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.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has confirmed her senior adviser with ties to the gas industry is being paid taxpayer money to help her win the next Territory election through a murky contract, but claims “no rules have been broken”, while party members have called for a change of leadership to clean up the Territory Labor Party, following the scandals and recent polling that shows Labor losing the next election.
Offenders who commit crimes in Darwin and other urban centres can choose to be sentenced in their home remote community, as part of a new “community court sentencing” program implemented by the Fyles Government earlier this month, that sources say will silence victims, cut prosecutors out of the sentencing process and reduce the public’s awareness of how offenders are dealt with by the courts.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles and her senior adviser have been referred for investigation into possible criminal conduct, including allegedly “advancing secret personal interests” and other potential offences, in relation to her senior adviser’s consultancy company acting as the registered lobbyist for Tamboran Resources and Ms Fyles’ breaches of the ministerial code of conduct for not immediately divesting her shares in another gas company.
EDITORIAL: It is “absolutely appropriate” Nicole Manison told Territorians this week for the Chief Minister’s most senior adviser to also run a company that lobbies for the gas industry, and in so doing, proved just how corrupt, incompetent and morally compromised this government is.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles’ office has defended senior political adviser Gerard Richardson’s dual roles as adviser to the NT Labor Government and co-owner of a company that lobbies for Tamboran Resources, which the Federal Greens have called “outrageous and alarming”.
A federal independent MP has called for a full investigation into Chief Minister Natasha Fyles’ office following revelations her senior political adviser’s consultancy firm is the registered lobbyist for Tamboran Resources, while the NT Independent can reveal more details about the extent of his firm’s influence in potentially securing federal funding for the controversial Middle Arm industrial precinct.
