Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has refused to explain if she will refer an investigation into how a broke water bottling company was given $10 million of public money onto police, three months after the ICAC referred the matter to her, which critics say is the latest example of this government sweeping corruption issues “under the rug”.

It was revealed in a report tabled in Parliament last week that ICAC Michael Riches had sent a report to Ms Fyles in May in which he said he “remained concerned” about how NT Beverages received $10 million of taxpayer funds and suggested “further inquiry by another entity” may be necessary, after his investigation was halted due to jurisdictional issues.

However, Ms Fyles has refused to say whether she will refer the matter to the police for further investigation.

On Monday, she ignored the NT Independent’s questions about what actions she has taken since receiving the ICAC report in May and also this week reportedly ignored the ABC’s questions about whether she would be making any further inquiries.

She blamed the previous Adam Giles-led CLP government for establishing the $200 million Infrastructure Development Fund which oversaw the investment.

“The NTIDF [Northern Territory’s Infrastructure Development Fund] was a CLP scheme designed to operate at arm’s length from government,” Ms Fyles told the ABC.

“It was clear to us that the scheme wasn’t operating as we or Territorians expected and that’s why we made the decision to dissolve it.

“Our priority has always and will always be to create local jobs – that’s why we established the Local Jobs Fund which has closer oversight and control from government.”

However, while the IDF was initially established by the then-CLP government, it was signed off on by current Deputy Treasurer Nicole Manison when she was treasurer in 2016. The investment was made in 2018, months before NT Beverages went into administration.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the CLP referred the NT Beverages investment to the ICAC “to get answers and the questions still remain”.

“For a Government and Chief Minister who promised integrity and transparency they have delivered anything but,” she said.

“Territorians deserve to know why $10 million of their money was wasted on this project by a Labor Government who cannot do the basics.

“Now that the matter is with Natasha Fyles, I have no doubt she will do anything she can to sweep this under the rug.”

The IDF was structured as a private entity with $200 million of public funds, to operate at “arm’s length from government” to fund major infrastructure projects, which was not subject to the same scrutiny a public body managing the same funds would have, an issue Mr Riches indicated was problematic.

In the two years the fund operated, it only made the one $10 million investment in NT Beverages, a company that had lied about the source of its water, operated a fake charity that never made a donation chaired by Mix 104.9 presenter Katie Woolf, and had promoted its water as offering “incredible health benefits” which independent water tests showed was no better than tap water.

The IDF, whose board consisted of then-head public servant Jodie Ryan, James Paspaley, chair Les Fallick, as well as former Macquarie Bank boss Bill Moss and former Future Fund managing director Mark Burgess, cost taxpayers more than $200,000 a month to operate despite not having to publicly report its dealings.

In addition to the expenses and payments to board members, the IDF also paid private company Infrastructure Capital Group more than $1 million a year to manage the fund and recommend investments.

According to ASIC documents, ICG changed its name to Foresight Australia Funds Management Limited late last year.

ICG employed former chief minister Michael Gunner’s chief of staff Emily Beresford Cane’s husband Callan Harding at the time the investment to NT Beverages was made. He was listed as a senior manager with ICG, responsible for “investment origination and execution”, according to LinkedIn.

The Infrastructure Development Fund was shut down in October 2018, with the Labor Government putting the remaining $185 million into a “local jobs package” to stimulate the sagging economy.

Half of that money went into the “jobs fund”, which last year gave another $10 million of taxpayer money to Amphibian Aerospace Industries to rebuild old planes in Darwin.