EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro’s husband and senior public servant Sam Burke said he wanted to “plow” his car into a group of Palestinian supporters at a peaceful Darwin protest in 2024, the NT Independent can reveal, with the pair hiring a Sydney lawyer to threaten legal action against this publication.
The CLP moved to condemn Labor MLA Chansey Paech in Parliament Thursday for criticising the government over the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby, following the release of a report into the department’s handling of the case, while Labor accused the Children and Families Minister of leaking sensitive information to a favoured media outlet that could cause issues for the upcoming murder trial.
More in-fighting in Territory Labor has led to mixed messaging about whether the Opposition will support independent MLA Justine Davis’ gambling reform bill that will be introduced to Parliament this week, which proposes strengthened conflicts of interest rules for NT wagering commission members, banning inducements to problem gamblers and introducing stronger penalties for operators that fail to meet their obligations.
ANALYSIS: Fifteen months ago, Territory Labor Leader Selena Uibo was handed a review of the party’s crushing 2024 election defeat prepared by the national executive, which she promptly hid and refused to make public. Today, the NT Independent can reveal the contents of that report show the party has yet to fully come to terms with why Territorians booted it from office and failed to learn any lessons from one of the worst political defeats in Territory history.
Labor’s Yiwarr McGrath has defeated independent candidate Andrew Blamey to win the Mulka by-election Saturday night, bringing the party’s total number of MLAs in NT Parliament to six after the 2024 election wipeout saw it reduced to just four bush members, but the new member enters a divided Labor parliamentary caucus.
The NT’s two major political parties will be sweating on Monday night when three generations of the Territory’s independent MLAs meet for a public panel discussion about what independents can achieve in Parliament and what voters fed up with current politicians following their parties’ interests instead of the interests of the people can do to bring about change.
Mining and Energy Minister Gerard Maley did not publicly disclose that his sister-in-law works for the company he and his government colleagues helped arrange a special land deal for that could see a massive data centre in the Darwin rural area built, the ABC reported Tuesday, while the Chief Minister has remained silent over the failure to publicly disclose.
The Labor Opposition Leader’s office paid Michael Gunner’s brother-in-law more than an MLA earns to help develop policy for the party shortly before he took an oil and gas lobbyist role earlier this year, the NT Independent can reveal, while the Opposition Leader has refused to explain if proper procurement processes were followed for the secret consultant job paid for by taxpayers.
CLP Minister Steve Edgington has publicly said he will not run for One Nation at the next federal election in the Territory when asked on Wednesday, but the NT Independent can reveal he engaged in talks with a senior party figure about leaving the Finocchiaro CLP Government to have a tilt with Pauline Hanson’s party. Mr Edgington’s advances are likely to destabilise leadership and relationships within Cabinet two years into the CLP’s term, a party source said.
Voluntary assisted dying legislation passed Parliament last night, three decades after it was first legalised, but amendments to remove restrictive clauses including the 12-month prognosis timeframe and the doctor gag clause were blocked by the CLP majority.
The Country Liberal Party has not nominated a candidate for the upcoming Mulka by-election which it dismissed Thursday as a “disruption” that will now be a contest between Labor’s candidate Yiwarr McGrath and surprise independent candidate Andrew Blamey.
The Territory’s MLAs wrestled with their personal beliefs and their duty to their constituents with plenty of tears shed while debating the proposed Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill in Parliament on Tuesday, a bill that is expected to ultimately see the NT regain its voluntary assisted dying rights this week after losing them 30 years ago.
