UPDATED: The Finocchiaro CLP Government will build a new 1,200-bed private prison at Holtze that is estimated to cost taxpayers more than $1 billion and will be operated by a private company for profit, with critics labelling the move “reckless” and “a failure of crime prevention and community safety”.
EXCLUSIVE: Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Pat Williams identified a “perceived conflict of interest” that has led him to refer the Administrator assault case against Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling to an outside jurisdiction for oversight, while questions remain over the NT Police appearing to be currently running both the investigation and prosecution against the Federal Member of Parliament with no independent direction.
Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling fronted court Friday afternoon to have his bail conditions for the alleged assault of Administrator David Connolly varied, which his lawyer used to call the prosecution’s case “incredibly weak”, stating there is no CCTV footage and no independent witnesses to the two alleged assaults that reportedly occurred 30 minutes apart at the Thai festival on July 18.
Chief Minister and Police Minister Lia Finocchiaro’s office said Thursday she was not briefed about the sensational arrest of Labor MP Luke Gosling over the alleged assault of Administrator David Connolly, but has refused to refer the police investigation to an independent agency to mitigate the perception of political interference.
UPDATED: NT Police have arrested and now charged Federal Member for Solomon Luke Gosling in relation to the alleged assault of NT Administrator David Connolly.
Embattled Labor MLA Manuel Brown will remain in Labor’s shadow cabinet despite repeatedly lying to the public and Leader Selena Uibo about his indiscretions, while it appears Labor’s caucus has failed to take any disciplinary action against him contradicting Ms Uibo’s claims it would determine punishment for Mr Brown. Ms Uibo is also facing questions over why her team did not appear at any public events with the PM last week.
An estimated 100 Charles Darwin University students in the electrotechnology program have not been properly trained, Education and Training Minister Jo Hersey revealed in Parliament Thursday afternoon, which follows CDU’s TAFE carpentry training scandal earlier this year that saw hundreds forced to redo their qualifications.
Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling has denied allegations he physically assaulted NT Administrator David Connolly at a public event over the weekend, while police confirmed on Tuesday they are investigating the incident.
Opposition Labor Leader Selena Uibo secretly met with former Labor deputy chief minister and current Tamboran Resources vice-president Nicole Manison at the company’s Beetaloo Sub-basin operations south of Daly Waters in late May for discussions that Ms Uibo will not disclose, while claiming she drove the more than 600km round-trip outside of her electorate for the meeting and did not accept flights or other gifts from the company.
An NT assistant police commissioner has been demoted after a mysterious “disciplinary investigation” into unknown matters, which follows unresolved turmoil and severe integrity issues in the executive ranks identified in a report into the organisation’s senior police recruitment processes, and comes ahead of Police Commissioner Martin Dole’s expected announcement of a permanent deputy commissioner in the coming days.
A disgraced former NT politician who was appointed to the body that sets MLAs’ pay and benefits by the CLP after corruption findings were made against her says she doesn’t know why remote politicians are given $450 a night to stay at their own homes in Darwin despite personally recommending the entitlement late last year.
Territory Labor Leader Selena Uibo needs to show leadership and end the long-running Manuel Brown scandal by taking decisive action and being “upfront and honest” with Territorians, federal Member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour has said, adding the ongoing scandal is “not good for the Australian Labor Party” or the Northern Territory.
