Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro claims the Prime Minister is “mucking us around” over her choice for the next administrator of the Northern Territory by not approving it for five months, while current Administrator Hugh Heggie has commenced “a series of farewell visits” and “parades” across the Territory and interstate ahead of his term ending on January 30.

An exasperated Ms Finocchiaro told Mix 104.9 radio she was frustrated that her government’s pick for the next administrator has been “on the Prime Minister’s desk since June, and I still haven’t heard back”.

She then said she wanted to “fire up” Mix 104.9’s listeners, “because I’ll tell you what, this is firing me up”.

“If we were a state, the government would pick the administrator, we’d announce it and it would be done,” she said.

“But because we’re a territory, I’ve got to send it to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet has to endorse it, and they have been mucking us around since June. It’s a disgrace and this is just one [thing] in a long list of rubbish and I’ve had a gutful.”

Ms Finocchiaro would not divulge who her pick for administrator is, only that the person has not been approved in five months.

“I can’t say [who it is], and ultimately I have to wait for the federal Cabinet to endorse it, but my patience is expiring,” she said.

“I couldn’t care less if they disagree [with the person picked] because it’s our government’s pick. We’re the Territory and we really don’t need Canberra telling us who our administrator is.”

Governments usually pick their mates for the administrator job, with speculation it could be former Solomon MP and recently resigned CLP president Natasha Griggs or Shane Stone or even former CLP MLA and disgraced speaker Kezia Purick, who the ICAC found engaged in corruption while speaker.

Ms Finocchiaro said she would “make a deal” with Mix presenter Katie Woolf to let her “hear the name first”, but no timeframe was provided for the “deal”.

She added she was frustrated by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s delay because her pick “won’t have time to have all of the training and all of the settling in” before having to take the role when Mr Heggie leaves office on January 30, which she called “disgusting” and “politics at its worst”.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet responded on Tuesday to say the Federal Government was still considering Ms Finocchiaro’s proposed candidate.

“The Administrator of the Northern Territory is appointed by the Governor-General based on advice from the Northern Territory and Australian governments,” a spokesperson said in a brief statement.

Ms Finocchiaro said Mr Heggie, who Labor appointed in early 2023, was a “well-respected person who’s done a great job”.

Mr Heggie’s office issued a statement on Monday morning outlining his “farewell tours” that will include a trip to RAAF Base Tindal in Katherine this week, where a “farewell parade” will be held at the base and then on to a tour of the Katherine Hospital for a “farewell function to personally thank the community for their support and engagement”.

Mr Heggie will then travel to Alice Springs between November 18 – 21 to undertake “a range of community and patronage visits”. He will then fly to Sydney for a final meeting with Governor-General Sam Mostyn before “returning to Darwin to complete his term as Administrator”.

His office did not say whether he intends to hold a parade in Darwin as former administrator Vicki O’Halloran did to celebrate the end of her long term.

“These visits are an opportunity for me to say thank you, to Territorians, for their warmth, resilience, and unwavering spirit before I leave office,” Mr Heggie said in a statement.

“I committed to fulfil this role with compassion and love for Territorians, and for this vast and beautiful Territory that we all call home. I commit to conclude my term with this same spirit.”

Note: This story was updated to include comment from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.