Former speaker Mark Monaghan should pay back taxpayers the thousands he secretly approved for two of his Labor colleagues to take holidays at taxpayer expense after an independent statutory body ruled that his decision to permit the use of government cars and fuel cards for personal interstate travel was inappropriate, an independent MLA says.
EXCLUSIVE: Deputy Chief Minister Chansey Paech and acting Speaker Dheran Young have refused to reimburse taxpayers for their personal interstate holidays, despite the independent body that determines politicians’ entitlements ruling that Government vehicles cannot be used by politicians for interstate personal travel.
Four weeks after putting her hand up to be the Territory’s next chief minister, Nicole Manison has announced she will retire from politics at the August election to spend more time with her family, telling ABC Radio on Monday that she has not had discussions about future jobs to date, but left the door open.
Chief Minister Eva Lawler appears to have lifted the NT Government’s ban on the NT Independent, inviting this publication to her first press conference on Thursday afternoon and taking questions.
Chief Minister Eva Lawler has unveiled her Cabinet team after being sworn in on Thursday afternoon, that will see minor changes and a new minister, marking the second reshuffle in as many months for the Territory Labor Government, just eight months out from August’s general election.
Treasurer Eva Lawler is the Territory’s next Chief Minister in a surprise move that will see Attorney General Chansey Paech become the new Deputy Chief Minister.
The resignation of chief minister Natasha Fyles has thrown Territory Labor into chaos as different factions fight over who the next leader will be, which as of last night appeared to be Eva Lawler as chief minister and Chansey Paech as her deputy, but the unions attempted to kibosh that, fighting for Joel Bowden to take on the top job.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has resigned following the NT Independent revealing her secret shareholdings in the company that runs the Groote Eylandt manganese mine, which she refused as Health Minister to investigate earlier this year after health issues suspected to be related to the mine were raised by Indigenous Territorians.
Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison has formally indicated she will run to be Territory Labor’s next leader in a statement issued from Bali, telling Territorians she is “proud” of her good friend Natasha Fyles for “putting Territorians first”, while questions have been raised about why the Labor Cabinet team failed to take action against Ms Fyles’ ethical breaches, which they were obligated to do.
Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Michael Riches has issued an extraordinary warning to Territory politicians to disclose all their conflicts to him directly, while indicating “recent matters” involving “conflicts of interest, lobbying and related matters” presumably involving Natasha Fyles would be “addressed”.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles needs to resign for breaching the public’s trust, the Opposition CLP says, following the NT Independent’s special investigation that revealed her secret shares in a mining company that presented a fresh undisclosed conflict of interest, while Labor is reportedly currently counting the numbers against the Chief Minister in the party room.
EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Natasha Fyles secretly holds shares in the company that runs the Gemco manganese mine on Groote Eylandt, that she did not disclose to the public while refusing as Health Minister to investigate the suspected heavy metal poisoning of Indigenous Territorians on the island earlier this year, raising further integrity issues with her leadership and more undisclosed conflicts of interest, the NT Independent can reveal.
