Embattled Labor MLA Manuel Brown has been sacked as the Opposition whip by Leader Selena Uibo for telling one of his many lies, but he remains in caucus and on a parliamentary committee that pays him an extra $18,000 on top of his $180,000 salary, while also collecting a questionable $450 a day to be in Darwin, which comes as calls mount for his outright resignation from Parliament.
He lied about a fatal 2009 crash that killed a woman, he kept his recent speeding tickets and licence suspension from the public, he is claiming a questionable tax-free $450-a-day in travel allowance to be in Darwin and he permitted two children aged 12 and 14 to operate his car in possible contravention of the law, but Labor MLA Manuel Brown said Monday he is “sorry” and intends to serve out his full term as the Labor Member for Arafura.
EXCLUSIVE: Labor MLA Manuel Brown was caught speeding again by police earlier this year, the NT Independent can reveal, after his licence was suspended for three months last October for multiple speeding violations, which comes as questions remain unanswered about Mr Brown allegedly allowing his 14-year-old child to illegally drive a vehicle while his licence was suspended.
Labor politician Manuel Brown allegedly had his underaged unlicensed child drive him around in his taxpayer-funded vehicle on various occasions while his driver’s licence was suspended for multiple speeding tickets, separate sources have said, while confusion intensified with Mr Brown’s father-in-law calling into local radio Thursday to claim he drove Mr Brown around in the “family car” for three months, raising questions about possible misuse of his government fuel card.
EXCLUSIVE: A Labor MLA who killed a woman with his car in 2009 after speeding through a stop sign had his licence suspended late last year for racking up multiple speeding tickets in his taxpayer-funded government car, the NT Independent can reveal, an issue that was kept quiet by Labor Opposition Leader Selena Uibo.
Opposition Labor Leader Selena Uibo has blamed a “highly-charged political environment” for allegations of bullying and racism made by staff in her office against a senior figure, while refusing to respond to questions about who investigated the allegations and what action was taken.
UPDATED: Deputy Opposition Leader Dheran Young was suddenly sacked as deputy Thursday night and replaced with recently elected Member for Nightcliff Ed Smelt, in a move Labor Leader Selena Uibo said would give Mr Young more time out bush to “support his constituents post-flood”.
A Labor adviser charged taxpayers $4,400 for a one-night trip to Nhulunbuy for vague “various stakeholder meetings”, including a mysterious $2,900 charge listed under “other” expenses, according to newly released internal travel records, while the CLP has inexplicably not disclosed its staffers’ travel costs.
EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has refused to explain why she misled Estimates hearings about what action the NT Police executive leadership team has taken to address the serious integrity failures identified in the Justice Alan Blow report into senior police promotion and recruitment processes.
The director of the NT Police college authorised nearly $400,000 for the supply and delivery of four BMW 330is from Melbourne despite Subarus used as official police vehicles, newly released police expenditure records show, while the NT Police executive team also spent nearly $10,000 at local shop ‘Stickers and Stuff’ on “promotional merchandise” for its anti-racism program in a year that saw its budget blow-out by more than $14 million.
The recently appointed Integrity and Ethics Commissioner says he sees nothing that would preclude newly appointed chief executive and former NT Police commissioner Reece Kershaw from being involved in sensitive investigations into NT Police and other corruption probes, while suggesting any potential conflicts of interest raised would be kept secret.
The “NT legal legend” described in media reports as backing the CLP Government’s controversial reforms to child placement legislation did not disclose that she worked for Minister Robyn Cahill as an adviser less than a month before making her submission to the parliamentary committee considering the new legislation.
