A former senior Labor adviser has warned Chief Minister Natasha Fyles about making amendments to the ICAC Act while members of her government are under investigation for alleged improper conduct in connection to the 2020 election campaign, suggesting the Labor Government has lost its “courage and conviction” to do the right thing.
In a letter sent this week, seen by the NT Independent, former senior ministerial adviser Charlie Phillips pointed to an article from July, in which national anti-corruption academic AJ Brown said that proposed changes to the NT ICAC Act that would prevent the naming of politicians and public servants found to have engaged in certain misconduct were “quite weird by national standards” and counterproductive to an effective anti-corruption body in the NT.
Ms Fyles introduced all of the proposed amendments in Parliament last month and it’s expected the legislation will be debated during October sittings before being passed into law.
Mr Phillips wrote to Ms Fyles that the government needed to explain to the public what the exact changes would mean and rule out any possible retrospective changes that might affect current ongoing ICAC investigations into political operatives.
“In short, the highest levels of the NT Government, whose actions set the standard for culture and acceptable ethics across the entire public sector, are under scrutiny by the NT’s anti-corruption commission for alleged improper conduct,” he wrote.
“Has anyone in the government considered these optics? Do they imbue confidence in a review of ICAC’s legislative mandate initiated by a head of government under investigation by the very same entity.”
The review of the ICAC Act was ordered by former chief minister Michael Gunner in 2021 to be led by former Department of Justice chief executive Greg Shanahan, which was conducted in secrecy with none of the submissions made to the committee available to the public.
It was unclear whose advice Mr Shanahan was taking when developing the proposed amendments to the Act.
“Your predecessor’s review was conducted in secret and based on anonymous submissions. The rationale for the secrecy has never been properly explained,” Mr Phillips wrote in the letter to Ms Fyles.
“He left it to you, as Leader of Government Business, to carry the can for the public announcement on the review of the ICAC Act – very crafty indeed!
“The Bill and related consultative processes are deeply flawed and inimical to the public interest, in my view.”
Mr Phillips compared the establishment of the federal anti-corruption commission to the behind-closed-doors approach adopted by the NT Labor Government to the NT ICAC Act amendments.
“The relevant public consultation [federally] included published submissions and public hearings conducted by Parliamentary Committees at arms length from government – the antithesis of the process adopted by your government when amendments to the NT ICAC were being developed and considered,” he wrote.
“Why was the NT legislative review driven out of the Chief Minister’s office and Department as opposed to an independent parliamentary committee utilising disclosed public submissions and hearings? The conflicts of interest inherent in your Government’s approach cannot be hidden from public scrutiny.
“It is not too late for Cabinet and caucus to say we got this wrong, we’ll start again and introduce a fresh Bill after proper consultation. The public interest should always prevail over political self interest – a minimal requirement for a viable democracy.”
Mr Phillips concluded his letter by referencing an apparent cabinet reshuffle “post October sittings” and called for “real leadership based on values, trust and the public interest”.
Ms Fyles’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
She claimed in August that the reforms to the ICAC Act would “meet public expectations and maintain confidence in government accountability” but was short on details about the changes in a statement at the time. She has never stated if any of the proposed amendments would be retrospective.
Read the full letter:
Dear Chief Minister,
When NT Labor introduced and passed the ICAC Act it was responsible for one of the most substantive and substantial legislative reforms since Self-Government. The initiative, grounded in the public interest, was widely welcomed by Territorians – especially because it was the right thing to do. But more recent legislative proposals to amend the ICAC Act give rise to this question – What happened to NT Labor’s previous courage and conviction?
Your predecessor subsequently led the charge to emasculate the Act for questionable motives that were never adequately explained. This is the same Chief Minister who resigned immediately after delivering an NT budget after it was disclosed he was under investigation by ICAC in relation to taxpayer funded charter flights during the 2020 Territory election authorised in his office.
In short, the highest levels of the NT Government, whose actions set the standard for culture and acceptable ethics across the entire public sector, are under scrutiny by the NT’s anti-corruption commission for alleged improper conduct.
Has anyone in the government considered these optics? Do they imbue confidence in a review of ICAC’s legislative mandate initiated by a head of government under investigation by the very same entity.
Your predecessor’s review was conducted in secret and based on anonymous submissions. The rationale for the secrecy has never been properly explained. He left it to you, as Leader of Government Business, to carry the can for the public announcement on the review of the ICAC Act – very crafty indeed!
Whilst not exhaustive, the attached article published in the NTI identifies serious flaws in the Bill introduced by you in the August sittings and presumably up for debate and passage in October.
The Bill and related consultative processes are deeply flawed and inimical to the public interest, in my view.
In addition to the gist of the NTI article, there is at least one other compelling development that does not appear to have been considered by your government. I refer, of course, to consultation and related debate on policy and proposed legislation for Australia’s first ever National Anti-Corruption Commission. The NACC Bill was introduced on 30 November 2022 following extensive public consultation and commenced operation on 1 July this year.
The Joint Select Committee Report on The National Anti-Corruption Commission November 2022 (and the Bill itself) were informed by expert advice from a range of legal professionals, government and non-government entities and other stakeholders.
The relevant public consultation included published submissions and public hearings conducted by Parliamentary Committees at arms length from government – the antithesis of the process adopted by your government when amendments to the NT ICAC were being developed and considered.
A good starting point for you and your cabinet colleagues might be the submission to the JSC by the eminent Australia Institute.
What lessons did you, as responsible NT Minister, learn from the substance and public debate on the Commonwealths’ legislative reforms? Were any of the federal proposals or initiatives considered by you, cabinet or caucus when the the NT Bill was being developed and either included or rejected in the NT context?
This enlivens one other salient issue – why was the NT legislative review driven out of the Chief Minister’s office and Department as opposed to an independent parliamentary committee utilising disclosed public submissions and hearings. The conflicts of interest inherent in your Government’s approach cannot be hidden from public scrutiny.
It is not too late for Cabinet and caucus to say we got this wrong, we’ll start again and introduce a fresh Bill after proper consultation. The public interest should always prevail over political self interest – a minimal requirement for a viable democracy.
Territorians are entitled to know which Ministers investigated or questioned by ICAC on any matter whatsoever have deliberated on the Bill and the related development of policy whether or not they intend to speak during parliamentary debate in October.
It would also be in the public interest for you to assure our NT community that none of its provisions would have retrospective application to matters already on foot in the ICAC should the Bill be enacted.
This is not a time for fictitious leadership based on empty rhetoric. It is a time for real leadership based on values, trust and the public interest.
The cabinet reshuffle you are contemplating post October sittings will not obviate the need to kill the Bill.
What will your legacy be Chief Minister?
CHARLIE PHILLIPS
Already we see a government that has legislated more than once to kill a court case against a minister. Is this an extension of a self preservation racket by a corrupt government?