EXCLUSIVE: Acting anti-corruption commissioner Naomi Loudon will not confirm the nature of her conflict of interest with the ICAC’s investigation into Territory Labor’s misuse of public funds at the last election despite her friendship with Labor staffers now revealed, while alleged compromising photos of Ms Loudon were circulated internally by office staff last year.
Territory Day public fireworks are back on at Mindil Beach after public outrage, nearly a week after the Lawler Government announced moving the iconic celebration, which it now claims was because of a single complaint made to organisers of the event.
The Territory’s acting anti-corruption commissioner says she disclosed a conflict of interest relating to the recently published major ICAC investigation into Territory Labor’s election rorts at the last election, which leaves the status of the second part of the report in limbo, while pledging to provide leadership in the office after a “tumultuous” two weeks for staff.
UPDATED: ICAC Inspector Bruce McClintock has cleared anti-corruption commissioner Michael Riches of misconduct after he failed to disclose a domestic violence allegation and offered to pay his wife $20,000 to drop a DVO out of fear it would be made public, but Mr McClintock’s investigation involved only a single text message to the victim of the alleged domestic violence.
EDITORIAL: Hush money, cover-ups, lies, institutional racism, domestic violence allegations, and more lies – this is what the two men running the agencies tasked with investigating our public officials and keeping the streets safe have been caught up in personally over the last fortnight, while the Chief Minister cannot say for sure what she is doing to restore integrity.
The NT’s anti-corruption commissioner Michael Riches was so afraid his career would be over after being served with a domestic violence order in May 2023, that he offered to pay his estranged wife $20,000 to ensure the matter never made it to the courts, according to a report in The Australian, while the NT Independent can confirm he did not disclose the matter to the ICAC Inspector.
EDITORIAL: Police Commissioner Michael Murphy has repeatedly said it will take courage to rid the force of racism. What he doesn’t seem to understand is this rules him out of being Police Commissioner. He has proven he is a coward and a liar and a man who buries racism rather than investigate it.
EXCLUSIVE: The NT’s anti-corruption commissioner Michael Riches says there is “no substance” to serious allegations made by his estranged wife in a recent social media post accusing him of perpetrating domestic violence against her over a 10-year period.
ANALYSIS: It was odd that the current Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, the man who has yet to make his mark on the role after three years, was calmly and methodically engaging in woodwork in his home garage, while the people he was hired to investigate savagely wrapped up their last week of sittings down the street with the most important investigation of his tenure hanging over them.
Chief Minister Eva Lawler says Labor will not reimburse taxpayers for the public money it used to fly former chief minister Michael Gunner to remote communities in marginal electorates on polling days in the lead up to the 2020 election because it was all too “ambiguous” and refused to condemn the conduct that was the focus of a three-year ICAC investigation.
Anti-corruption commissioner Michael Riches “refuses to call out misconduct, mismanagement and corruption”, an independent MLA says, despite having evidence that Territory Labor and Michael Gunner used public funds for party political purposes at the 2020 election, calling for an inquiry into the Office of the ICAC’s conduct.
The NT anti-corruption watchdog’s long-delayed report into Territory Labor’s taxpayer-funded 2020 election campaign has ended with “no concluded findings” of whether former chief minister Michael Gunner “did or did not engage in improper conduct”, but flagged a secret second report will be provided to current Chief Minister Eva Lawler next month concerning Labor staffers’ involvement.
