An investigation ordered by the NT Judicial Commission that cleared Justice Stephen Southwood of malice determined other serious allegations including judicial bullying, breaches of judicial conduct, and unnecessary delays in handing down his decisions were “partially made out” and referred to Chief Justice Michael Grant to be dealt with, but a prominent lawyer who brought the allegations has raised questions about the process.
An ambitious plan to eliminate racism in the Northern Territory Police Force has finally been released, with dozens of identified actions to be implemented over the next two years despite expected pushback, including reducing racial profiling, empowering Aboriginal communities to address and reduce crime and accepting that previous policing practices have led to distrust of police by Indigenous people.
The parliamentary committee that inexplicably stalled its inquiry for months into the $320 million Acacia debacle has re-opened submissions to hear from “former employees and others with relevant knowledge” of what went wrong, as the NT Government moves to re-introduce the flawed digital patient record system this month in Darwin and Palmerston.
Racing and Wagering Commission chair Alastair Shields says he and the other commissioners will no longer accept personal gifts from the $50 billion online gambling industry they regulate, but can continue to own racehorses because of oversight provided by another committee that he happens to be deputy chair of, raising fresh questions about more potential conflicts of interest.
The government department in charge of the Darwin Ship Lift facility ignored advice from the Auditor General to order a cost-benefit analysis into the now $820 million project, stating it would do that when the project is complete, a new report has found, but nobody has been held accountable for the massive cost blowout, with the Finocchiaro CLP Government advised to continue with the project amid untested claims it cannot terminate the contract and has spent too much money to stop now.
UPDATED: The government body that investigates complaints against the Territory’s judges dismissed 15 of 16 complaints it received last financial year, according to its annual report, with only one active complaint into substantiated allegations of “judicial bullying” currently being dealt with.
Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has moved to change Freedom of Information laws to block correspondence between ministers and their staff ever being made public, which will effectively end a legal challenge seeking a former Territory Labor minister’s correspondence, in a move Ms Boothby claims is somehow “strengthening integrity”, while a national integrity expert says it removes a “cornerstone of accountability”.
UPDATED: NT Greens Member for Nightcliff Kat McNamara was referred on urgency to Parliament’s disciplinary body last night by the CLP Government for hosting a “casual information session” in her electorate office, that the CLP allege was a misuse of her taxpayer-funded office and part of a plot to recruit new Greens members.
While multiple unresolved integrity scandals hang over her head, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro introduced legislation to Parliament on Thursday to establish a new Ethics and Integrity Commission, which she said will “streamline integrity oversight”, but failed to seek any public input on the changes and chose not to refer the proposed bill to the Parliament’s scrutiny committee for bipartisan oversight.
Racing Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the beleaguered Racing and Wagering Commission’s alleged conflicts of interest with the industry it regulates – that formed the focus of a recent Four Corners investigation – by suggesting it would be “amazing” if she could take two crossbench MLAs to the racetrack and lay a couple bets down with them to “see what happens”.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government’s pick to run the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority went to university with the Chief Minister’s husband and remains close friends with him, the NT Independent can reveal, with the appointment made amid sweeping changes to the Sacred Sites Act and the government’s move to push through the proposed Darwin Waterfront hotel project despite traditional owners’ objections.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has refused to comment on revelations Darwin Waterfront Corporation chief executive Alastair Shields is using the Kitchener Drive multi-storey carpark as a private garage for his vintage Mercedes collection at taxpayer expense, while tax compliance issues remain unanswered, with the Auditor-General recommending the corporation ensure it has met all tax reporting requirements.
