The Finocchiaro CLP Government racked up an $886 million net operating deficit in the 2024-25 financial year, while also borrowing $1.4 billion, according to a new audit report by the Auditor-General, which shows the big-spending CLP helped raise the Territory’s debt level to $12 billion.
UPDATED: The Finocchiaro CLP Government’s legislation to roll the ICAC and Ombudsman offices into a new Integrity and Ethics Commission has been roundly rejected by multiple national and international integrity experts as weakening independent oversight and creating potential “political interference” in the new commission, with the Centre for Public Integrity recommending the bill be withdrawn and sent back for review to ensure the NT’s “broken integrity system” is fixed properly.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has refused to explain how disgraced former NT Government senior executive Andrew Kirkman obtained a government-marked vehicle, which he was seen driving and which was parked outside his house last week, more than seven months after announcing his departure from the public service.
Two companies linked to Michael Buckley and his co-accused have had their government contractor accreditation pulled, which will prevent both businesses from receiving government works and may affect subcontractors, as Mr Buckley faces federal corruption charges relating to the alleged rorting of Department of Defence building contracts valued at $71 million.
Proven liar and NT Police Commander Shaun Gill told a local radio station a male teen was arrested after allegedly throwing a gas bottle at a person in Darwin overnight and threatening people with an “edged weapon”, but that did not align with facts presented in a police press release, which is not the first time Mr Gill has misled the public.
M+J Builders co-director Jessica Buckley’s claims that she is an Indigenous woman from the Bundaberg region in Queensland have recently been called into question, the NT Independent understands, which comes as the NT Indigenous Business Network suspended the company’s membership on Tuesday, but which it said was due only to the federal corruption charges against her husband and co-director Michael Buckley.
A Darwin businessman and vice-president of Master Builders NT has been identified as one of three people facing charges in a federal corruption investigation involving the alleged rorting of Department of Defence contracts valued at up to $71 million, with business records revealing connections to a Commonwealth employee and his wife, who are also believed to be facing charges.
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.
