CLP Member for Katherine Jo Hersey lashed out in Parliament this week at newly-elected Labor MLA Manuel Brown, who she said killed her friend with his car and then changed his name to hide from his dark past, while the Fyles Government continues to ignore his dishonesty about the incident.

Court records appear to back up the claim that Mr Brown altered the spelling of his first name at some point after being convicted for causing the crash that killed a 62-year-old Katherine nurse in 2009.

He has also operated a private Facebook page under a different first name that was connected to his by-election campaign.

The Fyles Labor Government has faced criticism for not publicly disclosing Mr Brown’s conviction when he was introduced as the party’s candidate for the Arafura by-election in March, while continuing to defend him and downplay his conviction as facts of the incident show Mr Brown was not honest with Territorians about the crash.

During debate over the ongoing crime crisis on Tuesday night – the transcript of which was not released until Thursday – Labor attacked the CLP for what they claimed was the Opposition failing to speak out about an Indigenous woman who was stabbed and later died on the Esplanade in April, with Attorney General Chansey Paech sensationally calling the CLP “racist”, instead of addressing the crime issue that led to the death of the woman.

“I call out the shameless politicising by the pathetic, hollow excuse of a Leader of the Opposition [Lia Finocchiaro], in which she selects which victim of crime she chooses to name and politicise,” he said. “That is disgusting.”

He also called the party “racist” for raising concerns about the damage at the Howard Springs workers camp by flood evacuees, an issue that was covered up by the Chief Minister when first asked about it, who later claimed only “wear and tear” at the facility that is currently estimated to cost more than $1 million to repair.

Mr Paech then proceeded to tell Parliament that he and the Fyles Government were “standing up for every Territorian” before launching an attack on the CLP for the failings of the controversial CLP government from 2012 – 2016, which nobody in the current Opposition was involved in except for Ms Finocchiaro, who was a backbencher at the time.

He then claimed that the Fyles Government was providing “transparency and accountability” to Territorians.

Ms Hersey said she found it “rich” that the Labor Fyles Government spoke about “openness and transparency” while gagging debate about their own party members’ issues last week, when the government shut down independent MLA Robyn Lambley for bringing up Mr Brown’s conviction and other party members’ criminal pasts.

“It’s rich to pick and choose what you want to talk about and what you do not,” she said.

“The Member for Arafura [Mr Brown] ran through an intersection and killed a friend of mine!

“You all howled us down and did not want to hear about it. It is on the public record!”

Police Minister Kate Worden then shouted out, “not true!”

“It is true Member for Sanderson, you can read about it,” Ms Hersey said. “There has been a name change since. It is a disgrace and you should all hang your heads in shame.”

Brown lied to the public in statement after conviction revealed, refuses to say why name changed

Court records obtained by the NT Independent last month showed that Mr Brown appeared to have changed the spelling of his name from “Manual” to “Manuel” at some point after being convicted in 2010.

It was unclear when he changed the spelling or if it was legally certified. He also refused to explain whether he did it to earlier distance himself from his past or just before entering politics for Labor election signs.

He has also been using the name “Michael Brown” on a private Facebook page, in which he was tagged during the by-election.

Labor’s Manuel Brown (centre) with MLA Brent Potter and Chief Minister Natasha Fyles.

The NT Independent revealed Mr Brown had been charged with dangerous driving causing death in 2009 for killing the Katherine nurse after running a stop sign and smashing into her car, but later pleaded to a lesser charge of driving without due care and served no jail time for causing the fatality.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles later claimed Mr Brown had told the party and herself about the crime, although she could not explain why they did not inform the public about the incident when announcing his nomination for the party.

Mr Brown later claimed in a public statement that he had “rendered first aid” to the woman after smashing into her car, however that was refuted by court documents and an eye-witness who said Mr Brown did not provide any assistance as the woman was trapped in the car and needed to be extricated with the Jaws of Life.

The son of the victim told the NT Independent last month that Mr Brown had lied about the crash and questioned why Ms Fyles was continuing to defend him without knowing the facts of the incident.

It was revealed in financial disclosures with the NT Electoral Commission that Ms Fyles’s parents were the single largest contributors to Labor’s Arafura by-election campaign, kicking in an unexplained $4,500 to help Mr Brown secure victory.

Territory Labor has also been criticised for taking no action against Mr Brown for being dishonest about the crash and allowing him to stay in the party after kicking Blain MLA Mark Turner out for allegedly lying to caucus in 2021. Ms Fyles had said in March that caucus “did not trust” Mr Turner, despite Ms Fyles herself clearing him of misleading Parliament when she was chair of the parliamentary disciplinary body last year.

Ms Fyles and Mr Brown refused to respond to questions about why Mr Brown changed the spelling of his name following his conviction and why they have repeatedly claimed he has “never hid” from the crime.