EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro breached the Disclosure of Interests Act by not divulging for two years that her husband Sam Burke was a director of a company that received annual payments from the Darwin Waterfront Corporation and which held a conference at the Waterfront earlier this year with the assistance of an undisclosed amount of taxpayer funds, the NT Independent can reveal.
The latest revelations raise further questions about governance issues at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation, which is funded with $20 million of taxpayer money a year, and follows a previous NT Independent investigative series that exposed widespread nepotism, unresolved conflicts of interest and taxpayer money being used for executive salaries for positions that were not publicly recruited.
According to ASIC records, Mr Burke has been a director of a company called Place Leaders Asia Pacific since March 2022, which states on its website that it is a “member organisation” for public sector workers and groups that holds “networking events and awards” focused at the local government level.
The company held its 2025 “summit” conference at the Darwin Waterfront and convention centre from April 2 – 5, which it said in promotional material would not have been possible without “support” from the Darwin Waterfront Corporation.
Mr Burke is also the deputy CEO of the Waterfront Corporation, that has been paying Place Leaders Asia Pacific an undisclosed sum of taxpayer money annually as a member organisation since early 2020.
Both Mr Burke and Place Leaders Asia Pacific chair Clare Ferres-Miles refused to disclose the value of the conference sponsorship, which saw the Waterfront Corporation listed as the official “2025 Summit Partner”, estimated to be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
They would also not say if the financial support included additional ‘in-kind’ support for the event. They also did not disclose how various conflicts of interest were handled, nor how many people attended and what benefit taxpayers received for helping to fund the event.
DWC chief executive Alastair Shields, who was a guest speaker at the April conference to discuss the “Darwin Waterfront success story”, also refused to disclose how much taxpayers kicked in for the conference, despite promotional material for the event stating that the DWC “proudly supported” the conference. It was also unclear if he was remunerated for his speech.
Under NT Parliament’s Disclosure of Interests Act, Ms Finocchiaro is obligated to publicly report all of her spouse’s company directorships in her register of members’ interests, but did not disclose that Mr Burke was a director of Place Leaders Asia Pacific within the required 28 days in March 2022 when he first became a director.
However, amid Labor’s ministerial shares scandal in February 2024, which involved heavy scrutiny of every politicians’ register of interests, Ms Finocchiaro first listed Mr Burke as a director of Place Leaders Asia Pacific.
Her office refused to say why she had not listed the directorship for two years, in breach of the disclosure legislation.
Ms Finocchiaro has been meticulous about her disclosures for years, including reporting shares owned, investment properties, free tickets to events and hotel room upgrades, also disclosing that Mr Burke was a member of Activate Darwin, his roles at the DWC and AustralAsia Railway Corporation and that he owns a lawnmower valued at more than $7,500.
But she did not report his directorship with Place Leaders Asia Pacific until 2024.
“The Chief Minister did not attend the [Place Leaders conference] event [in April], and her register of members’ interests is fully compliant,” spokeswoman Elle Arnold said in a brief statement that did not address a number of questions sent by the NT Independent.
Mr Burke also did not respond to questions, including whether he had received any remuneration from Place Leaders as a director and how he managed multiple perceived conflicts of interest.
The Darwin Place Leaders conference provided a number of free events and special privileges for attendees, including discounted accommodation rates at local hotels, free access to Waterfront amenities, free tours to Kakadu National Park and a Darwin Harbour cruise. There were also guided tours offered to explore “unique Darwin experiences” including local street art, Darwin’s “night-time economy” and “Cavanagh Street’s Green Spine”, including the shade structure, to show off how Darwin was “combatting climate challenges through placemaking, urban design, and community driven initiatives”.
There was also a complimentary Laksa breakfast on the lawns at NT Parliament House the morning after the organisation’s awards dinner prepared by “finalists of the Darwin International Laksa Festival”. The cost of the events to Territory taxpayers was not disclosed.
According to DWC documents, the Waterfront Corporation offers “sponsorships” involving money and “in-kind support” to “eligible applicants” that can include waiving fees and providing “promotional assistance”, as well as fully coordinating the event.
Successful applicants are determined by Waterfront staff and signed off on by Mr Burke.
Neither Mr Shields or Mr Burke explained how Mr Burke’s conflicts of interest were managed.
Lia called for Fyles to resign over disclosure failures while in breach of the Act herself; Place Leaders claim it breached ASIC rules
In December 2023, Ms Finocchiaro issued a press release as opposition leader responding to the NT Independent’s exclusive report that then-chief minister Natasha Fyles had undisclosed shares in mining company South 32, stating that “questions surrounding the transparency of chief minister Natasha Fyles have escalated” and calling Ms Fyles out for a “profound betrayal of public trust” for failing to disclose.
“The chief minister must come out immediately and front questions,” she said in the statement. “If these reports of more secret shares are true, she has knowingly misled Territorians again and must go.”
At the time, Ms Finocchiaro had not disclosed her husband was a director of Place Leaders Asia Pacific, as she was required to do.
On February 8, 2024, when scrutiny of all MLAs’ disclosures of interest intensified following additional NT Independent reports revealing shares and disclosure issues of then-ministers Chansey Paech and Brent Potter, Ms Finocchiaro finally disclosed on the register that her husband was a director of Place Leaders Asia Pacific.
However, that position was not disclosed in the latest register of members’ interests, filed last November, after the CLP was elected to government.
Ms Finocchiaro and Mr Burke declined to explain, but Place Leaders chair Ms Ferres-Miles said in an email that the not-for-profit company had failed to update its company director information with ASIC for nearly a year and that Mr Burke resigned “in writing” from the Place Leaders board on August 29, 2024 – three days after Ms Finocchiaro was elected Chief Minister.
“He has not attended any board meetings or held any role with the organisation since that time,” Ms Ferres-Miles said, adding the organisation was “governed by a volunteer board”.
“It is an administrative oversight that our ASIC records have not been updated to reflect this change. We are a small, volunteer-led organisation and we are now addressing this as a priority. The list of directors on our website is up to date and accurate. Thank you for bringing the ASIC records update to our attention.”
Companies that fail to update director information to ASIC within 28 days face fines and possible legal action from the securities regulator. Ms Fyles was ultimately pressured by her caucus after failing to disclose the South 32 shares and resigned within days of the NT Independent’s 2023 report, stating that she had “failed to meet the standards that I set for myself”.
Ms Ferres-Miles did not explain how much money the Waterfront Corporation has given Place Leaders Asia Pacific annually as a member organisation, nor how much was provided for the conference in April, citing confidentiality reasons. Their website indicates the annual fee for organisations is between $5,000 and $8,250.
She also did not explain Mr Burke’s role in organising the April conference in Darwin.
Ms Finocchiaro said in February after Education Minister Jo Hersey was discovered failing to disclose a gift involving a private jet trip to Katherine and a boozy brunch in Darwin that her government understands that “Territorians expect the highest level of integrity in politicians”.
“It’s important to our government and so we’ll continue to make sure that what we’re doing is in line with community expectations and our legal requirements,” she said at the time.
Her office declined to say if she had failed to live up to her pledge of meeting community expectations around integrity issues when she failed to disclose Mr Burke’s directorship for two years while criticising Labor for their failures to disclose.
Liar strikes again!
Territorians are now learning just how twisted, corrupt and convoluted is the pleasurable act of passing public funds amongst those very public officials whom are charged positionally, to uphold integrity, righteousness and compliance!
Liar and Sam certainly are well remunerated from the public purse given there are rules and morality they apparently exercise immunity too!
NTG DWC GOVCORP Rigorous Investigation?
It is time for the 2006 Darwin Waterfront Corporation (DWC) ACT to be rescinded as it is clearly a money laundering NTG/CCORP committee designed for elites to skim money & treat tax-payers including Wharf One & Two Toga apartment owners/residents like farm animals. The 2015-25 Management & Board have skimmed Toga apartments body corporate rates in secret, rates keep increasing whilst 25-year Maintenance & cleaning contracts fail transparency. Meanwhile Lots 10177 & 10178 adjacent to Fort Worth Port resembles an industrial wasteland yet should be a tourist precinct. Sam Burke lies to residents about planning.
Sadly, hypocrisy is nothing new in modern democracy, and especially the NT. The perceived arrogance of the NT ‘elite’ is greatly concerning (to put it mildly) and seemingly feeds back into voter antipathy. Credit to Messrs Walsh for unearthing this and sharing.
“Territorians expect the highest level of integrity in politicians”. Farcical? Nah . . . DECEITFUL! And at what point in time will transparency / accountability founder completely? Integrity has no place within either CLP or ALP? Present day C.M.(s) in NT require inoculation prior to accepting Office?
Ah yes, the old “administrative error” excuse is alive and well it seems. A public sector and Government staple of many a corrupt endeavour uncovered by investigative media.
Unfortunately hypocrisy does not have the same disgusted weight it once had, mainly because it is so prevalent in today’s bunch of political imbeciles.
Looks like Alastair Shields From The Public is doing his job very well again.
And the Finocchiaro-Burke Leadershit is again benefitting greatly from the HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY they are sucking out of the public pot. Cha-ching!
Helped again by their cronyism/mates in high places.
Cheers Alastair, another glass of champagne?
We can’t expect LiaR Finocchiaro to stop this kind of cronyism-enrichment, especially when it’s her family that is benefiting most from the backroom deals and favours from the likes of Alastair Shields From The Public.
So we should stop getting upset about it and start getting activated by it.
Now is the time to work on real solutions. None of the muppets masquerading as MLAs from both this CLP Chaotic Laughable Party and the ALP Appallingly Lame Party are going to do anything to help us.
Just remember the DWC Public Accounts Committee hearing.
No one asked about backroom deals done to enrich anyone in power or anyone on the DWC Board or their cronies.
Alastair Shields From The Public sat there, knowing that this was going on, that he helped organise it, yet decided to keep quiet about it during his questioning.
Of course he will say that he did his job answering the questions asked of him.
Which highlights why the correct kinds of questions are of such vital importance.
Labor could have asked open ended questions such as:
Tell us about all the jobs, help and assistance, recommendations, payments, conferences and the people benefitting from them given and received by the DWC and it’s Board members in the years you’ve been on the Board, Mr Shields.
Seeing as we are here to discuss matters related to the remuneration of the CM’s husband, Sam Burke, inform us of all the financial payments given and received by him in his employment and connection with the DWC in the last 10 years, Mr Shields.
But they chose not to because they don’t want to truth out there.
Too many skeletons in the closet we think.
The 4 very narrow questions asked, and not challenged at all by any of the heavily stacked in favour of the CM Committee, was done as a charade.
A magic trick, sleight of hand manoeuvre, now you see it now you don’t type of game.
Ah ha! You thought the King/answer was at the top of the pile, behind that Jack/question you asked. Flip it over aaaaaand it’s an 8 of clubs, sorry.
All done deliberately with assistance by both political parties.
How do we know it was both of them?
Check out what happened after it, when Selena Stays Silent’s questions about the blatant impropriety and cronyism weren’t answered properly.
Did she jump onto every media possible to complain about another Government cover up?
Did she write an opinion piece about the sorry state of Parliamentary scrutiny in the NT which allowed the CM to benefit directly from the secretive helping hands of her husband’s mates high up in NT Government offices?
Did she demand another hearing which wasn’t stacked in favour of their boss’s husband’s position?
Did her MLA in the room speak up when the Committee hearing was abruptly cut short just as Justine Davis was continuing trying to burrow down to somewhere resembling close to important information?
None of these. She Stayed Silent.
So what we have now is a Political Conspiracy to Defraud the NT Public.
Both big parties are in on it, know about it, support each other either by actively doing something to make sure proper investigation is blocked or by Staying Silent when they should be speaking up and using their privileged positions to do something to change the status quo.
The situation is this bad because of the complicity of the CLP and ALP.
They are acting as one big political Party of Personal Gain.
This is uncontroversial to say this in the NT.
Time for Change.
Part 1 is knowing how we are being shafted and by who.
Part 2 is doing something to stop it and making sure it doesn’t happen again.
Silence is complicity in it.
Silence is enabling it.
Silence is encouraging it.
It’s Time for: Changing For Better the players in the Political Landscape is the only way to guarantee this is not repeated at the next election.
Otherwise it’s going to be more of the same people, saying the same lies, reaping the same benefits while we all type the same complaints online and nothing changes.
Just the way they like it.
Pass the Moet Alastair.
Who is running the CLP now??
Have all the old CLP Dinosaurs passed away due to kidney and liver damage from all them tx payer funded drunken nights at Charlies and Christo’s??
Who in the CLP is gunner bite the bullet and kick out Lia before she permanently sinks the Good Ship “CLP”?
Photos of smiling CLP politicians in the NT NEWS daily is not gunner cut it (in fact, I suggest they stop it, they are not what you call, aesthetically pleasing to the eye). CLP MLA’s at markets and festivals trying to talk to people also does not cut it.
The ALP have a ton of 2028 Election winning collateral already and the fabulous CLP have not been in power for 1 year!!
Do the other CLP MLA’s need a hand written memo delivered by flaming arrow, before they wake up and determine their minimal chances of surviving a new and invigorated ALP line up in 2028 with a dead duck Leader?
The CLP in 2028 wont be contesting Gunner, Pie face or hopefully any more Pedophiles.
I have been broken into multiple times in the last 10 months! Ill be happy to vote for any extremist right leaning nut job who has a plan on Crime.
“Ill be happy to vote for any extremist right leaning nut job who has a plan on Crime.”
It’s genuinely sad to read comments like this.
Unfortunately many people nowadays connect ‘having a plan on crime’ in order to see real world reductions in their community and neighbourhood, with the ‘right wing’, many of them being ‘nut jobs’, we agree.
Let us give you a non-nut job alternative ‘Footrot’:
Unfortunately again, we have a group of CLP Conspicuously Littleminded People who think that being “tough on crime” solves local crime issues. Or any long term crime issues for that matter.
Their “tough on crime” approach follows the playbook of all the other political parties both old and young, in countries near and far, who have used it as a blunt weapon/policy to try to solve complex, complicated and ingrained social problems.
Historically it’s hasn’t solved any long term crime problem anywhere and it will never solve any long term crime problem anywhere.
Because it doesn’t address any of the causes/drivers of criminal behaviour that we mentioned in a previous comment.
These are, to name a few:
Social inequality and instability, employment opportunities, community cohesion, wealth disparity, poverty, access to meaningful education, housing deprivation, mental health issues, addiction services, parenting support, exposure to violent crime, absent father figures, generational criminality, peer group influence, persistent joblessness, unfair or mistrusted justice systems, racism and racism policies in the general society and/or in the institutions that control us, social exclusion.
What it does solve though is the question about who has a vision to deal with crime, because the ALP Additional Littleminded People clearly didn’t and still don’t.
And obviously, neither does the CLP Crappy Likeminded People.
We’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it, there are things you can do, without being ‘right wing’ and/or a ‘nut job’, to begin to address the crime issues here in the NT:
1. Accept that there is no quick fix to this long standing problem.
Giving people who don’t want them, guns, does nothing to solve any of the causes and drivers of crime.
Those CLP Crappy Likeminded People know this but they’re doing it anyway because it’s a good soundbite for their voting base: Look at us, being all big and tough on those violent criminals! Shoot ‘em if they don’t smell nice on the bus! Yee-haw!
2. Begin to work on dealing with the causes/drivers of criminal behaviour.
This is important for a number of what we think are obvious reasons.
3. Don’t ignore one of the biggest parts in this issue: recidivism: how we stop people falling into a pattern of committing crime.
Apart from the important community safety aspect of this issue there is also a huge financial cost associated with increased recidivism.
4. Look at the bigger picture: our ultimate goal is for people to never commit crime in the first place. Good to aim for but accept that it is unrealistic for obvious reasons.
Next: for those who do commit crime, there has to be a balance between appropriate deterrence and appropriate consequences.
Part of this cycle must include genuine rehabilitation however.
Otherwise, you start the cycle again of the pattern of committing crime, finishing your consequences, then committing crime again, etc etc.
The next ideal situation is that people commit crimes only once, they are then rehabilitated into what the society hopes and expects of them, and they go on to be functioning and contributing members of said society and commit no more crime.
This keeps the community safe and saves us all a heap of money now and in the future, to spend on better things.
5. Push for more preventative measures instead of only reacting to crime already committed.
If Justice Reinvestment programs are properly funded, thought out, well executed and administered, and involve every level of that cycle who would participate in these programs, then we have a decent opportunity realistically to do something to break this disastrous pattern.
If people feel like they have nothing to lose by getting caught committing crimes then they won’t care about any “tough on crime” consequences you celebrate on Adam Steer’s Tuesday morning radio love-in.
If people don’t have any aspirations or pathways to opportunities or stable housing or food security or non-racist Policing or someone to help with their deepest darkest thoughts and nightmares or politicians who seem to really care about getting them off the depressing wheel of crime-court-jail-abuse-release-crime-court-jail-abuse-release making it increasingly more difficult to have any of those aspirations or opportunities every time you can’t get off the wheel, then they will fall into continuing and destructive patterns of behaviour which affect all of us directly and indirectly.
The only real ‘nut jobs’ in our household are the ones who refuse to see this and arrogantly think they have all the answers which means they don’t then ask for help from the experienced people in their relevant fields, in breaking that cycle of so many people, young and older, who all have different levels of melanin in their skin.
As a Government, If you really want to break this cycle, one very easy way to begin your journey is to make sure that as the responsible adults in the room, you don’t start the cycle earlier by criminalising 10 year olds.
Putting people into the criminal justice system earlier only makes sure you increase their chances of staying in for the longer term.
But those particular ‘nut jobs’ know this.
Has it reduced crime? Made you feel safer? Stopped any 10 year olds from joining groups of their peers in stealing cars?