EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro’s husband Sam Burke was given a made-up, part-time government job while general manager of the Darwin Waterfront Corporation, internal government documents show, that boosted his already substantial salary by $60,000 a year through a ‘higher duties allowance’ that continued for years after he left the department role, the NT Independent can reveal.
Tourism Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has refused to comment on an internal “briefing” she received last week into allegations of mismanaged conflicts of interest and possible misuse of public resources at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation, after previously claiming she would “make some decisions” about the matter.
Tourism Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has refused to comment on whether she recently approved a new contract for Darwin Waterfront Corporation chief executive Alastair Shields, including when she approved it and how much the new contract is costing taxpayers for his part-time, two-day-a-week gig that last cost $116,000 a year, while the Minister is still waiting for a “briefing” from government officials about concerns of misconduct at the corporation.
The NT’s Director of Public Prosecutions has referred an 82-page investigation report into the conduct of five senior NT Police officers who lied about racist awards the TRG produced back to the ICAC, raising a perceived conflict of interest for the acting-ICAC, who was involved in high-level political meetings relating to the Yuendumu shooting in 2019 while a senior public servant.
Department of Children and Families chief executive Emma White suddenly announced on Friday she is leaving the role, while her partner who led the department’s office of domestic, family and sexual violence reduction also announced she is leaving, but the Minister has refused to comment on the high-profile departures.
EXCLUSIVE: Darwin Waterfront Corporation chief executive Alastair Shields advocated for his mate Andrew Kirkman’s sister Jodie Ryan to be given more than $44,000 of taxpayer money to continue sitting on the waterfront board after she resigned as the NT’s head public servant, a new secret memo has revealed, raising further questions about undisclosed conflicts of interest at the DWC and the possible misuse of public resources.
The CLP Finocchiaro Government will unveil its surprise plans to review and change the NT Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act this week in Parliament, but the government is already facing criticism from the Central Land Council for failing to properly consult with traditional owners over the sudden changes, which they say threatens their rights and interests.
Former NT Police constable Zach Rolfe has taken up the Chief Minister’s challenge to substantiate that five senior officers who misled a coronial inquest about racist awards in the NT Police’s TRG unit committed a crime, completing an 82-page investigation report that he distributed to the Chief Minister, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Acting Police Commissioner on Tuesday, highlighting the ICAC’s failure to properly investigate the officers’ conduct.
EXCLUSIVE: Tourism Minister and Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby’s chief of staff worked for Alastair Shields at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation for more than a decade before being seconded to Ms Boothby’s office last August, the NT Independent can reveal, raising questions about the Minister’s office’s ability to objectively review a “briefing” the Minister requested into concerns of improper conduct at the taxpayer-funded corporation.
Business and Asian Relations Minister Robyn Cahill has travelled to Singapore as part of a Territory trade delegation to “strengthen ties and promote investment opportunities”, but her office would not say who exactly she is meeting with in the Asian city-state.
The CLP Minister responsible for the Darwin Waterfront Corporation has balked at ordering an external investigation into possible misuse of public resources and unresolved conflicts of interest at the taxpayer-funded organisation, choosing instead to keep the matter internal, while questions have also been raised about conflicts of interest with the ICAC and the DWC’s chief executive.
EXCLUSIVE: Senior government executive Andrew Kirkman advocated for a pay rise for Darwin Waterfront Corporation CEO Alastair Shields, despite various conflicts of interest and while he was acting head public servant, six months before the DWC hired Mr Kirkman’s wife for an unadvertised role on a hefty pay packet, a secret government memo obtained by the NT Independent has revealed.
