Police Minister Brent Potter has been referred to the NT’s anti-corruption body over allegations he attempted to influence the police investigation into CLP politician Josh Burgoyne’s car crash last August by making public comments that an independent MLA says could be seen as a “breach of the separation of powers” and ultimately “misconduct”.
Alice Springs CLP MLA Josh Burgoyne has spoken publicly about a vehicle crash he was involved in last August that sent two healthcare workers to hospital, four days after the incident was made public in the media, and the same day police charged him over the crash.
Under fire Labor Minister Chansey Peach used his parliamentary powers to shut down a censure motion against Chief Minister Eva Lawler brought by the CLP over her failure to hold him responsible for his actions, while senior federal Labor politicians have refused to voice support for Mr Paech.
Independent Member for Goyder Kezia Purick will retire from politics at the August election, after 16 controversial years in NT Parliament, highlighted by her sensational resignation as speaker in 2020 after an ICAC report found she engaged in “corrupt conduct”.
Chief Minister Eva Lawler has told Parliament the public can wait 30 years to see if beleaguered Minister Chansey Paech disclosed his shares in a liquor wholesale company to Cabinet before discussing remote community grog bans, as calls for Mr Paech’s resignation continued Wednesday.
Deputy Chief Minister Chansey Paech did not inform Cabinet of his shares in a liquor wholesale company while minister of Aboriginal Affairs when the lifting of grog bans in remote communities was discussed, the Chief Minister says, while federal and Territory political leaders have called for Mr Paech’s resignation for his “sickening” conduct.
EXCLUSIVE: Deputy Chief Minister Chansey Paech personally invested in a liquor wholesale company that supplies alcohol to Alice Springs bottle shops two months before his Labor Government controversially permitted Intervention-era grog bans on remote communities to lapse in 2022, the NT Independent can reveal.
The Lawler Labor Government’s pick for Speaker of the NT Parliament has caused outrage amongst Opposition and independent MLAs, who have argued that Member for Daly Dheran Young is unsuitable for the job due to his past conduct, that includes threatening a sitting MLA and charging taxpayers for his personal holidays.
The Country Liberal Party has a long track record of failing to publicly disclose how much money it collects from donors while avoiding prosecution, with a 2021 independent audit recommending that the party be “pursued” for deliberately breaking disclosure laws, as excuses from the party’s president and treasurer mount over the latest breach.
The Country Liberal Party broke electoral laws by failing to publicly report how much it raised in financial gifts over the last six months of the year and who gave it the money, which could see the party fined $176,000 for keeping its finances secret.
Territory Labor received tens of thousands of dollars in financial gifts from major gas companies, local developers and mining companies ahead of the 2024 NT general election, new disclosures released by the NT Electoral Commission show, while the CLP did not report any gifts.
Former small business minister Paul Kirby is the latest Labor MLA to announce his retirement from politics, issuing a statement on Thursday morning that he will not recontest his Port Darwin seat at the next election.
