The fallout from revelations that Police Minister Brent Potter shared racist posts on social media came quick on Wednesday, with an independent MLA calling for Mr Potter to resign over his “sickening” behaviour, while Chief Minister Eva Lawler backed her minister, despite claiming in a statement that “there is no room for racism in the Territory”.
EXCLUSIVE: Police Minister Brent Potter’s deleted Facebook posts, in which he quoted Nazis, praised Vladimir Putin, permitted the casual use of the n-word amongst family members and shared a link to a video about how to “destroy” the Black Lives Matter movement, have called into question recent public statements that he “does not tolerate racism”, amid accusations of its widespread prevalence in the NT Police force.
Calls for Labor Minister Brent Potter’s resignation mounted Wednesday following revelations in the NT Independent that he privately purchased shares in the government-backed $1.8 billion Seafarms major prawn harvesting project while a senior adviser to the minister responsible, which critics called the latest “appalling” example of the severe lack of integrity surrounding the current government.
EXCLUSIVE: Labor Minister Brent Potter privately purchased shares in an NT Government-backed “major project” while employed as a senior adviser to the minister responsible for the project in 2021, which a leading integrity expert said was “just wrong” and raised serious concerns about the potential use of sensitive government information for personal financial interests.
EXCLUSIVE: CLP Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price told a meeting of party members on Saturday that she was concerned for her safety after allegedly receiving “threatening and harassing” messages from a party operative who was convicted of threatening to kill NT Police officers and their family members 20 years ago – a man party president Shane Stone unilaterally attempted to reinstate as a member.
The Country Liberal Party has announced four candidates for the forthcoming August NT election, as part of a gradual rollout of candidates for all electorates, but have continued to avoid questions about why it attempted to install a man with a previous conviction for threatening to kill police officers as its election campaign manager.
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.
