EXCLUSIVE: A corruption investigation into Deputy Chief Minister Chansey Paech’s previous shares in a liquor wholesale company has been blocked by the Labor Government, which refused to release portions of Cabinet records that would show if Mr Paech declared a conflict of interest during Cabinet discussions about the NT Government’s role in federal grog bans in remote communities being lifted, the NT Independent can reveal.

The Office of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption commenced the probe earlier this year, sources have confirmed, with current acting commissioner Naomi Loudon leading the investigation, after it was revealed Mr Paech had personally bought shares in liquor and food distribution company Metcash, which supplies alcohol to various bottle shops in Central Australia and across the NT.

But the Labor government recently blocked the ICAC’s attempts to access portions of Cabinet records, citing Cabinet confidentiality conventions, sources have confirmed.

The lifting of the federal alcohol bans in dozens of remote communities in 2022, with no safety net put in place by the NT Government, led to a spike in crime and hospitalisation visits – a decision Chief Minister Eva Lawler recently admitted was wrong.

Mr Paech, who played a key role in the government’s decision to allow the Stronger Futures grog ban legislation to end, refused for weeks to publicly disclose if he had declared a conflict of interest to Cabinet ahead of discussions about the NT Government’s response.

But Mr Paech made it clear in February that he was involved in those Cabinet discussions at the time he was a Metcash shareholder, which has raised concerns around his failure to appropriately manage a conflict of interest.

Even if he declared the conflict to Cabinet, he still took part in the discussions that he had a conflict of interest in.

Ms Lawler did not answer the NT Independent’s questions on Friday about Mr Paech’s role in the Cabinet discussions about the ban being lifted and whether he disclosed his conflict of interest to Cabinet, instead stating that: “Minister Paech complied with the rules regarding his shares – which he no longer owns, and divested in December 2023.”

She added that while the Office of the ICAC “has an important role to play, Cabinet documents and minutes are confidential”.

Mr Paech acquired the shares while Minister of Indigenous Essential Services and Remote Housing and Town Camps, first disclosing them on his register of members’ interests six days after being sworn in as Attorney General, Aboriginal Affairs Minister and Minister for Gaming and Licensing in May 2022 – two months before the grog bans that he had denounced as “racist” were rescinded.

Mr Paech later claimed the value of the shares was roughly $400, but never explained why he purchased them.

Mr Paech divested the shares in December 2023, just days after former chief minister Natasha Fyles was forced to resign in scandal for undisclosed personal shares in a mining company that was allegedly involved in heavy metal poisoning of Indigenous Territorians at Groote Eylandt that she refused to investigate as health minister.

Mr Paech held his Metcash shares for 19 months before divesting them, including while Minister for Racing, Gaming and Licensing, which gave him the power to make decisions affecting the liquor industry.

“I have always complied with the Ministerial Code of Conduct and the Legislative Assembly Disclosure of Interests Act 2008,” Mr Paech said in a statement on Friday.

“All rules have been followed. The Chief Minister has made it clear that a comprehensive review of the conflict of interests process in the NTG is warranted and that the review is progressing.

“Since becoming Deputy Chief Minister, I have divested all shares.”

He has continued to refuse to comment on whether he disclosed the shares to Cabinet ahead of the discussions he took part in. The “rules” he referenced relate to the disclosure of the shares on the register of members’ interests.

CLP Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the government’s decision to block an OICAC investigation from obtaining relevant information was proof the government had lost the public’s trust.

“Territorians have lost trust in Labor’s ability to be open and transparent,” she said. “Public confidence in decision-making processes has been trashed recklessly by Labor.”

She pledged, if elected on Saturday, that her party would commit to “transparency and integrity measures”, including “complying with FOI requests, resourcing the ICAC, divesting and declaring conflicts, and establishing a lobbyist register”.

Ms Lawler also used the situation to make a pitch to voters, suggesting “one of the first things” she did as Chief Minister following Ms Fyles’s scandal was to commence a review in how ministers’ shares were declared, which she said would lead to a “new digital system” to “assist” ministers “with managing their interests and conflicts”, that will come into effect later this month.

“If re-elected [this] week, I will ensure the Office of the ICAC has independence as it plays an important role in our democracy,” she said.

The Office of the ICAC has been thrown into chaos in recent months, following the suspension of Michael Riches while under investigation for alleged “inappropriate behaviour” towards several female staff members. For reasons never made clear, that investigation will not be finalised until late September.

Complicating matters is acting commissioner Ms Loudon’s continued refusal to disclose a conflict of interest she claimed she had with an earlier investigation into Labor’s misuse of public funds during the 2020 election campaign that resulted in a promised report into Labor staffers’ misuse of public resources at the 2020 NT election not being delivered on time.

Ms Loudon did not respond to questions.