A confidential Cabinet document photographed in Police Minister Kate Worden’s hands appears to show the Fyles Government intends to cut the police budget in the middle of a crime crisis by $16 million next financial year and a staggering $31 million over the subsequent three financial years, with “frontline staff reductions” expected, the NT Independent can reveal.

Ms Worden was photographed from behind by an unknown person in a public space while she appeared to be reading the document with the subject line “Frontline staff reductions to meet NTG savings targets” that has been widely shared on social media.

It is understood the photo was taken last week as the Minister was on her way back to Darwin from attending crisis meetings with the Prime Minister and Chief Minister Natasha Fyles about out-of-control crime problems gripping Alice Springs.

An enhanced close-up of the document seen by the NT Independent reveals it is a memorandum from Ms Worden as Police Minister to Treasurer Eva Lawler that references “staffing reductions” for police and “declining NTG investment in [NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services]”.

It is unclear why Ms Worden would be reading a confidential cabinet document in a public place, specifically one she had presumably already sent the Treasurer, that was dated 2022.

Parts of the front page are readable in the enhanced photo.

“As you would be aware, Cabinet has approved additional savings measures to the Northern Territory Police Fire and Emergency Services (NTPFES) totalling $16M in 2023-24 increasing to $31M in 2027-28 ongoing, which includes the recent additional savings target of … $4M per annum,” the document states.

“Next year is double the current savings target …”

The $31 million budget cut figure is consistent with a previously reported leaked 2018 internal police budget subcommittee report that suggested at the time that amount would be cut from the police budget over the next three years.

The 2018 report, which appears not to have been actioned, cautioned that cutting the budget by that much would result in “disgruntled officers” and a risk of failing to respond to emergencies in remote communities with the decommissioning of one police aircraft.

It also suggested that frontline staff cuts would result in 54 civilian staff being sacked, which the police union at the time said would have a “significant impact” on recruiting more frontline officers.

Other lines from the secret document Ms Worden was photographed with are obscured, but reference “declining NTG investment in NTPFES” and “Budget Paper No. 3”, with another line stating “…[Treasury] and Finance have previously advised Cabinet …[obscured]… staffing reductions or lower employment…”

It also appeared to state that the police force would need to “identify options to meet the savings target with a key directive to minimise impacts on frontline service provision from a customer perspective”.

Questions to Ms Worden and her office on Monday were not answered.

Those questions included what effect the proposed police budget cuts would have on frontline officers and the Territory overall, how the Minister could justify cutting frontline staff in the face of a growing crime crisis across the NT and whether the Minister may have breached the MLA code of conduct by carelessly reviewing a confidential document in her possession in a public place where it could be seen by anyone.

The Fyles Government has repeatedly claimed it has provided the “biggest ever spend on police in the Territory’s history”.

Last week, Ms Fyles also claimed in a national media appearance that the NT had sufficient police “resources” to combat the growing crime crisis in Alice Springs and did not need the Federal Government to intervene.

The revelation of the government’s planned cuts to the police force comes as ongoing EBA negotiations resume this week between the NT Police Association and the Fyles Government.