EXCLUSIVE: Labor campaign mastermind and federal gas lobbyist consultant Gerard Richardson was hired by former chief minister Natasha Fyles at considerable cost to Territory taxpayers, before she was forced to resign in scandal and his contract terminated.
Deputy Chief Minister Chansey Paech’s big spending on travel continued in the past financial year, racking up nearly a third of all ministerial travel across the NT himself, records show, including claiming “offical allowance” expenses under “other” costs, which has raised further questions about how the government is acquitting ministerial travel.
The Labor Government spent twice as much taxpayer money to fly ministers around the Territory in the past financial year than it did over the same period in the lead-up to the 2020 election, newly released records show, while mysterious travel expenses costing tens of thousands of dollars listed only as “other” have been called into question.
Territorians will head to the polls in August with no idea what the independent body that investigates politicians for corruption will look like under the next government, following scandal in the Office of the ICAC that has led to Michael Riches currently under investigation for alleged “inappropriate behaviour” towards female staff and the acting commissioner refusing to explain a conflict of interest in relation to its largest investigation in three years.
Sky News reporter Matt Cunningham and Mix 104.9 presenter Katie Woolf are under fire for “toxic” comments made on air that appeared to downplay the alleged actions of besieged ICAC Michael Riches, who is currently under investigation for alleged “inappropriate behaviour” towards female staff members amid unresolved allegations of domestic violence.
The Lawler Labor Government will not make any official changes to rules around the use of taxpayer money for campaign purposes ahead of August’s election in the aftermath of an ICAC report that showed the party used public funds at the 2020 election for political purposes, with the Opposition calling the surprise deferral “more of the same tricks” by a government that “lacks transparency”.
A secret email between the NT’s anti-corruption commissioner and the ICAC Inspector shows Michael Riches asked Bruce McClintock if he should resign last May when domestic violence allegations were first raised against him, but remained in the role, with the allegations only being investigated earlier this month.
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.
