Chief Minister Michael Gunner has been celebrated by a national publication as an exceptional leader, whose “unique rise” to power was “marvellous in itself” and a fascinating tribute to what can be achieved with a bipartisan approach to solving social problems.
The ongoing “crime crisis” cannot wait to be dealt with next month, CLP Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says, as she called for Parliament to be recalled this week to urgently deal with the problem – a move that was knocked back by the Chief Minister who revealed his proposed crime reforms are still not ready.
UPDATED: Former NT Cattlemen’s Association chief executive Ashley Manicaros has been hired by CLP Senator Sam McMahon while he is in the middle of pursuing legal action against the powerful industry group.
EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Michael Gunner acted as referee for a long-serving senior adviser and close friend who applied to be the head of the peak oil and gas industry body in the Northern Territory, a position that would see the adviser “influence” and lobby his former colleagues and boss, the NT Independent can reveal.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s communications director Maria Billias’s handling of an email from the NT Independent outlining allegations and describing explicit messages between Mark Turner, senior fifth floor adviser Kent Rowe and their mistress is being investigated by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, the NT Independent can reveal.
EDITORIAL: The NT Police brass have been rightfully rattled by the NT Independent’s series of reports over the last two weeks, outlining the details of five sex crimes they either failed to notify the public about or outright attempted to cover up. We make no apologies for that.
The Gunner Government’s estimates of jobs created and supported through different infrastructure projects are wildly inflated and there is no consistent process for calculating or monitoring actual figures, the Auditor General has found, in the latest instance of the government lying to the public with no consequences.
Member for Blain Mark Turner is under investigation by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Chief Minister Michael Gunner disclosed to Parliament this afternoon.
Police Minister Nicole Manison rejected claims this morning that the Gunner Government has directed NT Police media to downplay sexual assaults – following a series of stories by the NT Independent exposing a disturbing pattern of suppression of sex crimes – calling the accusation “absolute nonsense, rubbish”.
A toxic workplace specialist was hired by the Gunner Government to investigate ministerial offices on the fifth floor of Parliament in late 2019 – less than six months after a separate report into the management of the Chief Minister’s own office was binned – and while allegations of illicit drug use amongst staffers was known, the NT Independent can reveal.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner and his wife Kristy O’Brien charged taxpayers thousands of dollars for private luxuries including $8 vanilla slices, chai lattes, schooners and special vegan breakfasts during a series of taxpayer-funded trips over a three-month span last year, internal government documents reveal.
The Chief Minister and Police Minister need to explain to Territorians why details of serious sex crimes are being concealed from the public, the Opposition says, accusing the government of political interference following a series of reports on suppressed sexual assaults by the NT Independent.
