Disgraced senior bureaucrat Andrew Kirkman is still on the government payroll nearly two months after departing his chief executive position, the CLP revealed at Budget Estimates hearings, but how and why remains a mystery.
‘Cop it in the eye’: Chief Minister’s adviser’s pepper spray ‘revenge fantasy’ revealed
The Chief Minister’s $400,000-a-year chief of staff Alex Bruce publicly boasted last year that he wanted to see “some mongrels” cop pepper spray to the eyes and wanted to post it to social media, raising questions about how the CLP developed its “dangerous” policy to arm the public with OC spray, while the police association says it’s concerned its officers could also be injured.
Acting ICAC refuses to publicly disclose conflicts of interest, CLP flags impending ‘changes’ to office
Acting ICAC Greg Shanahan told Estimates hearings on Tuesday that he has recused himself from involvement in an undisclosed number of matters due to conflicts of interest, but refused to publicly disclose his conflicts register, stating only that some of his disclosures related to people he “worked directly with for a long period”.
Kirkman workplace abuse legal action suddenly settled before hearing
Territory taxpayers have bailed out former DIPL chief executive Andrew Kirkman once again, preventing him from testifying in a Federal Circuit Court legal action scheduled for last week about a mental health injury he inflicted on a female staffer when he pounded his desk, screamed at her and told her in a 2021 meeting that her career would be “destroyed” if she challenged him.
CLP-led committee clears Waterfront Corporation after short hearing, lack of evidence provided
A CLP-run parliamentary committee that ended a public hearing 45 minutes early and did not request documented evidence from Darwin Waterfront Corporation officials to back up its claims has cleared the organisation of wrongdoing, with the chair of the corporation claiming he was getting too “worked up” to continue discussing the issues involving the use of public funds for extended higher duties allowances and executive contracts awarded to the Chief Minister’s husband.
Major drug bust involving Vietnamese crime syndicate ends in three arrests, 113kgs of cannabis seized
Three men are facing multiple drug charges following an NT Police bust in Holtze on Monday that resulted in 113 kilograms of cannabis being seized along with $170,000 in cash, which police said has “significantly disrupted” a Vietnamese organised crime syndicate operating across state borders.
NT Police reject calls for independent investigation into fatal Alice Springs arrest
Acting NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole has ruled out independent oversight of the police investigation into the death of a Yuendumu man during an arrest at an Alice Springs supermarket this week despite Mr Dole’s close ties to the community and his questionable involvement in the flawed murder investigation into former constable Zach Rolfe in 2019.
Alice Springs cop involved in fatal supermarket arrest of Aboriginal man identified
EXCLUSIVE: One of two ‘plain-clothes’ police officers who pinned a disabled Aboriginal man to the ground at an Alice Springs supermarket where he lost consciousness and subsequently died, has been identified as a police “liaison sergeant” who was not on frontline duties at the time of the fatal incident, the NT Independent can reveal, with the officer previously the subject of complaints over his use of force against Indigenous people. *NOTE: The feature image in this article is of a previous arrest by the officer, not a picture of the incident on Tuesday*
Parliamentary inquiry into Darwin Waterfront scandal scheduled for Tuesday
A two-hour hearing into the potential misuse of taxpayer money and other misconduct at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation has been quickly scheduled for Tuesday by a CLP-dominated parliamentary committee, following a referral from the Opposition last week, but the committee has yet to seek internal documents from the corporation as evidence to inform its investigation, the NT Independent understands.
Waterfront chair goes to ground after approaching elected officials about private ‘briefing’
Darwin Waterfront Corporation chair Patrick Bellot has offered confidential briefings to select elected officials about the Waterfront scandal, but has declined the NT Independent’s request to share his “briefing” with the public, amid concerns the information he has offered has not been independently verified and could be a breach of his duties under the Corporations Act.
An embarrassment of Riches: Redacted report into former ICAC’s conduct released
Former ICAC Michael Riches “had a thing for pretty girls in the office” an investigation into his conduct as the NT’s anti-corruption watchdog has revealed, according to one former staffer, while 15 people described Mr Riches’s leadership style as “erratic, controlling, and awkward socially”, with one describing his office as “the most horrible place I’ve ever worked”.
CLP change Auditor-General’s duties without informing Auditor-General
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has moved to alter the duties of the NT’s fiscal watchdog, but failed to consult with him about the changes, raising questions over what else the government intends to alter involving the Auditor-General’s powers and responsibilities, while failing to address critical risks to the office’s independence and funding shortfalls raised earlier this year.