Calls grow for federal inquiry into NT Police, Chalker to leave | NT Independent

Calls grow for federal inquiry into NT Police, Chalker to leave

by | Sep 20, 2022 | News, NT Politics | 0 comments

An independent MLA and a Labor MLA have called on the Federal Government to order a public inquiry into the ongoing “crisis” in the NT Police force and for Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker to vacate the role, while the Opposition CLP continue to refuse to publicly criticise the Commissioner for ongoing failures.

Independent Member for Araluen Robyn Lambley and Labor Member for Blain Mark Turner have both now called for a federal inquiry or royal commission into the NT Police force, after the Fyles Government last month shut down another attempt to hold a parliamentary inquiry into police.

An NT parliamentary committee would have been limited in scope and would not have any teeth to compel witnesses, Mr Turner said. He recently wrote to the Prime Minister and the federal Attorney-General advocating for the Federal Government to call a royal commission to get to the bottom of ongoing systemic issues in the force and the root causes of low morale in the force that have led to suicides this year by current and former members.

The NT Government would have no say in holding that inquiry and Mr Turner, a former police officer, said it is sorely needed here to help fix the ongoing crisis.

“The entire point is the [NT] Government don’t have to agree to a royal commission, it’s a Federal Act from the Commonwealth Government,” he said.

“The fact we’re in the situation we’re in and no one is asking why is insane. The rate of police self-harm and psychological illness would never be tolerated down south.

“We’ve just seen them [police executive] hiding negative posts on the R U OK? day [Facebook] post, trying to whitewash mental health [issues]. This can’t carry on indefinitely and we’ll be paying the cost of the experience we’ve lost for decades.”

Ms Lambley told the NT Independent on Tuesday that she is also supportive of a federal royal commission into the dysfunction in the NT Police and that it would not be a “witch-hunt”, but rather “a means of heightening the integrity and effectiveness of our police”.

“Multiple attempts have been made through the NT Parliament to launch inquiries into the NT Police by myself and the Opposition over the last five years, but the Labor Government has voted them all down,” she said.

“They are terrified of this proposition, potentially exposing their inadequate policy settings, particularly in relation to the collapse of law and order.”

Ms Lambley wrote an opinion piece on the weekend published in the NT News – but not shared on its website – in which she said it was time for Jamie Chalker to stand down and compared his tenure to that of disgraced former commissioner John McRoberts, who was jailed for perverting the course of justice in 2018.

“The image of McRoberts dressed in prison garb at Darwin Holtze’s prison should be a sober reminder of what can happen to any senior public servant who gets it seriously wrong,” she wrote.

“Whilst your bad decisions in public life are usually more memorable than your best, the public demands nothing less than the highest integrity and most outstanding performance from their Police Commissioner.

“I believe Jamie Chalker has simply been underwhelming in the role of NT Police Commissioner.

“But despite an apparent profound lack of confidence in Chalker by the NT Police rank and file and a series of questionable calls, he continues to hold his position.”

CLP still not criticising Chalker, won’t rule out backing federal inquiry

Ms Lambley repeated the call for Mr Chalker to leave on Mix 104.9 on Tuesday morning, reiterating that on top of all the ongoing internal problems in the police force, he had also failed to deliver on his main task of upholding law and order.

“I think the people are exhausted, they’re tired,” she said. “The public are tired and disillusioned and the police service are tired and disillusioned. It’s time to go, Jamie Chalker.”

Opposition CLP Leader Lia Finocchiaro was also on radio Tuesday morning, but again stopped short of criticising Mr Chalker publicly or calling for a federal inquiry, suggesting instead that he should be “performance managed” by the Fyles Government through a parliamentary inquiry that has already been shut down.

Ms Finocchiaro did not rule out backing a federal public inquiry but continued to advocate for a parliamentary inquiry first, despite noting that the CLP had failed three times in the last two years to establish one.

“I think there needs to be a full inquiry – if a royal commission is then the right step after that, then so be it,” she said.

Ms Finocchiaro’s office did not respond to questions about why the Opposition would not call for a royal commission now and did not explain why she has not called for Mr Chalker to leave the role after 80 per cent of police members who responded to a recent survey stated they have no confidence in him to lead the NT Police.

“Our position in response to the damning results in the police survey is that the Police Commissioner must front an inquiry and explain why he should keep his job,” she told the NT Independent in a statement. “The inquiry is performance management in the absence of any leadership from government.”

 

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