke was paid in “higher duties” allowances over many years.

Minister responsible for the Darwin Waterfront Corporation Marie-Clare Boothby also did not respond to questions about whether she intends to refer the matter for a proper, independent investigation. Ms Boothby raised concerns about the integrity of the PAC process the day of the public hearing, when she claimed the matter would be “put to bed” before the hearing started.

She has also repeatedly refused to make public a report prepared for her by head public servant Luccio Cercarelli into conflicts of interest and unadvertised jobs at the Waterfront that was conducted before the allegations relating to Mr Burke’s employment arrangements.

Ms Finocchiaro’s office also refused to respond to questions about the flawed inquiry, but said on ABC Radio on Tuesday morning that she would not refer the matter for an independent investigation.

“No,” she said when asked.

She earlier claimed the PAC had “unanimously found that any and all of the allegations were untrue” when asked about Ms Davis suggesting the public deserves answers involving the DWC’s spending and operations that the PAC failed to achieve.

“This has been a really dirty political game that the independent member is playing,” Ms Finocchiaro said. “I just think these vicious attacks on public servants are unwarranted”.

Labor PAC member Manuel Brown, who called for more scrutiny of the DWC in his dissenting report, told the NT Independent the issue had nothing to do with “individuals”.

“It’s about ensuring entities that receive significant amounts of government funding meet community expectations in terms of their transparency and accountability,” he said.

“We hear loud and clear that this is important to Territorians. On that basis, it is well past time that there was a closer look at whether the current arrangements at DWC are in line with what the community expects.

“At the very least, DWC should fall under the Public Sector Employment and Management Act, board minutes and conflicts of interest register should be publicly available and there should be dedicated time during Parliamentary Estimates for scrutinising the DWC budget.

“Not only would this reassure the community, but it would also protect staff and board members from undue speculation.”

The CLP Government have refused to say if this was being considered.

Ms Davis said she was still concerned about the PAC not doing its job and the outstanding issues raised at the shortened public hearing.

“Despite being scheduled for two hours, the hearing was concluded 45 minutes early, and key questions remained unanswered,” she said.

“In our unicameral Parliament, committees play a critical role in holding government to account. When they are dominated by government members, as every parliamentary committee is, and offer no time and no resources are provided to independent members for inquiries, that role is undermined.

“Further, the committee’s terms of reference were narrow, and serious questions raised about independent reporting – such as the overlap of board and executive roles across government-owned entities, unadvertised appointments, and governance practices – were not explored.”

The PAC also did not inquire into other unresolved conflict of interest matters involving former board member Andrew Kirkman and Mr Shields, including Mr Kirkman’s wife being hired for an unadvertised role at the DWC six months after Mr Kirkman advocated a pay rise for Mr Shields last year while acting head public servant.

The committee also did not investigate recent revelations that Mr Burke was a director of a company called Place Leaders Asia Pacific that received public money from the DWC, with his directorship not disclosed by Ms Finocchiaro for two years between 2022 and 2024, in breach of the Public Disclosures Act.

Questions remain unanswered over how Mr Burke, who oversees $25 million of public funds annually at the Waterfront, was able to direct an undisclosed amount of money every year to a company he was a director of and what oversights were in place.

Mr Shields and Mr Bellot did not respond to questions for this article. Mr Burke has previously declined to comment on his directorship with Place Leaders Asia Pacific and how conflicts of interest were managed.