The Labor Opposition has congratulated the Finocchiaro CLP Government for its picks to lead the new Integrity and Ethics Commissioner office, while integrity experts still hold concerns the process of appointments has eroded public confidence, particularly around the unadvertised role of chief executive that will be filled by former AFP and NT police commissioner Reece Kershaw, with one integrity expert describing the current situation as akin to a sad “satire”.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has inexplicably chosen “canapes over cost-of-living relief” for Territorians in last week’s budget, critics say, after directing an additional $1 million to controversial Administrator David Connolly’s office and a further $2 million it didn’t have last year to Protocol NT – the body that organises official government functions and special invite-only events.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has named two controversial picks to lead the newly established Integrity and Ethics Commissioner agency, with former Ombudsman Peter Shoyer appointed commissioner and former police commissioner Reece Kershaw appointed chief executive of the new anti-corruption body that will replace the ICAC amid unresolved questions about the potential for political interference. Mr Kershaw is close friends with current NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole.
One of CLP backbencher Clinton Howe’s former electorate officers has filed an unfair dismissal application with the Fair Work Commission stating she was fired because she refused to “falsify electorate information” in a database that secretly stores personal information about constituents for the Country Liberal Party and was subjected to bullying and “unreasonable” micromanaging in the office.
An ICAC review into the hiring and promotion practices of an NT Government department that commenced the same month its chief executive was controversially appointed has revealed “several recurring gaps…that present improper conduct risks” with recruitment, including that conflicts of interest were not adequately managed, that applicants’ qualifications were inconsistently verified, and that advertised positions took on average 67 days to fill.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government cut funding to Legal Aid NT by more than $3.2 million this financial year, the director of the organisation has finally revealed, which appears to directly refute repeated claims by Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby that funding increased, while more service cuts are expected.
Treasurer Bill Yan delivered his second budget Tuesday morning that contains no “lollies or sweets”, with the Finocchiaro CLP Government overseeing a record net debt that will now top $11.35 billion this year and grow to $12.56 billion in 2026-27 – less than previously estimated due to better than expected revenue streams and less spending on infrastructure projects – while Mr Yan said the government is “living within our means” despite no substantive plans to reduce the debt.
EXCLUSIVE: The crucial ‘pipeline’ of NT Government infrastructure works that keep businesses operating in the Northern Territory has slowed to a trickle, industry and government sources have confirmed, with the slowdown leading to uncertainty and fear of impending “mass layoffs” while construction and civil works companies currently consider their options in an unprecedented situation.
Police Commissioner Martin Dole has appointed a different temporary deputy commissioner amid ongoing turmoil in the top brass and while an AFP investigation into allegations against the NT’s most senior police officers continues, with Mr Dole’s previous unexplained and “very odd” pick as deputy now replaced with a senior officer who previously held the role, despite a recruitment process for a permanent deputy having been conducted late last year.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has announced the Northern Territory’s latest ‘Investment Committee’ that will provide “independent advice on [government] investment opportunities” to help grow the stagnant economy, which appears to be the latest iteration of the previous Labor government’s Infrastructure Development Fund that was shut down amid scandal in 2019.
A private consultancy company started by one of the Territory’s most senior public servants has recently employed another senior bureaucrat, with both heavily involved in establishing the NT Government’s private investment attraction and gas regulation policies over the past five years, raising questions about the potential for confidential government information to be used for private gain.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government says it may enforce existing legislation from 1949 called the Price Exploitation Prevention Act it says would force fuel retailers to disclose the full cost structure and price margins of its fuel or face jail and could be used to allow the government to set the price, a move that was described by the last CLP government as a rash decision.
