Christopher Walsh | NT Independent
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REVEALED: Shields secretly using Waterfront carpark for vintage Mercedes car collection at taxpayer expense

REVEALED: Shields secretly using Waterfront carpark for vintage Mercedes car collection at taxpayer expense

by | Oct 16, 2025 | , , , ,

EXCLUSIVE: Darwin Waterfront Corporation chief executive Alastair Shields has been using at least two valuable parking spaces on the top level of the Kitchener Drive multi-storey carpark as his own personal garage to keep two Mercedeses – including the red one that featured in a recent Four Corners episode – which the former chair of the corporation says he had no knowledge of, raising questions about undisclosed gifts and whether fringe benefit tax has been paid for Mr Shields’s free parking fancy.

‘Just business as usual’: Racing Minister casts doubts over review of conflicts at wagering commission

‘Just business as usual’: Racing Minister casts doubts over review of conflicts at wagering commission

by | Oct 14, 2025 | ,

Racing Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has caused confusion over her government’s claims it is reviewing potential conflicts of interest concerning the Racing and Wagering Commission raised in a Four Corners investigation last week, telling Parliament on Tuesday its review is “business as usual” while the board is doing its job “really well”, despite allegations of a cosy relationship with the $50 billion online gambling industry and the commission’s failures to effectively regulate it.

Lia ‘not really sure’ why pollies misusing white car service but public should be ‘confident’ in secret rules

Lia ‘not really sure’ why pollies misusing white car service but public should be ‘confident’ in secret rules

by | Oct 13, 2025 | ,

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has refused to publicly release the official rules around the use of the taxpayer-funded white car chauffeur service while revealing on Monday that Education Minister Jo Hersey has now paid back taxpayers for misusing the service, which she previously refused to do, while also telling the public to have “confidence” that the secret rules are being followed.

Clare Martin appointed Territory Labor president amid sacking of party executive

Clare Martin appointed Territory Labor president amid sacking of party executive

by | Oct 10, 2025 | ,

Former chief minister Clare Martin has been appointed – not elected – president of Territory Labor amid upheaval in the party, that has seen its elected executive members sacked in the fallout of the internal review into Labor’s 2024 election wipe out, the NT Independent understands, and replaced by six new members, who were also not elected by party members.

‘Mind-boggling’: Martin Dole appointed Police Commissioner with no recruitment process undertaken

‘Mind-boggling’: Martin Dole appointed Police Commissioner with no recruitment process undertaken

by | Oct 9, 2025 | , ,

UPDATED: Fresh off an “inquiry” into questionable senior police appointments that found serious dysfunction in how senior officers are promoted, including that merit is not the over-arching principle, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has appointed Martin Dole as the next NT Police Commissioner without going through a proper hiring process to seek the best candidates.

Territory’s national embarrassment exposed in Four Corners investigation

Territory’s national embarrassment exposed in Four Corners investigation

by | Oct 7, 2025 | ,

The Northern Territory’s heavily conflicted and “useless” regulatory authority that oversees Australia’s $50 billion online gambling industry was exposed on ABC’s Four Corners program Monday night, which featured NT Racing and Wagering Commission chair Alastair Shields fleeing media questions in an old Mercedes that initially wouldn’t start during a hasty getaway.

Chief Minister hides from questions on flawed Blow report into police recruitment

Chief Minister hides from questions on flawed Blow report into police recruitment

by | Oct 8, 2025 | , ,

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has failed to front the public following the release of the damning Justice Alan Blow review into NT Police senior employment practices, issuing a statement to claim she will accept the report’s six recommendations, but making no mention of why she failed to set it up as a proper inquiry, which the NT Police Association said fell “well short of what was expected”.

CLP Minister says she also used govt white car service for personal trip, adds to confusion around rules

CLP Minister says she also used govt white car service for personal trip, adds to confusion around rules

by | Oct 6, 2025 | , ,

Education Minister Jo Hersey has become the first CLP minister to admit using the taxpayer-funded white car chauffeur service for a personal trip, raising the prospect of other potential misuse by ministers, but claims she received advice from a body that has nothing to do with the car service that her personal trip to Casuarina was “within the guidelines”, even if “it doesn’t probably float with the public”.

Blow jobs report finally released into questionable NT Police senior appointments

Blow jobs report finally released into questionable NT Police senior appointments

by | Oct 2, 2025 | , ,

The Justice Alan Blow inquiry into senior police appointments under former police commissioner Michael Murphy has found the promotion and appointment processes “have many shortcomings” that need to be addressed immediately, while also exposing a war within the senior ranks of the NT Police over unresolved allegations of favouritism, bias and “undeclared or unmanaged conflicts of interest” that is continuing to affect the police’s culture and morale.

NT Govt spent $2 million over five years to recover $900k defrauded through IEPS scheme

NT Govt spent $2 million over five years to recover $900k defrauded through IEPS scheme

by | Sep 30, 2025 | , ,

The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics under former senior bureaucrat Andrew Kirkman spent $2 million on a deeply flawed and painfully slow internal investigation into the rorting of millions of taxpayer dollars through the Indigenous Employment Provisional Sum scheme by dozens of Territory contractors, that led to the recovery of only $900,000, new internal government documents show.

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